Three Debunked Lies We’ll Hear from Gardner at Tonight’s Final Debate
Cory Gardner is *STILL* peddling the same lies as he desperately tries to deceive Coloradans about his record of standing with Trump “100%”
Denver, CO - Senator Cory Gardner has spent his time on the debate stage desperately trying to deceive Coloradans about his toxic environmental record, unwavering support for President Trump, and crusade to rip away Coloradans’ health care — and we don’t see his tactics changing for the final debate.
Ahead of tonight’s final Colorado Senate debate, here are three lies that Gardner will continue to peddle:
- 🚨Gardner’s Pre-Existing Conditions Lie 🚨
Channel 7 Debate: “We will protect people with preexisting conditions, and that's why I've introduced legislation to protect people with preexisting conditions.”
- Gardner is continuing to peddle a notorious sham bill that has been debunked by five independent fact checkers — even called “horse excrement” by 9News — and slammed by health care experts as a “political document” that would not actually protect people with pre-existing conditions.
- The bill is a desperate attempt to cover up his decade of crusading against the Affordable Care Act — voting at least 13 times to repeal, gut, or defund the health care law. He even boasts on his website that he still wants to repeal the health care law, says the ACA is “unconstitutional,” and is ramming through an anti-ACA Supreme Court justice just before the Court hears a case to overturn the law.
- 🚨Gardner’s Bipartisanship Lie🚨
Pueblo Chieftain Debate: “I'm the third most bipartisan member of the United States Senate.”
- The bogus measure Gardner uses to tout his bipartisanship does not include actual votes, his record of voting with the president 98% of the time and McConnell 95% of the time, and confirming 98% of Trump’s judicial picks. Gardner is ranked 2nd for senators whose voting records are most out-of-step with their states.
- As Trump said, Cory Gardner “has been with us 100%.”
- The Denver Post rescinded their 2014 endorsement, saying the endorsement was a “mistake” and that Gardner has become “precisely what we said in our endorsement he would not be: ‘a political time-server interested only in professional security.’” This year, the Denver Post endorsed John Hickenlooper, saying that Gardner “joined the enablers who turned a blind eye to Trump’s corruption.”
- 🚨Gardner’s Greenwashing Lies🚨
Telemundo Debate: “It’s very important for the future of the planet that we have a solution on climate change.”
- New audio reveals Gardner repeatedly refusing to say that humans cause climate change. Gardner has an abysmal environmental voting record of exacerbating climate change and standing with Trump as they rolled back protections for clean air and water.
- Gardner has earned an abysmal lifetime score of 11% from the League of Conservation Voters and earned a spot on their signature “Dirty Dozen” list by “supporting Trump and his anti-conservation agenda at seemingly every turn.” Despite Gardner’s desperate greenwashing ads — that use a fake environmental group — Coloradans overwhelmingly aren’t buying it and disapprove of Gardner’s handling of environmental issues.
- Gardner is blocking a decade-in-the-making collaborative bill to protect 400,000 acres of Colorado public lands.
Gardner can try to deceive Coloradans about his record, but we have the receipts showing his failure at CoryFailedColorado.com.
Gardner Claims He is “Focused on COVID” But GOP Abandoned COVID Relief to Ram Through Trump’s Anti-ACA SCOTUS Pick
Coloradans are already voting, but instead of waiting for voters to have their say Gardner & Senate GOP are rushing Trump’s nominee onto the Court
Denver, CO - While Senator Cory Gardner claimed in last week’s debate that the Senate “ought to be focused on COVID, that's why I am focused on COVID,” the GOP abandoned pandemic relief last week and instead began hearings today to ram through President Trump’s anti-ACA nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite ballots already being turned in across the state, Gardner and McConnell aren’t allowing Coloradans to have a say in the Court pick.
Gardner flipped on his 2016 claim that in an election year, the next Supreme Court justice “ought to be chosen by the American people through the election of the next president.”
Coloradans are facing a spike in COVID hospitalizations and unemployment remains near-record high, but Gardner and Mitch McConnell are ignoring the overwhelming majority of Americans and are laser-focused on rushing an anti-ACA SCOTUS nominee to the bench less than a month before the Court hears the Gardner-backed lawsuit to overturn the health care law and its protections for the 2.4 million Coloradans with pre-existing conditions.
Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll:
“Coloradans are already voting, but instead of letting the President elected by the voters in November pick the next Supreme Court Justice, Senator Gardner flip-flopped on his own word and is ramming through an anti-health care nominee weeks before the Court will hear a case that could overturn the Affordable Care Act. Coloradans across the state are struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table, but Gardner is playing partisan politics instead of delivering needed pandemic relief. In 22 days, Coloradans will send Gardner packing and elect John Hickenlooper, who will be a true champion for Colorado.”
Third Debate Shows Gardner’s Utter Failure in Washington & Why We Need Hick in the Senate
Denver, CO - Following the third Colorado U.S. Senate debate tonight, Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement:
“Tonight, Senator Cory Gardner continued to show that he prioritizes his loyalty to Donald Trump over Coloradans. Coloradans deserve a senator who will put our communities ahead of partisan politics, and that is exactly what John Hickenlooper has done and will continue to do.
“John has a proven track record of expanding access to health care, protecting our environment, and bringing people together to solve our state’s most pressing problems. And that is exactly what Coloradans need in Washington. Tonight Senator Gardner continued to deceive Coloradans about his failing record, which includes voting to gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions and unwavering support for Trump.
“In 25 days, Coloradans will send John Hickenlooper to Washington to stand up for our values.”
BINGO: Play “Cory Gardner Failed Colorado” Bingo During Tonight’s Third U.S. Senate Debate
Denver, CO - Ahead of tonight’s third U.S. Senate debate, the Colorado Democratic Party created Cory Gardner Failed Colorado Debate Bingo to highlight Senator Cory Gardner’s tired deceptions and overused lies. We know Gardner isn’t going to stop trying to deceive Coloradans about his record trying of to rip away Coloradans’ health care and gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions, selling out our public lands, standing with President Trump “100%,” and failing Colorado — and tonight’s debate is no exception.
