Gardner Enables Trump to Raid Military Construction Funding

Gardner “failed the test” by voting to uphold national emergency declaration, which led Denver Post to rescind their 2014 endorsement

Denver, CO -- With backing from Senator Cory Gardner, the Trump administration is diverting $3.6 billion from 127 military construction projects to build an ineffective and costly border wall. 

Gardner’s vote to uphold Trump’s national emergency declaration cost him the endorsement of The Denver Post, which wrote that “Gardner has been too busy walking a political tight rope to be a leader” and they “no longer know what principles guide the senator.”

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll: 

“Senator Gardner broke his promise to stand up to his party leaders and be an independent voice for Colorado when he refused to join the dozen Republican senators who voted against President Trump’s unconstitutional power grab. Now, more than 100 military construction projects are in limbo thanks in part to Senator Gardner’s vote, and he’s also been silent on Senate Republicans’ plan to raid billions more from health and education funding. As Gardner promotes phony claims of bipartisanship, Coloradans don’t need to look beyond this vote to see that he’s just a spineless yes-man for Trump.”

Colorado Dems on Trump’s Remarks about Jewish People

Colorado Dems Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement in response to President Trump's remarks that Jewish people who vote Democratic show "either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty":“As a Jewish woman, I cannot begin to express the level of anger and disgust I have over President Trump’s disturbingly ignorant remarks. Considering that Trump himself is not a Jewish man, it is frankly insulting that he would presume to tell Jewish Americans how we should vote, and to basically call us stupid or ‘disloyal’ if we don’t support his party. It boggles the mind that Ken Buck, Cory Gardner, and the Colorado Republican Party continue to go to bat for this man.”

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Colorado Dems on Cynical Recall Attempt on Leroy Garcia

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement in response to the news that Colorado Republicans will be collecting signatures to recall State Senator Leroy Garcia:"As a Marine veteran of the Iraq War, Leroy Garcia served our country with honor. As the State Senator for Pueblo, Leroy has led the charge on innovative legislation to combat the opioid epidemic, and to ensure that veterans can access the proper healthcare they need and opportunities for jobs when they transition into civilian life. This is yet another attempt by Colorado Republicans to steal a Senate seat because they can't win elections through legitimate means. His community re-elected him overwhelmingly by over 70% in 2018, and the people of Pueblo will not fall for this shady attempt by right-wing political operatives to overturn their decision."

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Gardner Should Call on GOP to Cancel August Recess & Get to Work to Keep Colorado Communities Safe

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement calling on U.S. Senator Cory Gardner to join Michael Bennet in demanding Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suspend August recess to act immediately to keep our communities safe:“This weekend’s tragedies in El Paso and Dayton are painfully familiar for far too many Coloradans who will always remember Columbine, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, and the thousands of other lives that have been lost to gun violence. Enough is enough. Senator Gardner needs to join Senator Bennet in calling for Mitch McConnell to bring the U.S. Senate back to session and get to work on passing legislation to keep our communities safe.”

Thanks Ken Buck!

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement thanking Congressman/Colorado GOP Chair Ken Buck for confirming with Special Counsel Robert Muller that President Trump could be charged with obstruction of justice after he left office:“Mueller confirmed that the reason he did not indict Trump was because of a DOJ policy that a sitting President could not be indicted. But, I would like to personally thank Ken Buck for confirming with Robert Mueller that President Trump could indeed be indicted and criminally charged with obstruction of justice after he is out of office. Given that the investigation resulted in nearly 200 criminal charges already filed, it’s good for voters to know that Donald Trump soon could face legal consequences for his corruption after they vote him out of office in 2020.”Below is a photo of Chair Carroll writing a personal thank you note to Ken Buck.

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Colorado Dems Statement in Advance of VP Pence’s Visit

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement in advance of Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Colorado for high-dollar, closed-door fundraisers that would benefit Senator Cory Gardner and President Donald Trump:“It’s pretty clear that the GOP knows how unpopular and vulnerable Donald Trump is, which is why they’re sending Vice President Pence and other members of Team Trump for closed-door fundraisers for Senator Cory Gardner and Republicans instead of a public event. Make no mistake -- between his tax giveaway to the ultra wealthy and his multiple attacks on Coloradans’ healthcare coverage, Donald Trump has done nothing to endear himself to Colorado since we rejected him in 2016, and perhaps these private fundraisers are a sign that they’ve finally given up their desperate attempt to turn our state red.“Given Trump’s deep unpopularity in Colorado, it should come as no surprise that vulnerable Senator Cory Gardner is avoiding a public event with Trump’s VP. But hiding from a photo-op can’t erase Gardner’s record of staunch support of Trump’s divisive agenda, nor will it stop Coloradans from rejecting both Gardner and Trump in 2020.”

