Jan. 6th Committee Holds 9th Hearing, GOP Senate Candidate Joe O’Dea says Trump is Not Responsible
“I had friends that were at January 6… That’s a rally in my opinion.”
The House committee responsible for investigating the Jan. 6th attack will be holding its ninth public hearing today. Despite growing evidence that links Trump to Jan. 6th, GOP Senate candidate and Trump acolyte Joe O’Dea “said Trump does not deserve blame — even in part — for the events that unfolded on Jan. 6.”
“Joe O’Dea is ignoring glaring evidence and blindly following the MAGA Republican agenda to absolve Donald Trump of his connections to the insurrection. O’Dea is out of step with the majority of Americans who want Trump to be held accountable. This is a clear warning sign that O’Dea would put Trump ahead of working Coloradans every single time.” – Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado.
O’Dea downplayed the violent insurrection and called it a “rally” and said he “had friends that were at January 6.” Instead of denouncing threats to democracy, O’Dea proudly campaigns and fundraises with election fraud conspiracy theorists. One of his top donors, Wendy Ferland Meritt, is O’Dea’s business partner’s wife and attended the January 6th insurrection and spread conspiracy theories online.
While O’Dea thinks that Trump bears no blame, 61% of registered voters in America are in support of the U.S. House Select Committee’s investigation into Jan. 6th according to a recent Navigator poll.
5 Falsehoods to Expect from Heidi Ganahl at Tonight’s Debate
Republican Heidi Ganahl has been running for governor for over a year, and has used her platform to spread conspiracy theories and outright lies about Colorado.
Ahead of tonight’s Colorado gubernatorial debate hosted by CBS4, Colorado Sun and and KOA 850 AM, here are the top five lies that Ganahl will repeat to Coloradans:
“I’m not an election denier” – FALSE
Since the first day of her campaign, Ganahl has made claims that questions about 2020 were “divisive” and said she had to “win big” to overcome election rigging.
Ganahl praised an armed elections conspiracy group as “doing great things” and said the 2020 election was “shady.”
She nominated an election denier as her running mate.
The Washington Post declared her one of 5 election deniers running in Colorado’s midterm election.
2. “I kept tuition flat at CU” – FALSE
Ganahl voted three separate times to raise tuition and fees at CU, including a 3% raise on undergraduate nursing students during the pandemic.
Ganahl’s falsehood has even been formally corrected by the press.
3. “I won’t defund the police” – FALSE
Ganahl has pledged to halve the gas tax–which is the funding source for Colorado state troopers.
Economists explained Ganahl’s zero income tax plan would also likely defund law enforcement.
4. “Colorado inflation is highest in the nation, 15.6%” – FALSE
There’s no disputing that costs have risen, but Consumer Price Index data shows that inflation in Colorado is 8.2 percent as of July 2022, below the national average.
5.“Kids are identifying as cats in schools” – FALSE
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CBS “Reality Check” Confirms: Heidi Ganahl is on the Wrong Side of Colorado Voters
In her “Reality Check” segment on CBS, political specialist Shaun Boyd examined an ad on Heidi Ganahl’s record–and confirmed Ganahl’s extreme positions reflected in the ad are on the wrong side of Colorado voters.
Boyd’s analysis:
“[Ganahl] chose an election denier as her running mate”: FAIR.
“[Ganahl] called a Colorado law protecting abortion rights ‘disgusting’”: TRUE.
Ganahl said she would “rip up” RHEA, the law protecting abortion rights in Colorado: TRUE.
Boyd’s Bottom Line: “Most Coloradans are anti-Trump and pro-abortion, and this ad puts Ganahl on the opposite side of both issues–which, if you want to win statewide in Colorado, is not a good place to be.”
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Joe “The Boss” O’Dea Hurt and Underpaid Workers
“Joe O'Dea's record as an employer is drawing scrutiny to the campaign trail for dozens of worker safety and wage violations and multiple lawsuits.”
GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea’s problematic business record continues to be scrutinized following a report from the Denver Business Journal. Axios Denver points out that O’Dea’s “limited political record” forces him to lean into his business background which involves endangering the lives and wellbeing of his workers and underpaying them – which resulted in costly fines for multiple violations.
Since the start of his campaign, O’Dea has claimed to defend working Coloradans, however his troubling history of bad business practices suggests the opposite. O’Dea has also attributed his candidacy to his business and said he’s “interested in defending [his] business.”
Colorado AFL-CIO Executive Director Dennis Dougherty slammed O’Dea for “presenting himself as something he’s not,” and labeled him as a “corporate wolf in workers’ clothing.” In June, Colorado labor unions spoke out against O’Dea and rallied in front of his business.
According to the Denver Business Journal, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined O’Dea $135,000 for 28 safety worker violations. Additionally, O’Dea was hit with “26 violations of the Davis-Bacon and related acts regarding the payment of prevailing wage and 13 violations of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act for inadequate payment of workers.”