So, play along with us and see who can be first to win Cory Gardner Failed Colorado Debate Bingo (it shouldn’t take long!):
NEW POLL: Gardner’s Favorability Twelve Points Underwater, Trailing 15 Points With Crucial Independent Voters
Pollster: “Mitch McConnell is in trouble if he is counting on Republican Cory Gardner's re-election to the U.S. Senate to help cement McConnell's GOP Senate Majority"
Denver, CO - A new 9News and Colorado Politics poll has Senator Cory Gardner’s favorability twelve points underwater as he trails John Hickenlooper by 15 points with crucial independent voters. With poll after poll showing Gardner is deeply unpopular and a rubber stamp for President Trump, the pollster drew the inevitable conclusion that “Mitch McConnell is in trouble if he is counting on Republican Cory Gardner's re-election to the U.S. Senate to help cement McConnell's GOP Senate Majority."
Despite Gardner and his dark money allies spending millions on TV to deceive voters, Coloradans are fed up with the president and Gardner’s failed leadership and we are “poised to reject President Donald Trump and his close ally Gardner” this November.
Other takeaways from another rough poll for Gardner:
- The majority of Coloradans disapprove of the Senate rushing a SCOTUS nominee through before the election — but Gardner caved to Trump’s pressure, “flip-flopped” on his own 2016 commitment, and gave Mitch McConnell the “key vote” to ram through Trump’s anti-ACA nominee.
- Gardner is trailing by nearly 20 points to Hickenlooper with Colorado women, with more than 50% favoring the Democrat.
- Gardner is trailing nearly 30 points to Hickenlooper with Colorado's Hispanic voters, 57% to 30%.
- Hickenlooper is pulling nearly 10% of Republican voters to cross party lines and vote for him.
- Hickenlooper is leading in Western Colorado, usually a GOP stronghold.
The 9News and Colorado Politics poll comes just weeks after another poll showed Gardner’s approval rating is at a failing 34%, even trailing behind President Trump. Another Global Strategy Group poll revealed Hickenlooper is 10 points ahead of Gardner, whom Coloradans believe prioritizes his loyalty to Trump ahead of standing up for our state.
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NEW: Gardner Hosting In-Person Fundraiser With “One of Colorado’s Largest Oil and Gas Firms”
Gardner raked in second-most Big Oil cash in the past two years, $481,223, has been a reliable ally for the industry in Congress
Denver, CO - A Colorado Newsline report reveals that Senator Cory Gardner is continuing to haul in Big Oil cash, hosting an in-person fundraiser this weekend with a “top executive at one of Colorado’s largest oil and gas firms” in “one of the Denver area’s wealthiest neighborhoods.” Gardner has raked in near-record cash from Big Oil, taking nearly $500,000 — and counting — in the past two years and has been a reliable ally for them in Congress, voting to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, blocking limits on methane emissions, refusing to support the CORE Act, and standing by President Trump as he reversed more than 100 protections and gave an open license to polluters in the pandemic.
Newsline notes that the in-person fundraiser comes as Gardner was working alongside members of Congress who have tested positive for COVID in the past week and cases in Colorado are on the rise.
Yesterday, HuffPost published new audio of Gardner repeatedly refusing to say if humans cause climate change, calling the climate conversation “a loaded political debate” and “leaning into conspiratorial thinking.” Listen HERE.
Read highlights below or the full article HERE.
Colorado Newsline: Oil and gas CEO to co-host Gardner fundraiser in Cherry Hills Village
By Chase Woodruff | October 8, 2020
- Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner will get a boost in his uphill battle for reelection at a high-dollar Cherry Hills Village fundraiser this weekend, courtesy of a top executive at one of Colorado’s largest oil and gas firms, according to an invitation obtained by Newsline.
- Steve Struna, CEO of Bayswater, a Denver-based oil and gas producer, is listed as a co-host for the fundraiser for the Gardner campaign, scheduled for the evening of Saturday, Oct. 10, in one of the Denver area’s wealthiest neighborhoods. “Suggested contribution levels” for the event range from a minimum of $250 per attendee to the maximum $2,800 allowed by federal law.
- Despite working alongside several Senate colleagues who have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks, Gardner’s campaign said prior to a previous debate with Hickenlooper last week that the senator had tested negative.
- Gardner has been one of the U.S. Senate’s top recipients of contributions from the oil and gas industry during the 2020 election cycle, according to campaign-finance database OpenSecrets. The $481,223 he has accepted from fossil-fuel interests in the last two years is second only to the amount received by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn in his own 2020 reelection bid.
- Gardner has long been a target of criticism from Democrats over his record on environmental and climate-change issues, including for his opposition to the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan and his vote against a 2015 Senate amendment affirming that global warming “is real and not a hoax.”
- Earlier this week, HuffPost published audio of a Yuma columnist’s 2017 phone interview with Gardner, in which the senator repeatedly refused to answer directly when asked whether humans are causing climate change, while speculating that efforts to reduce emissions are driven by “people who want to control the economy as a result of their belief about the environment.”
TIMELINE: Gardner & Trump Failed To Extend COVID Relief, Coloradans Are Now Suffering Consequences
It’s been 141 days since Gardner said it would be “unfathomable” for Senate to leave Washington without further COVID action
Denver, CO - President Trump and Senator Cory Gardner have had months to pass much-needed aid for families struggling to make rent, underprepared schools, and small businesses trying to keep their doors open, but they have failed to rise to the occasion and instead left Coloradans out to dry. Gardner and Trump’s failed pandemic response was in the spotlight again this week as they abandoned pandemic relief negotiations until after the election. Instead, Trump and Gardner are focusing on rushing through an anti-choice and anti-Affordable Care Act Supreme Court nominee.
As a refresher, here is a brief timeline of Trump and Gardner failing Coloradans on COVID relief just since May :
May 15 - The House passed the bipartisan HEROES Act, a comprehensive COVID relief package. Gardner’s GOP Senate majority wouldn’t take it up.
May 20 - Gardner infamously said that it would be “unfathomable” for Congress to leave Washington without further action, but caved to Mitch McConnell and went on recess without passing any more aid for Coloradans.
July 24 - Federal eviction moratorium expired but the Senate failed to act on the HEROES Act to extend the eviction moratorium and provide rental and homelessness assistance.
