Joe O’Dea Leaves Colorado For Texas Fundraiser with George Bush

O’Dea campaigns with Bush who tried to privatize Social Security while O’Dea misleads Coloradans on protecting Social Security

GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea is ditching the campaign trail (again) to fundraise in Texas tonight with former President George Bush the same week ballots are being mailed to Colorado voters. O’Dea is trying to have it both ways by self-proclaiming to be a political outsider while cozying up to Republican Party insiders.  

O’Dea has been misleading Coloradans about protecting Social Security and campaigning with Bush, who tried to privatize Social Security, raises a red flag with Colorado seniors: 

“President George W. Bush wanted to privatize Social Security and Medicare. His support for Joe O’Dea confirms that the Republican Party is still on the path to eliminate benefits paid for by workers and now receiving the benefits. Joe O’Dea and the Republican Party can’t be trusted to protect the benefits of the 65 million senior citizens on Social Security.” – Carolyn Boller, Executive Vice President of the Colorado Alliance for Retired Americans

Colorado Times Recorder fact checked O’Dea’s claims since the campaign is now running ads claiming that O’Dea will protect the benefits. In June, O’Dea said there’s “going to be a reduction in some of those programs,” when responding to a question about reducing Medicare and Social Security benefits. 

O’Dea also touted support from an organization that supported privatizing Social Security. According to the Colorado Times Recorder, the organization vouching for O’Dea “was founded to support efforts — most notably from George W. Bush in 2005 —  to privatize Social Security. Until 2016, the group was funded by the conservative Koch Brothers.”