Read more below:
Axios Denver: Senate candidate Joe O'Dea's business record in the spotlight
Republican U.S. Senate candidate and construction company owner Joe O'Dea's record as an employer is drawing scrutiny to the campaign trail for dozens of worker safety and wage violations and multiple lawsuits.
Why it matters: O'Dea — a first-time candidate with a limited political record — is leaning on his business background to draw contrast to Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who has served since his 2009 appointment.
The Republican's pitch is to "rebuild" Washington.
Driving the news: O'Dea's Denver-based company Concrete Express Inc. — which now employs 300 people — since its founding in 1988 has been fined $135,000 by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 28 worker safety violations, the Denver Business Journal reports.
The most significant is a fine from 2008, after part of a floor collapsed at a Greenwood Village high-rise in 2007, injuring 13 employees of a subcontractor. O'Dea's company, which was fined $107,500, sued the subcontractor and entered into an undisclosed settlement.
Other fines over the years varied from $561 to $10,000.
Of note: O'Dea's company also was cited for 26 wage violations and 13 violations related to inadequate payment of workers since its founding in 1988.
What he's saying: "I think anybody who'd been involved in a business understands it because they've been a victim of it," the Republican candidate said in response to questions about the violations.
"I've got literally hundreds of employees who have worked here and retired here … I'm just going to stand by that record," he added.
Between the lines: Concrete Express initially stuck to its name, but expanded its scope to work on bridges, site development and water and recreation projects.
O'Dea said 85% of the company's projects are paid for by governments. And Colorado Newsline estimates Concrete Express has received $400 million from federal, state and local government contracts.
Prominent projects include Coors Field's parking lots, reconstruction of the Chatfield Dam reservoir and a new project to reconnect the Colorado River around Windy Gap Dam — the latter of which is possible after Bennet helped secure the funding.
Of note: O'Dea began construction work after high school and dropped out of college a semester early to start Concrete Express. He launched his career as a union contractor, but he has since dismissed unions, saying they "outlived a lot of their usefulness."
In turn, Dennis Dougherty, executive director of the Colorado AFL-CIO, which is backing Bennet, called O'Dea "a corporate wolf in worker's clothing."
The intrigue: O'Dea's critics, who are attempting to bring attention to his leadership at Concrete Express, are spotlighting two lawsuits against the company.
One involved a human resource manager who filed a 2019 lawsuit alleging age and disability discrimination after leaving the company. The case was settled with a non-disclosure agreement and O'Dea contends the evidence disputes the claims.
Another involved a Concrete Express gravel truck driver who killed a Boulder cyclist in 2006 and was cited for being overloaded with defective brakes. The company settled and the parties signed a non-disclosure agreement.
The other side: "He's highly respected in Colorado," the state Contractors Association leader Tony Milo said of O'Dea, who once led the organization and served on its board. "I think anyone who's trying to disparage him, or his company, is being purely political."
What's next: ProgressNow, a liberal advocacy organization, says it has identified more than 20 other parties injured by Concrete Express and is calling for O'Dea to release the parties from any limits on talking about the incidents.
O'Dea's campaign declined to respond to the demand when asked by Axios Denver.
Joe O’Dea’s Top Super PAC Megadonor is a Racist who Funded Border Wall & Trump’s Re-Election
“Mellon’s $4 million is the largest single contribution in support of O’Dea’s candidacy to date.”
Colorado Newsline reports that GOP megadonor Timothy Mellon has made “the largest single contribution in support of O’Dea’s candidacy to date.” The $4 million donation to GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea’s super PAC “is the second-largest donation Mellon has ever made in support of a single candidate.”
Despite O’Dea’s dishonest attempt to label himself as a moderate, all signs are pointing to O’Dea being a rubber stamp for the MAGA agenda. O’Dea said he would vote for Trump in 2024 and believes he bears no blame for the January 6th insurrection. He also doubled down on calling the Mar-a-Lago investigation a political stunt – and now his top financial supporter is a racist megadonor who funded Trump’s re-election and the border wall.
Mellon wrote a racist autobiography and said “Black people, in spite of heroic efforts by the ‘Establishment’ to right the wrongs of the past, became even more belligerent and unwilling to pitch in to improve their own situations.” According to Newsline, O’Dea told an interviewer last week he doesn’t “see color,” and his “exhortations to ‘get (workers) off the couch’ — align with much of the makers-and-takers rhetoric in Mellon’s book.”
But as Election Day approaches, he’s getting a big boost from a megadonor closer to home: the Wyoming-based heir to a 19th-century banking fortune who wrote in a self-published autobiography that Black people are “belligerent” and “unwilling to pitch in to improve their own situations.”