July 31 - Despite setting the deadline themselves, Gardner and McConnell let emergency unemployment benefits expire for more than 300,000 Coloradans.
August 8 - The Paycheck Protection Program to give relief to small businesses expired.
August 13 - Gardner and the Senate GOP left Washington for a month-long vacation without delivering aid to struggling Coloradans.
September 11 - Gardner pushed for — but failed to pass— a “skinny” stunt relief bill that slashed emergency unemployment insurance in half, left our state and local governments out to dry, and lacked sufficient funding for the USPS.
September 30 - Pandemic relief for airlines expired, resulting in major layoffs and furloughs.
October 1 - The House passed a second pandemic relief package, HEROES 2.0. Gardner’s GOP Senate majority again has refused to take it up.
October 6 - Trump and Gardner abandoned pandemic relief negotiations until after the election.
Gardner and Trump shut down COVID talks until after the election, but Coloradans can't just shut off their rent payments or prolong buying groceries. Coloradans know that the pandemic didn’t have to be this bad, but Gardner and Trump failed us. And in a few weeks, Colorado will vote in new leaders to clean up their mess.
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NEW POLL: Coloradans Overwhelmingly Reject Gardner & Trump-Backed Supreme Court Lawsuit to Overturn ACA
Pre-existing condition protections in “greater danger than ever” after Gardner caved to Trump’s pressure, “flip-flopped” on his own 2016 standard, & pledged to confirm Trump’s anti-ACA nominee
Denver, CO - A new poll from Change Research reveals what we all knew: Coloradans overwhelming disapprove of the Senator Cory Gardner and President Trump-backed lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act that threatens to rip away health care from more than 400,000 Coloradans and gut protections for the 2.4 million Coloradans with pre-existing conditions.
With the Supreme Court slated to hear the lawsuit to overturn the health care law just a week after the election, Gardner’s pledge to support Trump’s SCOTUS nominee who is a known critic of the Affordable Care Act comes under scrutiny as protections for pre-existing conditions are “in greater danger than ever.”
The poll confirms that health care continues to be a top issue for Colorado voters. So, it is no surprise that Gardner trails in poll after poll, as he has crusaded against the ACA during his decade in Washington and has pulled a disingenuous election year stunt — putting forth a “horse excrement” fake bill that has been debunked by five independent fact-checkers — to try to paper over his toxic record.
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MUST LISTEN: “Sen. Cory Gardner’s Climate Conspiracy Theory Revealed” [HuffPost]
In a newly unveiled 2017 interview out of Yuma, Gardner repeatedly refuses to say if humans are causing climate change — calling it a “loaded political debate” despite his desperate attempts to greenwash his toxic environmental record
Denver, CO - In a newly unveiled 2017 recording published today by HuffPost, Senator Cory Gardner repeatedly refuses to say if humans cause climate change and “lean[s] into conspiratorial thinking that efforts to curb carbon emissions are part of a larger plan to ‘control the economy.’” When pressed by a columnist from his hometown Yuma Pioneer, Gardner says talking about climate change is a “loaded political debate” and “squirms” when pressed for a straight answer.
HuffPost notes that Gardner's stance is “out of sync with scientific reality and the political consensus among Centennial State voters.” Gardner’s office tried to intimidate the paper into holding the interview, which was not previously published.
The report comes out as Gardner is desperately trying to walk back his climate denial and greenwash his abysmal environmental record of exacerbating climate change and standing with President Trump as they rolled back protections for clean air and water and gave big polluters free rein.
Read highlights below or the full article HERE.
HuffPost: Sen. Cory Gardner’s Climate Conspiracy Theory Revealed In 2017 Recording
A local newspaper columnist’s persistent questions laid bare what the now-embattled Republican senator actually thought about the climate crisis.
By Alexander C. Kaufman | October 7, 2020
- But in a 2017 audiotape HuffPost obtained, Gardner squirms out of questions about what is causing climate change, instead leaning into conspiratorial thinking that efforts to curb carbon emissions are part of a larger plan to “control the economy.”
- “There are people who want to control the economy as a result of their belief about the environment,” Gardner said in a previously unpublished interview with a local newspaper columnist in his native Yuma County in rural eastern Colorado. “Absolutely, there are.”
- Throughout their 17-minute phone call, Gregory Hill, a novelist who writes a column for the 136-year-old weekly Yuma Pioneer, fired off an unsparing barrage of questions that the senator tried to deflect from a position on climate change that is out of sync with scientific reality and the political consensus among Centennial State voters.
- Pressed to state clearly that gases from fossil fuels accumulate in the atmosphere and trap the sun’s heat on the planet, an effect that scientists first grappled with more than a century ago, Gardner said he didn’t want to get “into a loaded political debate.”
- This year, Gardner sponsored the Great American Outdoors Act, a law to permanently fund the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund that the GOP-controlled Senate hastily passed in a bid to boost Republicans’ election prospects amid widespread discontent over the party’s handling of the environment.
- It may or may not sway Colorado voters. After all, the legislation solved a problem that Gardner himself had helped to create. The Republican lawmaker had voted in 2011 to eliminate most funding for the National Park Service fund and endorsed cutting $16 million from its budget in 2018.
- People in Colorado are also grappling with unignorable signs that the climate is changing. This summer’s monsoon season never really arrived in the state. The warmest August since records began in 1895 bled into unprecedentedly hot September days. By October, every inch of Colorado was in drought, with roughly half the state in “extreme drought,” and an already historic wildfire season scorched more than 500 square miles of the state.
- It’s that desire to unseat Gardner that convinced Hill to share his interview with a reporter. Following their testy Tuesday morning call three years ago, Gardner’s team contacted Tony Rayl, the editor of the Yuma Pioneer, to complain about the columnist’s tone and ask whether Hill truly worked for the paper. Hill, who said he is on the autism spectrum and reacts angrily when someone appears to be evading simple questions, was embarrassed at losing his temper.
- “I felt like a failure,” he said in a phone call with HuffPost. And in a county of roughly 10,000 people, he didn’t want his mostly conservative neighbors to see him as “the shrill, hysterical version of the liberal that they already have in their mind.”
- The senator’s staffers reinforced that feeling. “It felt like this intimidation thing that worked,” Hill said. “It worked on me more than anybody.” So the interview didn’t run in 2017.