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Colorado Congressional Democrats Condemn -- while Colorado Republicans Condone -- Trump’s Racism

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives took up a resolution to condemn the racist statements President Trump posted on social media about four congressional women of color over the past two days. In the resolution are quotes from some of our country’s most notable leaders in its history, including President Ronald Reagan:Whereas this is "one of the most important sources of America's greatness: we lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people — our strength — from every country and every corner of the world, and by doing so we continuously renew and enrich our nation";Despite this resolution not just being a condemnation of President Trump’s remarks, but an affirmation that states that we as a country believe “that immigrants and their descendants have made America stronger, and that those who take the oath of citizenship are every bit as American as those whose families have lived in the United States for many generation”......only four House Republicans joined the entire House Democratic Caucus to vote “Yes”. Meanwhile -- not one of Colorado’s Republican Congressmen voted “Yes”.Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement in response:“It should not be hard for a U.S. Representative from Colorado to condemn racism and bigotry. Yet today, Colorado House Republicans Ken Buck, Doug Lamborn, and Scott Tipton showed how morally bankrupt they have become by standing with Donald Trump and his racist statements against Congressional women of color. Ken Buck is not only a member of Congress, but also the Chair of the Colorado Republican Party. Does condoning this type of racism really represent the Republican Party in Colorado? Their state party Chair stood on the side of racism and hate today.”“What today’s vote shows is that elections have consequences, and that the current GOP leadership is morally bankrupt. In contrast, Colorado Democrats in Congress took the fight to Donald Trump by condemning his bigoted statements on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. Senate, and Cory Gardner, need to show that same respect for our American and Colorado values and pass this resolution.”

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CDP Statement re: Ridiculous Recall Efforts Against State Senators Lee and Pettersen

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement in response to news that Republican operatives would begin the process of recalling State Senators Pete Lee (SD11) and Brittany Pettersen (SD22):“Ken Buck and the Colorado Republican Party are making a strong case on why they are unfit to govern, why Colorado voters were right to elect Democrats up and down the ticket in 2018, and why they’ll do so again in 2020. Chairman Buck and the Colorado GOP have shown they are more interested in abusing the recall process instead of rebuilding their party and helping move our state forward. This is just sore loser politics. The voters of SD11 and SD22 made their voices crystal clear when they elected Pete Lee and Brittany Pettersen by overwhelming margins in 2018, and they will see through this sham.”

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CDP Statement re: Sham Recall Efforts Against Governor Polis

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement in response to reports that Republican operatives would begin collecting signatures to target Governor Jared Polis for recall:“I am surprised to see how far the Colorado Republican Party has fallen. Voters made it resoundingly clear they preferred Governor Polis’ bold progressive vision for Colorado to the Colorado Republicans’ stale and divisive agenda. Instead of learning how to run better candidates, who are better on the issues for Coloradans, the Colorado GOP is just showing they’ve been hijacked by extremists who are more interested in ridiculous recalls to overthrow elections than actually moving Colorado forward. Colorado voters will see through this sham, and Colorado will continue to move forward under the bold leadership of Governor Polis and Colorado’s Democratic majorities in the state legislature.”

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CDP Statement re: Lawsuit to Overturn the Affordable Care Act

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement following oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals on the Republican lawsuit to repeal the Affordable Care Act:“Since he was sworn into office, Donald Trump has made it his mission to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would recklessly end healthcare protections for 750,000 Coloradans with pre-existing conditions -- and Republicans like Cory Gardner have worked right alongside him to attack people’s healthcare. What’s worse is for all their talk ‘repeal and replace’, we have yet to see Gardner and Trump actually show a plan of their own that would replace the ACA.”“Coloradans know that if Trump and the Republicans’ plan to destroy the ACA through this lawsuit succeed, millions of Coloradans could lose their healthcare coverage and people with pre-existing conditions will once again be able to be denied coverage. Colorado Democrats have fought to protect Coloradans’ access to quality, affordable healthcare at the state and federal level, and they will continue to fight against this reckless assault on healthcare.”

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Colorado Democrats to Colorado Republicans: Condemn Trump’s Support for Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement in response to President Trump saying that he would welcome foreign interference into our elections:“It’s time for Chairman Ken Buck, Cory Gardner, and Colorado Republicans to put country over party and join us in condemning the President in the harshest terms possible for openly welcoming foreign interference in our elections. We already know the Russian government tried to influence the elections in 2016, and the idea that a sitting U.S. President would openly accept ‘dirt’ on a political opponent from a foreign entity is un-American to the highest degree,” said Carroll.“Considering the Colorado Republican Party’s recent history* of trying to take seats through less than honest avenues, Coloradans deserve to know whether they will disavow all foreign interference in our elections, even when President Trump welcomes it -- or if they are simply just yes-men for Trump,” Carroll concluded.*In addition to the sham recalls they launched, Colorado Republicans are also known for spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire Cambridge Analytica during the 2014 election cycle. Cambridge Analytica -- which was also hired by then-candidate Trump’s campaign -- is the now-defunct consulting firm that was found to have improperly mined millions of Facebook users’ data and use that information to influence election outcomes.