Timothy Mellon, the grandson of banking tycoon Andrew Mellon, donated $4 million to American Policy Fund, a super PAC that has spent heavily throughout the year on ads supporting O’Dea and attacking his opponents, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
…
Mellon’s $4 million is the largest single contribution in support of O’Dea’s candidacy to date. It exceeds both the $2.6 million that the Denver construction CEO has donated or loaned to his own campaign since announcing his run last year, and the $1.25 million that the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC affiliated with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said that it had donated to American Policy Fund on Monday.
The 80-year-old Mellon has been a prolific donor to conservative causes, donating more than $90 million to Republican political campaigns since 2018, FEC records show. Last year, he donated more than $53 million in stock to a fund set up by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to finance the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
O’Dea’s campaign did not respond to questions about O’Dea’s relationship with Mellon or whether he shares Mellon’s view of Black Americans.
…
Last month’s $4 million contribution to American Policy Fund is the second-largest donation Mellon has ever made in support of a single candidate, topped only by the $30 million he donated to a super PAC supporting former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign in 2020, according to FEC records.
In a statement, Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado said Mellon’s contribution proves O’Dea would be “a rubber stamp for the MAGA agenda.”
“Joe O’Dea would vote for Trump in 2024, he thinks Trump bears no blame for January 6th, and now he’s being backed by a racist Trump megadonor who is responsible for funding Trump’s medieval border wall,” Delgado said.
…
O’Dea has pitched himself to voters as a moderate, especially on social issues, and told an interviewer last week that “I don’t see color.” But his views on work and social spending — including exhortations to “get (workers) off the couch” — align with much of the makers-and-takers rhetoric in Mellon’s book.
Read more in Colorado Newsline.
ICYMI: Heidi Ganahl’s Tax Plan? “Naïve” and “Reckless,” Experts Say
Today, new analysis of Republican Heidi Ganahl’s zero income tax “plan” features serious criticism from Colorado economists and clearly indicates the extreme idea would defund schools and law enforcement while forcing municipalities to increase other taxes.
“It’s naive, to say the least,” said University of Colorado political economist Sven Steinmo, adding that it was an “easy thing to promise…but the state of Colorado would essentially shut down.”
Other experts also criticized the proposal’s vagueness, and concluded from what little we do know that local governments would have to raise taxes on property or sales, or make major cuts in education, roads, and law enforcement.
Added Bell Policy Center President Scott Wasserman: “When you say reckless things like ‘We can cut the state income tax to zero and everything will be fine,’ you’re intentionally misleading and miseducating voters and it leads to confusion and frustration.”
“Reckless. Naive. Bulls#*t. Experts agree, Heidi Ganahl’s one idea to cut costs for Coloradans is completely out-of-touch. ” –Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Kailee Stiles
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Joe O’Dea Would Hurt Colorado Latinos
“[O’Dea] is just another anti-immigrant Republican who supports harmful policies that will hurt Colorado’s Latinos.”
GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea is under fire for his ignorant claims about Colorado’s Latino and Hispanic communities. Former state Representative Bri Buentello slammed O’Dea for attempting to win over Latinos by using his wife’s ethnicity as justification for his support for Tom Cotton and Ron DeSantis.
Buentello was in the crowd with her family while O’Dea arrogantly claimed that he didn’t need a Hispanic outreach program and flubbed the word “Chicano” and said “Chiquito.” O’Dea tried to recover by saying “Latinos in Denver, Chicanos down here. I understand it,” to which Buentello fired back and writes: “If O’Dea truly ‘understands it,’ he would be able to pronounce ‘Chicanos’ without staff coming to his rescue; he would also know that many Chicanos, Hispanics, and Latinos live in Denver, Pueblo, Greeley and all across the state.”
Buentello argues that O’Dea “was blatantly trying to have it both ways by paying lip service to the Latino community and our values while praising DeSantis for ostensibly kidnapping and trafficking Venezuelan asylum seekers for a political stunt and backing Trump’s border wall.”
Read more below:
Colorado Newsline: Joe O’Dea thinks he understands Latinos, but he doesn’t
Does O’Dea understand, or even just care, about Latino communities and our values, or is he just saying whatever he can to get elected?
It would be an understatement to say he seemed overconfident when he proclaimed that he “didn’t need a Hispanic outreach program.” Then O’Dea tried to soften the blow by saying his wife’s heritage and employees would suffice as his outreach.
However, O’Dea may be shocked to discover that there are over 1.2 million Latinos in Colorado — and if he’s serious about winning, he should try spending time with Colorado Latinos and focus on having a robust outreach program instead of trying to prove that he’s something he’s not.
The crowd began to murmur at this embarrassing answer. Then a visibly flustered O’Dea stumbled and referenced “Chiquitos” as he tried to talk about “Chicanos,” which riled up the crowd.
“Latinos in Denver, Chicanos down here. I understand it,” he blurted as he tried to recover.