- Gardner’s office did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Gardner & Trump Abandon COVID Relief Negotiations, Instead Ramming Through Anti-ACA SCOTUS Nominee
140 days since Gardner said it would be “unfathomable” for Senate to leave Washington without further COVID action, he’s silent as Trump leaves Colorado behind
Denver, CO - Yesterday, President Trump and Senator Cory Gardner abandoned pandemic relief negotiations until after the election, despite COVID hospitalizations spiking in Colorado and unemployment remaining near-record high. Instead of delivering for struggling families and businesses, Gardner and the GOP are ignoring the overwhelming majority of Americans and are laser-focused on ramming through an anti-choice and anti-Affordable Care Act Supreme Court nominee.
Gardner infamously said — exactly 140 days ago — that it would be “unfathomable” for Congress to leave Washington without further action. Now Gardner is deafeningly silent as his party bosses slam the door on further pandemic relief.
Since Gardner’s “unfathomable” stunt, he and Mitch McConnell have let emergency unemployment expire, gone on a month-long vacation, put forth only a “skinny” stunt relief bill that didn’t pass, and failed to take action on two comprehensive House-passed pandemic aid packages.
In a debate that aired last night, Gardner inexplicably “tried to blame” John Hickenlooper for shutting down pandemic relief talks, despite Hickenlooper not serving in the Senate (yet!) and the president Gardner is with “100%” proudly taking responsibility for letting Coloradans down.
Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Eli Rosen:
“Senator Gardner has turned his back on the thousands of Coloradans struggling to put food on the table and small businesses that can’t pay the bills, all while the pandemic continues to surge across the state. After standing by President Trump’s botched pandemic response, Senator Gardner is again failing us, putting his party allegiance ahead of Coloradans — this time to plow through President Trump’s anti-ACA Supreme Court nominee instead of delivering for Colorado.”
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El Segundo Debate del Senado Muestra Por Qué Los Habitantes De Colorado Necesitan a Hickenlooper En el Senado de los Estados Unidos
Denver, CO - Tras el debate del Senado de Estados Unidos de Telemundo de esta noche, miembro de la Iniciativa Latina del Partido Demócrata de Colorado, Sandy Baca-Sandoval, emitió la siguiente declaración:
“Esta noche, John Hickenlooper demostró que él sería un Senador de los Estados Unidos que priorizará a los habitantes de Colorado y a nuestra comunidad Latina antes que la política partidista, un marcado contraste con el lacayo del presidente Trump que tenemos ahora en el Senador Cory Gardner.
“John demostró que luchará para expandir nuestra atención médica, proteger a nuestras comunidades de la contaminación y para cortar a través del partidismo en Washington. El senador Gardner lanzó una vez más ataques infundados para tratar de desviar la atención del historial de cómo ha fallado a los habitantes de Colorado y trabajado con Donald Trump para destrozar familias. Gardner y Trump están tratando de sacar la atención médica a miles de Latinos de Colorado y no lograron adelantarse a esta pandemia; ni siquiera la charla hábil y la sonrisa presumida de Gardner pueden ocultar eso.
"¡Los habitantes de Colorado están emocionados de elegir a un solucionador de problemas honesto y trabajador, John Hicknelooper, y enviar a Gardner a empacar en cuatro semanas!”
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Second Senate Debate Shows Why Coloradans Need Hickenlooper in U.S. Senate
Denver, CO - Following tonight’s Telemundo’s U.S. Senate debate, Colorado Democratic Party Latino Initiative Member Sandy Baca-Sandoval released the following statement:
“Tonight, John Hickenlooper showed that he would be a U.S. Senator who will prioritize Coloradans and our Latino/a/x community ahead of partisan politics -- a stark contrast from the President Trump-lackey that we have now in Senator Cory Gardner.
“John showed that he will fight to expand our health care, protect our communities from pollution, and cut through the partisanship in Washington. Senator Gardner once again spewed baseless attacks to try to divert attention away from his record of failing Coloradans and working with Donald Trump to rip families apart. Gardner and Trump are trying to throw thousands of Colorado Latinos off of their health care and failed to get ahead of this pandemic — not even Gardner’s slick talk and smug smile can cover that up.
“Coloradans are excited to elect an honest and hardworking problem-solver, John Hicknelooper, and send Gardner packing in four weeks!”
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CORY FALLÓ COLORADO: Gardner ha Fallado a Comunidades Latinas e de Inmigrantes
Denver, CO - El senador Cory Gardner le ha fallado a las comunidades Latinas e de inmigrantes de Colorado, tratando incansablemente de quitarle la atención médica, incluso durante la pandemia, mientras se niega a defender a nuestra comunidad de inmigrantes y a los beneficiarios de DACA (Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia) y les da a los contaminadores un pase libre para arrojar toxinas en nuestro aire y agua.
Estos son los hechos sobre cómo Gardner falló la comunidad Latina e de inmigrantes:
- Gardner ha votado al menos 13 veces para derogar, destripar o retirar el financiamiento de la Ley del Cuidado de Salud a Bajo Precio, amenazando con quitarle la cobertura a 400.000 habitantes de Colorado y destripar las protecciones para los 2,4 millones de habitantes de Colorado con afecciones preexistentes.
- Gardner ha votado a favor de múltiples medidas que destriparían o terminarían con el programa DACA, que protege a los beneficiarios de DACA de la deportación, se negó a apoyar la legislación aprobada por la Cámara para proteger a los beneficiarios de DACA y se negó a reunirse con defensores de inmigración.
- Gardner votó tres veces en contra de poner fin a la falsa emergencia nacional del muro fronterizo de Trump, que robó $ 8 millones a la Base de la Fuerza Aérea Peterson.
- Cuando la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos escuchó un caso que corría el riesgo de deportación de cientos de miles de DREAMers (Individuos que califican bajo la Ley de Desarrollo, Alivio y Educación para Menores Extranjeros), incluidos 15,000 en Colorado, Gardner permaneció en un silencio ensordecedor.
- Gardner votó tres veces en contra de poner fin a la falsa emergencia nacional del muro fronterizo de Trump, que robó $ 8 millones a la Base de la Fuerza Aérea Peterson.