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CDP Statement on the Sullivan Recall Effort’s End

Denver, CO -- Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement in response to the Colorado Republican Party ending their recall efforts against State Representative Tom Sullivan:“Today’s decision proves these recall efforts by the Colorado Republican Party are a sham. Representative Sullivan is an honorable man who kept his promises to the voters of HD37, and Colorado Republicans folding shows just how little support there was for this cynical recall. But they clearly haven’t ended their scheme to undermine democracy, since their statement indicates they’re still window shopping for Senate seats they can try to steal through a recall effort,” said Carroll.“Colorado Republicans know they can’t win on the issues -- that’s why they’re being backed by outside special interests to abuse the process and overturn the will of the voters by launching cynical recall efforts. Voters saw through this sham before, and they’ll see through it again if the Colorado Republican Party launches more recalls,” Carroll concluded.

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STATEMENT: Gardner Still Doesn’t Say If He’d Vote Against Trump’s Tariffs

All talk, no action as Gardner still refuses to say how he would vote

A new report reveals that Senator Cory Gardner is tying his supposed objections to President Trump's tariff on imports from Mexico to the disastrous 2017 Republican tax law, noting that "a number of Republican senators are warning the president they would vote to overturn the new levies, though Gardner has not explicitly said he would go that far.”Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Alyssa Roberts released the following statement in response:"First Cory Gardner voted for a massive giveaway to corporations and the wealthy, and now he's trying to use that disastrous tax bill to justify his supposed opposition to President Trump’s tariff on Mexico. Colorado will see right through this: Gardner is trying to have it both ways, tip-toeing around an issue that could devastate our economy to avoid upsetting the man he has endorsed for reelection. If Gardner won’t even push the Senate to take a vote on the president’s reckless tariff, how can Coloradans trust that he won’t cave just like he did on Trump’s first costly and ineffective national emergency?”The Greeley Tribune reports that the tariff’s impact on Colorado’s economy could be “devastating,” affecting more than $1.5 billion in imports. When Colorado Politics asked Gardner about the issue yesterday, he refused to comment.Congress’ failure to overcome support from Republicans like Gardner and block Trump’s national emergency has emboldened him to threaten these new tariffs. Mexico is Colorado’s third largest source of imports, and the new 5 percent tariff is set to go into effect on Monday.

CDP Congratulates Mary Young on Appointment to HD50 Seat

The Colorado Democratic Party released the following statement in reaction to the news that Mary Young has been appointed to fill the vacant HD50 seat:“We offer our warmest congratulations to Mary Young for being chosen by her community to represent them in the Colorado General Assembly. Her background as a school psychologist and an educator will serve as a great asset to her as she represents the people of House District 50 at the State Capitol. The State House will benefit greatly from her perspective and experiences in education as they consider policies that will make life better for all Coloradans.”“We also applaud the members of the House District 50 vacancy committee for carrying out this process smoothly and to the letter of the law.”Mary is a school psychologist and was a special education teacher. She holds a doctorate in school psychology from the University of Northern Colorado. She also has a master’s degree in teaching from Duke University, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from St. Mary’s of Notre Dame.

Colorado Democratic Party Statement on Trump’s First Visit to Colorado as President

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement in response to President Trump’s first visit to Colorado since the 2016 campaign:“President Trump’s dangerous and divisive agenda has made him deeply unpopular in Colorado. He’s avoided visiting our state until now. But Senator Cory Gardner was proud to endorse the president’s reelection, so why wasn’t he by Trump’s side today? It’s clear Gardner is once again trying to have it both ways, knowing how underwater Trump is in Colorado while trying not to upset his base.“Colorado won’t forget how Cory Gardner voted with Trump 99 percent of the time -- including their reckless attempts to gut healthcare protections for the 750,000 Coloradans with preexisting conditions -- and put military funding at risk to build Trump’s costly and ineffective border wall. Clearly both Gardner and Trump are out of touch. Come 2020, Coloradans will replace them with champions for our values and way of life.”