- Gardner ha fallado a nuestras comunidades Latinas durante la pandemia, haciendo campaña con Trump cuando el coronavirus apareció por primera vez en Colorado y negándose a reconocer que el presidente fue responsable de ignorar la ciencia y no prepararse, lo que llevó a una crisis económica y de salud histórica.
- Las comunidades Latinas, Hispanas y de color han “sobrallevado una parte desproporcionada de infecciones”, pero en lugar de trabajar para abordar las desigualdades, Gardner estaba “jugando juegos políticos con vidas” mientras Colorado trataba para conseguir suministros muy necesarios.
- Las empresas pequeñas y pertenecientes a minorías en todo el país tuvieron dificultades para acceder a los préstamos del Programa de Protección de Cheques de Pago.
- Las comunidades Latinas, Hispanas y de color han “sobrallevado una parte desproporcionada de infecciones”, pero en lugar de trabajar para abordar las desigualdades, Gardner estaba “jugando juegos políticos con vidas” mientras Colorado trataba para conseguir suministros muy necesarios.
- Gardner ha exacerbado el daño desproporcionado que la contaminación tiene en las comunidades Latinas y de color con su sólido apoyo a los Grandes Contaminadores, incluso apoyando deliberadamente la administración Trump cuando otorgó una "licencia abierta para contaminar" e implementó "esencialmente una exención nacional de las reglas ambientales" durante la pandemia, permitiendo que nuestra tierra, aire y agua sean devastados por grandes contaminadores.
- Gardner estuvo al lado de Trump cuando eliminó los estándares de eficiencia de combustible y se opuso a los límites nacionales de contaminación por metano modelados según el propio estándar de Colorado.
Para obtener más información sobre cómo Gardner ha fallado a los habitantes de Colorado, consulte CoryFailedColorado.com.
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CORY FAILED CO: Gardner Has Failed Latino & Immigrant Communities
Denver, CO - Senator Cory Gardner has failed Colorado’s Latino and immigrant communities, relentlessly trying to rip health care away — even during the pandemic — while refusing to stand up for our immigrant community and DACA recipients and giving polluters a free pass to spew toxins into our air and water.
Here are the facts on Gardner failing the Latino and immigrant community:
- Gardner has voted at least 13 times to repeal, gut, or defund the Affordable Care Act, threatening to rip coverage from 400,000 Coloradans and gut protections for the 2.4 million Coloradans with pre-existing conditions.
- Gardner has voted for multiple measures that would gut or end the DACA program, which protects DACA recipients from deportation, refused to support House-passed legislation to protect DACA recipients, and refused to meet with immigration advocates.
- Gardner voted three times against ending Trump’s sham border wall national emergency, which raided $8 million from Peterson Air Force Base.
- When the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case that risked deportation for hundreds of thousands of DREAMers — including 15,000 in Colorado — Gardner remained deafeningly silent.
- Gardner voted three times against ending Trump’s sham border wall national emergency, which raided $8 million from Peterson Air Force Base.
- Gardner has failed our Latino communities during the pandemic, campaigning with Trump as the coronavirus first emerged in Colorado and refusing to hold the president accountable for ignoring science and failing to prepare, leading to a historic health and economic crisis.
- Latino, Hispanic, and communities of color have “bear[ed] a disproportionate share of infections,” but instead of working to address the inequities, Gardner was “playing political games with lives” as Colorado tried to secure much-needed supplies.
- Small and minority-owned businesses across the country struggled to access Paycheck Protection Program loans.
- Latino, Hispanic, and communities of color have “bear[ed] a disproportionate share of infections,” but instead of working to address the inequities, Gardner was “playing political games with lives” as Colorado tried to secure much-needed supplies.
- Gardner has exacerbated the disproportionate harm pollution has on Latino and communities of color with his reliable support for Big Polluters — even standing willingly by as the Trump administration gave an “open license to pollute” and implemented “essentially a nationwide waiver of environmental rules” during the pandemic, allowing our land, air, and water to be devastated by big polluters.
- Gardner stood by Trump’s side as he removed fuel efficiency standards and opposed the national limits on methane pollution modeled after Colorado’s own standard.
For more on how Gardner has failed Coloradans check out CoryFailedColorado.com.
REALITY CHECK: Gardner Is With Trump 100%, Prioritizes Party Over Colorado
Colorado Sentinel Editorial: “Six years ago, Gardener sold himself as a political moderate. He’s not. Despite his self-accolades, his Senate record show’s he’s one of President Donald Trump’s most reliable allies.”
Denver, CO - Senator Cory Gardner is once again up with a desperate and deceiving ad that hides his real record of being a partisan foot soldier for Mitch McConnell and standing with Donald Trump “100%.” Despite Coloradans pleading for Gardner to stay true to his 2016 commitment, Gardner caved to his party bosses and pledged to ram through Trump’s anti-ACA Supreme Court nominee days before the election.
Senator Michael Bennet responded to Gardner using him in the ad, saying he is “pleased once again to have the chance to reiterate my strong endorsement of John Hickenlooper.”
“Senator Gardner’s bipartisanship claims don’t hold water. Gardner has been a partisan warrior in Washington, working hand-in-glove with his party bosses to try to repeal the Affordable Care Act and now ram through an anti-choice and anti-health care Supreme Court nominee while failing to deliver needed COVID relief for Colorado families,” said Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Eli Rosen. “But Senator Gardner is right about one thing — Coloradans do ‘believe in progress more than partisanship’ and that’s why we will be sending him and his Trump-McConnell rubber stamp packing and electing John Hickenlooper four weeks from today.”
Get the facts on Gardner’s partisan record:
GARDNER IS “ONE OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S MOST RELIABLE ALLIES”
- Endorsing John Hickenlooper this week, the Colorado Sentinel editorial board wrote that “Six years ago, Gardener sold himself as a political moderate. He’s not. Despite his self-accolades, his Senate record show’s he’s one of President Donald Trump’s most reliable allies” and has backed Trump on everything from health care to gun safety.
- Despite promising Coloradans he’d stand up to his party, as coronavirus spread earlier this year, Trump said Gardner has been “with us 100 percent ... no waver.” CQ found that Gardner votes with Trump 98% of the time.
- Gardner is “Mitch McConnell’s right-hand man” — voting with his party boss 95 percent of the time, running McConnell’s Senate Republican campaign arm, and folding like a cheap suit to McConnell after a failed political stunt that left Coloradans waiting for urgent relief from COVID-19.
- Gardner caved to Trump and McConnell’s pressure, broke his 2016 commitment, and pledged to support Trump’s Supreme Court nominee — giving them the “key vote” to rush the anti-ACA and anti-choice nominee onto the U.S. Supreme Court just a month before the Court will decide the health care law’s fate.
- Gardner has voted for 98% of Trump’s judicial picks — rubber-stamping all but 4 of Trump’s 214 judicial nominees — and even voted for several judicial nominees deemed “not qualified” by the nonpartisan American Bar Association.
- Gardner has confirmed nearly every one of Trump and McConnell’s right-wing appointees, supported partisan procedural tactics and political activity, and was labeled “one of the most partisan members of Congress.”
- Gardner’s definition of “bipartisanship” ignores his own votes. Last year Gardner even discredited his own metric, telling constituents that he won’t just put his “name on something” that won’t pass while using that same misleading measure to call himself bipartisan.
- The Denver Post revoked their 2014 Gardner endorsement, stating that the endorsement was a “mistake” and that Gardner has become “precisely what we said in our endorsement he would not be: ‘a political time-server interested only in professional security.’”
GARDNER CHOSE TRUMP OVER COLORADO’S MILITARY COMMUNITY
- In March, CPR reported the Trump administration “said it was completely restarting the search for a permanent home for Space Command” and no decision will be made on the permanent home until after the election.
- Gardner voted three times to let Trump raid military construction funding for his border wall and broke his promise to protect funding for Colorado’s bases as Peterson Air Force Base lost $8 million. Gardner apparently didn’t lift a finger to protect the funding.
- Twelve Republican senators broke with their party to oppose Trump’s sham border wall national emergency that cost Colorado funding — but not Gardner.
BLM MOVE “DISAPPOINT[ING],” GARDNER CRUSADES AGAINST PUBLIC LANDS
- The BLM’s relocation to Grand Junction was met with disappointment among community leaders and concerns the city was left with nothing more than “a figurehead headquarters” with far fewer jobs than promised.
- Gardner “did not publicly respond” after a federal judge ruled that anti-public lands zealot William Perry Pendley was serving illegally in his post at the Bureau of Land Management and ordered his removal. He’s still working at BLM.
- Prior to the judge’s ruling, Gardner refused to oppose Pendley’s nomination to lead the BLM, despite Pendley opposing public lands and wildlife protections and writing that the “Founding Fathers intended all lands owned by the federal government to be sold.”
- Prior to the judge’s ruling, Gardner refused to oppose Pendley’s nomination to lead the BLM, despite Pendley opposing public lands and wildlife protections and writing that the “Founding Fathers intended all lands owned by the federal government to be sold.”
- Even The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel has come out against Trump’s pick to head the BLM, while Gardner remains silent.
- A rubber stamp for Trump’s toxic environmental agenda, Gardner has a failing 11% lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters, earning him a spot on their notorious “Dirty Dozen” list.
- Gardner refuses to support the bipartisan House-passed Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act, a decade-in-the-making collaborative wilderness bill to protect 400,000 acres of public land like Thompson Divide and Camp Hale. Gardner is stonewalling the bill and even decried the legislation as “a partisan, political tool,” despite widespread grassroots support.
- Gardner voted to virtually eliminate funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and supported Trump’s attempt to cut $16 million from the public lands program in 2018.
- Gardner has a long record of voting against Colorado’s public lands, even voting to block a measure to increase local input on land management.
YIKES: Gardner Called Out For Debate Health Care Lies As A Fifth Independent Fact Checker Shreds His “Laughable” Stunt Bill
Denver 7: Gardner’s stunt bill “is “misleading,” with health care experts calling it “a political statement, not a legitimate piece of legislation” and “absolutely would not protect people with pre-existing conditions”
Denver, CO - Senator Cory Gardner was slammed for continuing to peddle his lies about protecting people with pre-existing conditions in Colorado’s first U.S. Senate debate last night. Gardner’s stunt health care bill — that has been debunked by health care experts and five independent fact-checkers — was immediately called out for the election year stunt it is. Take a look:
AP: “Gardner has tied to defend his votes by pointing to a 117-page bill he wrote that says it protects pre-existing conditions, but legal experts call a political stunt.”
The Colorado Sun: “[Gardner] also trumpeted his bill to protect preexisting conditions despite numerous independent analysis showing that it would not do so… Hickenlooper called the legislation “the cruelest lie of all is the fact that Cory Gardner is going to sit here and say he has a plan that’s going to protect preexisting conditions.”
9News’ Kyle Clark: “Gardner bragging that he wrote his own *eight-line* bill cracked me up. Was it triple spaced with size 36 font and 4” margins? I wrote some of those in college, too.”
Meanwhile, Denver 7 became the fifth independent fact-checker to shred Gardner’s stunt bill, saying it’s “misleading” and actually “guarantees very little” for people with pre-existing conditions. A nonpartisan health care expert from the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative says it’s “a political statement, not a legitimate piece of legislation” and “absolutely would not protect people with pre-existing conditions.” Denver 7 also calls out Gardner’s record of crusading against the Affordable Care Act and voting to “eliminate this same coverage” he is now trying to say he protects.
Watch HERE or below:
Gardner — who has opposed protections for people with pre-existing conditions and voted at least 13 times to repeal, gut, or defund the ACA — has upped his crusade against Coloradans’ health care after he caved to pressure from Trump and “flip-flopped” on his own 2016 commitment, pledging to confirm a known critic of the ACA to the Supreme Court. The Court is scheduled to hear the GOP’s lawsuit to overturn the ACA — which Gardner supports — on November 10th, one week after the election.
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Colorado Democratic Party Statement On Hickenlooper’s Decisive Victory in First U.S. Senate Debate
Denver, CO - Following the first Colorado U.S. Senate debate tonight, Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll released the following statement:
“It’s refreshing to see what a U.S. Senator who will represent the needs of Coloradans, not Donald Trump and the corporate special interests, looks like. That’s John Hickenlooper.