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Colorado Dems Expand Communications Team to Hold Senator Cory Gardner Accountable in 2020

The Colorado Democratic Party today announced an expansion of its communications and rapid response operation to hold Senator Cory Gardner accountable going into 2020. CDP hired Alyssa Roberts as communications advisor, joining David Pourshoushtari on the communications team.Roberts is a Colorado native with extensive experience in western politics, including serving as press secretary for Senator Michael Bennet’s successful 2016 reelection campaign, on the communications team for Senator Mark Udall, and as a Western Slope field organizer for Obama for America. During the 2018 election cycle, Roberts was national press secretary for the League of Conservation Voters and a communications advisor for Montana’s special congressional election. She also served as press secretary for Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico.“Coloradans are fired up to replace Senator Gardner in 2020, and we’re excited to have Alyssa on board to double-down on our work holding Gardner accountable,” said Morgan Carroll, Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party. “With her deep understanding of Colorado and Senator Gardner’s shameful record in the U.S. Senate, Alyssa will help ensure Gardner can’t run away from his record of siding with Trump’s partisan and destructive agenda.”“Senator Gardner said he would shake things up in Washington, but he’s proven to be nothing more than another partisan lackey for Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell,” said Roberts. “From voting to take away our access to health care to refusing to fight for our public lands, Coloradans can’t trust Cory Gardner to stand up for our communities. Control of the U.S. Senate runs through Colorado, and I’m eager to get to work.”Roberts can be reached at alyssa@coloradodems.org.

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State Central Committee Approves 2020 Delegate Selection Plan

Denver, CO -- Today, the Colorado Democratic Party State Central Committee met and approved the 2020 Delegate Selection Plan and the Affirmative Action/Outreach Plan. Pending final approval from the Democratic National Committee, these plans will be the guidelines for selecting delegates to represent Colorado at the 2020 DNC in Milwaukee, WI.“I’m proud of the process that went into finalizing our Delegate Selection and Affirmative Action/Outreach plans. This was about ensuring that the creation of the Colorado Democratic Party’s plan to choose 2020 DNC delegates exhibited transparency, inclusion, and fairness, and I’m proud that between our public meetings and putting the plan online for public comment, we achieved these goals,” said Morgan Carroll, Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party.

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Colorado Dems to U.S. Attorney General Barr: Release the Full Mueller Report

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement in response to Attorney General Bill Barr’s letter regarding the Robert Muller report:“Attorney General Barr needs to release the full Mueller report to the public. Obstruction of justice is a criminal offense, and given that Barr admitted himself that the report did not exonerate President Trump from obstruction of justice charges, voters as a whole deserve to see what is in the report and why the Attorney General chose not to pursue this charge. Congress and the American public should be able to form an opinion on their own, and see this report.”

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Flip-Flop Complete: Gardner Changes Position on National Emergency, Cements Loyalty to Trump over Constitution

Almost exactly a month ago today, Colorado’s junior U.S. Senator Cory Gardner went on Colorado Public Radio and declared his opposition to the idea of President Donald Trump declaring a national emergency so he could have funding to build a wall across the southern border. Less than 24 hours later, when the President did declare the national emergency, Gardner immediately recanted, stating that he needed to review it -- a position he maintained until today, when Senator Gardner voted to support the national emergency and oppose a bipartisan resolution to block it.“When you consider that President Trump himself said that he ‘didn’t need to do this. But [he’d] rather do it much faster’ on the very day he made the emergency declaration, Senator Gardner’s attempt to defend his vote by arguing the President had no choice doesn’t make any sense. It has been quite the spectacle to watch Senator Gardner go from saying he couldn’t vote for Trump in 2016, to a 90% lifetime voting record with Trump, to endorsing Trump’s re-election bid early, to now doing a total 180 on the President’s fake national emergency. But today, Senator Gardner made it abundantly clear that his loyalty is to Donald Trump over the United States Constitution and his constituents in Colorado. Coloradans won’t forget this, and Senator Gardner will face the consequences in November 2020,” said David Pourshoushtari, spokesman for the Colorado Democratic Party.Reminder: Not only is President Trump incredibly unpopular in Colorado, but so is his plan for a wall.

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Colorado Dems Announce 2020 Delegate Selection Plan

Today, the Colorado Democratic Party is proud to announce its draft plan to select delegates to represent Colorado at the 2020 Democratic Party National Convention. To ensure fairness and inclusivity in the process of finalizing the Delegate Selection Plan, the CDP is opening up the draft for public comment. The draft plan can be found online at this link, and comments can be submitted at this link.“This is about making the process of finalizing our Delegate Selection Plan for 2020 as transparent, fair, and inclusive as possible. We welcome any and all public comments to the draft selection process, and we look forward to finalizing a plan that will yield a diverse group of delegates from all across our state to represent us at the 2020 Democratic National Convention,” said Morgan Carroll, Colorado Democratic Party Chair.Public comment will be open for 30 days, with the public commentary period closing on Sunday, March 31, 2019 at 5:00pm.

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