“Tonight made clear that John Hickenlooper is the U.S. Senator that Coloradans deserve — one who believes in science, will fight to expand health care and protect people with pre-existing conditions, and who will protect our majestic public lands. Senator Gardner continued to lob baseless attacks because he cannot defend his own record of standing by President Trump as he botched the response to the coronavirus, tries to rip health care from hundreds of thousands of Coloradans, and sells out our public lands to corporate polluters.
“Coloradans are fed up with Senator Gardner’s deception and failure and are excited to elect John Hickenlooper to the U.S. Senate in 32 days. Let’s do this!”
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Three Lies to Expect from Gardner at Tonight’s Debate
Gardner’s desperate to deceive Coloradans about record of standing with Trump “100%” & failing Colorado on health care, public lands & more
Denver, CO - Senator Cory Gardner has spent his entire campaign deceiving Coloradans about his record of standing with President Trump “100%” and failing Colorado — and we don’t expect that to change during tonight’s first debate. Gardner has stood by Trump’s side as he has botched the pandemic response, tried to gut the Affordable Care Act and its protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and sold out our public lands to corporate polluters.
Ahead of tonight’s first Colorado Senate debate, here are the top three lies that Gardner will peddle:
- “I will protect people with pre-existing conditions” - FALSE
- Gardner has spent a decade crusading against the Affordable Care Act — voting at least 13 times to repeal, gut, or defund the health care law, without a real replacement for people with pre-existing conditions. He even boasts on his website that he still wants to repeal the health care law and says the ACA is “unconstitutional.”
- Gardner will peddle a notorious sham bill that has been debunked six ways to Sunday, shredded by four independent fact checkers — even called “horse excrement” by 9News — and slammed by health care experts as a “political document” that would not actually protect people with pre-existing conditions.
- “I’ll protect public lands and the environment” - FALSE
- Gardner has earned an abysmal lifetime score of 11% from the League of Conservation Voters and earned a spot on their signature “Dirty Dozen” list by “supporting Trump and his anti-conservation agenda at seemingly every turn.” Despite Gardner’s desperate greenwashing ads — that use a fake environmental group — Coloradans overwhelmingly aren’t buying it and disapprove of Gardner’s handling of environmental issues.
- Gardner is blocking a decade-in-the-making collaborative bill to protect 400,000 acres of Colorado public lands.
- “I’m bipartisan” - FALSE
- Gardner is with Trump “100%,” votes with the president 98% of the time, votes with McConnell 95% of the time, confirmed 98% of Trump’s judicial picks, and supports McConnell’s partisan legislative tactics and political activity. Gardner even led the Republican campaign arm charged with defeating pragmatic Democrats and cementing McConnell’s partisan majority.
- The measure Gardner uses to tout his bipartisanship does not include actual votes.
- The Denver Post rescinded their 2014 endorsement after Gardner voted to let Trump raid millions from military construction, stating that the endorsement was a “mistake” and that Gardner has become “precisely what we said in our endorsement he would not be: ‘a political time-server interested only in professional security.’”
Gardner can try to hide from his record, but Coloradans won’t be fooled. Ahead of the debate, study up on Gardner’s real record at CoryFailedColorado.com.
NEW: Gardner Admits Stunt Health Care Vote Wasn’t Actually to Protect People With Pre-Existing Conditions
The Hill: Gardner claimed it was for an “opportunity to vote on my bill,” but that sham bill “would actually let insurance companies refuse to sell coverage to people with pre-existing conditions”
Gardner “did not reply to a follow-up question about whether he supports the GOP’s lawsuit”
Denver, CO - The Hill reports that Senator Cory Gardner admitted his election year stunt vote yesterday was actually just for an “opportunity to vote” on his sham health care bill that “would actually let insurance companies refuse to sell coverage to people with pre-existing conditions” -- not a vote to actually stand up for people with pre-existing conditions.
Aside from Gardner’s questionable take on Senate procedure, the vote comes as Gardner is desperately attempting to deceive Coloradans about his decade-long crusade against the Affordable Care Act and hide his support for the President Trump-backed lawsuit to repeal the ACA in the middle of a pandemic. Despite Gardner calling the health care law “unconstitutional,” he is dodging questions on the topic and refused to tell The Hill if he still supports the lawsuit after yesterday's vote.
Gardner supports Trump’s anti-ACA nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, who will likely have the opportunity to strike down the ACA after the Court hears the GOP’s lawsuit on November 10th. That’s the vote that matters.
See highlights of The Hill report below or full article HERE.
The Hill: GOP struggles to play defense on Trump's ObamaCare lawsuit
By Jesse Hellmann | October 2, 2020
- Republicans are struggling to show they support ObamaCare’s protections for people with pre-existing health conditions as the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in a Trump-backed lawsuit that seeks to overturn the entire health care law.
- Several Senate Republicans have found themselves playing defense, and on Thursday, six of them, who previously voted to repeal ObamaCare, voted with Democrats on a procedural motion to debate a bill that would block the Department of Justice from arguing against the law in court.
- “The bottom line is none of these bills replace the ACA, nor would they stem the increase in the number of people who would be uninsured should the ACA be struck down. No one should mistake these bills for any comprehensive plan.”
- Another bill, sponsored by Gardner, called the “Pre-Existing Conditions Protect Act” would actually let insurance companies refuse to sell coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, experts say. If an insurer did decide to sell a policy to someone with pre-existing conditions, under Gardner’s bill it could not refuse to not cover services related to that condition or charge them more based on their health status.
- Gardner told The Hill in a statement he voted with Democrats Thursday because “it would have provided an opportunity to vote on my bill to protect coverage with pre-existing conditions.”
- “I support having this important dialogue with my colleagues,” he said. His office did not reply to a follow-up question about whether he supports the GOP’s lawsuit.
- “Cory Gardner has voted over a dozen times to repeal, defund or weaken the ACA,” Hickenlooper tweeted Wednesday.
- “Cory Gardner can lie all he wants on TV — but the truth is, he will not protect your health care.”
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BS ALERT: Gardner Pulls Another Election Year Stunt, But He Can’t Hide His Record of Crusading Against ACA & Supporting Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee
Gardner committed to support Trump’s anti-ACA SCOTUS nominee a month before Court is slated to hear arguments in case to overturn the health care law
Denver, CO - Today, Senator Cory Gardner pulled another election year stunt to try to deceive voters about his decade-long crusade against the Affordable Care Act and support for the President Trump-backed lawsuit to repeal the ACA and gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions in the middle of a pandemic.
Gardner has already thrown his support behind this lawsuit, saying the health care law is “unconstitutional” and desperately dodging questions on the case slated to be heard just days after the election.
Gardner’s stunt is irrelevant because he still supports Trump’s anti-ACA nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, who has attacked the health care law and criticized a ruling to uphold the ACA. If confirmed before the election, she’ll have the opportunity to follow through when the Court hears the GOP’s lawsuit on November 10th.
Gardner has opposed protections for people with pre-existing conditions and voted at least 13 times to repeal, gut, or defund the ACA. Gardner also supported the GOP tax bill, which laid the groundwork for this latest lawsuit. Yet with weeks before the election, he’s been desperately trying to paper over his toxic health care record with a stunt bill that has been widely debunked by multiple independent fact-checkers and health care experts as nothing more than a “political document” that “expressly allow[s] insurance companies to deny people coverage.”
Coloradans won’t buy this latest stunt either.
Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Eli Rosen:
“Senator Cory Gardner has built his career trying to rip health care from hundreds of thousands of Coloradans and eliminate protections for millions of people with pre-existing conditions. Gardner’s latest stunt is a dishonest election year attempt to deceive voters on his real record of voting to take away health care — and his support for a Supreme Court nominee who threatens to do just that.”
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🚨RATING CHANGE🚨: Sabato’s Crystal Ball Moves Colorado Senate Further Toward Hickenlooper, Now “Likely Democratic”
Cook Political Report moved the Colorado Senate race toward Hickenlooper last week, saying Gardner’s decision on SCOTUS may well “seal his fate”
Republican Strategist: Gardner’s change of heart on the Supreme Court is especially clear-cut and damning
Denver, CO - This morning Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved the Colorado Senate race even further in favor of John Hickenlooper from “Leans Democratic” to “Likely Democratic.” Sabato’s rating change comes just a week after Cook Political Report shifted their rating in favor of Hickenlooper and a month after Politico moved their rating against Senator Cory Gardner as Hickenlooper “is consistently ahead of first-term GOP Sen. Cory Gardner.”
Gardner’s recent cave to President Trump’s pressure and “flip-flop” on his own 2016 commitment — pledging to rush through the anti-ACA and anti-choice Supreme Court nominee days before Coloradans start voting -- hasn’t done him any favors. The Crystal Ball says that the high stakes for Roe v. Wade and the Affordable Care Act make Gardner’s path even more unlikely:
The looming Supreme Court confirmation battle could also limit Gardner’s crossover appeal. Though it appears he’ll support Trump’s nominee, judge Amy Coney Barrett, Democrats have worked to define her as an opponent of abortion rights and of the Affordable Care Act. In 2014, Democrats probably overplayed the abortion issue against Gardner — then-Sen. Mark Udall (D) hammered Gardner’s pro-life stances ad nauseam. But with a 6-3 conservative court looking more like a reality, Udall’s former attacks may now seem less abstract. Even before the court vacancy, Gardner’s opposition to the ACA seemed to be hurting his electoral standing. So the coverage of the court hearings may emphasize two issues where Republicans are out of step with the Colorado electorate. This pushes our rating to Likely Democratic and emphasizes, in our ratings, that Gardner is clearly the most vulnerable Republican senator.
Even Republican strategists agree, saying that unaffiliated voters — who make up more than 40% of Colorado’s electorate — “don’t like any whiff of partisanship” and “Gardner’s change of heart on the Supreme Court is especially clear-cut and damning.”
The rating changes don’t come as a surprise, as poll after poll shows Gardner underwater or trailing Hickenlooper — most recently by 10 points — and Coloradans overwhelmingly believe Gardner is deceptive and prioritizes his loyalty to President Trump and his special interest donors ahead of standing up for our state.
For more on how Gardner has failed Coloradans check out CoryFailedColorado.com.
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Trump Rallies White Supremacists with “Stand Back, Stand By” Call, while Cambridge Analytica Targeted Black Voters for “Deterrence”
On the heels of last night’s Presidential debate, where Donald Trump called on the “Proud Boys” white supremacist group to “stand back” and “stand by”, the Colorado Democratic Party is calling on the Colorado Republican Party to not only condemn this statement, but to answer questions about the bombshell report that -- through the data firm Cambridge Analytica -- the Trump Campaign targeted Black, Latino, and Asian voters for “deterrence” of voting in 2016. In other words, vote suppression.
Morgan Caroll, Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, released the following statement:
“There’s a pattern emerging. Donald Trump not only refused to condemn white supremacy at last night’s debate, but in fact delivered a rallying cry for an extremist group to ‘stand by’. Given this statement by Donald Trump -- and the bombshell report that his campaign actively sought to ‘deter’ people of color from voting -- one can only conclude that the President is seeking the white supremacist vote and does not want to see people of color vote. That’s disturbing.
“Ken Buck and the Colorado Republican Party need to answer three very simple questions:
- Will they unequivocally condemn white supremacy when the head of their own party wouldn’t?
- Do they support Donald Trump’s rallying cry to the Proud Boys?
- Will they pledge to refrain from disinformation campaigns around voting, vote suppression tactics, or using any of the stolen data from Cambridge Analytica in Colorado campaigns in 2020?
“Colorado voters deserve answers.”
In 16 key battleground states, millions of Americans were separated by an algorithm into one of eight categories, also described as ‘audiences’, so they could then be targeted with tailored ads on Facebook and other platforms.
One of the categories was named ‘Deterrence’, which was later described publicly by Trump’s chief data scientist as containing people that the campaign “hope don’t show up to vote”.
Analysis by Channel 4 News shows Black Americans – historically a community targeted with voter suppression tactics – were disproportionately marked ‘Deterrence’ by the 2016 campaign.
In total, 3.5 million Black Americans in swing states were marked ‘Deterrence’.
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