If O’Dea truly “understands it,” he would be able to pronounce “Chicanos” without staff coming to his rescue; he would also know that many Chicanos, Hispanics, and Latinos live in Denver, Pueblo, Greeley and all across the state.
It seemed like he was blatantly trying to have it both ways by paying lip service to the Latino community and our values while praising DeSantis for ostensibly kidnapping and trafficking Venezuelan asylum seekers for a political stunt and backing Trump’s border wall.
…
His staunch support for a reckless and costly Trump policy makes him untrustworthy.
…
O’Dea hopes that by using his wife’s Mexican heritage, Latino and Hispanic voters will trust him.
But it takes much more than just being married to the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants to win over the trust of Latino and Hispanic communities across Colorado. Once voters look beyond who O’Dea is married to and his staged acts to appear likable, they will see that he is just another anti-immigrant Republican who supports harmful policies that will hurt Colorado’s Latinos.
Read more in Colorado Newsline.
Joe O’Dea Campaigns with Anti-Abortion Extremists 1 Month Out From Election Day
O’Dea contradicts himself by voting for abortion ban and campaigning with anti-abortion Republicans during Denver Womxn’s March
GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea continues to undermine his own misleading claims on abortion by campaigning with anti-abortion extremists Tim Scott and Barbara Kirkmeyer. This comes on the heels of O’Dea signing a petition to put an abortion ban on Colorado’s 2020 ballot which sparked outrage because it is “at odds with his position on abortion today.”
“Joe O’Dea can lie all he wants about abortion, but campaigning with anti-abortion Republicans and a disturbing record of supporting an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest proves that he can’t be trusted. He would give McConnell and MAGA Republicans the majority they need to pass a national abortion ban.” – Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado
O’Dea is campaigning today with Tim Scott who is “committed to protecting the unborn” and voted for a 20-week abortion ban. While Coloradans unite in Denver tomorrow for the Womxn’s March, O’Dea will join congressional candidate Barbara Kirkmeyer who signed a petition in support of personhood, opposes abortion in all cases, and vote to ban the Plan B abortion pill.
Joe “The Boss” O’Dea Hurt and Underpaid Workers
“[Joe O’Dea] is presenting himself as something he’s not… He is a corporate wolf in workers’ clothing.”
A new report from the Denver Business Journal revealed GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea endangered the lives and wellbeing of his workers and underpaid them – resulting in costly fines for multiple violations. Since the start of his campaign, O’Dea has claimed to defend working Coloradans, however his troubling history of bad business practices suggests the opposite. O’Dea has also attributed his candidacy to his business and said he’s “interested in defending [his] business.”
Colorado AFL-CIO Executive Director Dennis Dougherty slammed O’Dea for “presenting himself as something he’s not,” and labeled him as a “corporate wolf in workers’ clothing.” In June, Colorado labor unions spoke out against O’Dea and rallied in front of his business.
According to the Denver Business Journal, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined O’Dea $135,000 for 28 safety worker violations. Additionally, O’Dea was hit with “26 violations of the Davis-Bacon and related acts regarding the payment of prevailing wage and 13 violations of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act for inadequate payment of workers.”
Read more below:
Denver Business Journal: What does Joe O'Dea's record as an employer mean to his Senate campaign?
O'Dea has no record of legislative accomplishments or public votes on which he can run but instead is framing his campaign as that of someone who has for years been bettering the lives of working-class Coloradans.
That is why scrutiny is turning now to the Republican's history as an employer and the differing views that skeptics and supporters hold about his company. O’Dea’s ads tout that he started his career as a union contractor. But he also said on the Mandy Connell Show on KOA in February that he thinks unions have “outlived a lot of their usefulness.”
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Since its 1988 founding, Concrete Express has gotten hit with $135,000 in fines for 28 worker safety violations by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, according to information available on the OSHA website. It also was the target of a since-settled 2019 age and disability lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Colorado to which O'Dea detractors have drawn attention.
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“O’Dea is selling hardworking Coloradans a bill of goods, and he is presenting himself as something he’s not,” said Dougherty, whose organization has endorsed Bennet. “He is a corporate wolf in workers’ clothing.”
…
But in 2007, part of the floor collapsed at a Greenwood Village high-rise building where a crew was pouring concrete, injuring 13 employees of a subcontractor working for Concrete Express… OSHA fined Concrete Express $107,500, according to public records, citing it for violating rules regarding maximum intended loads and other worker safety requirements. It is the largest fine that the federal agency imposed on Concrete Express.
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OSHA also cited the business for 26 violations of the Davis-Bacon and related acts regarding the payment of prevailing wage and 13 violations of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act for inadequate payment of workers. It ordered the company to compensate $16,782 in back pay to 13 employees between March 2010 and March 2012.
Read the full story in the Denver Business Journal.
Washington Post: Heidi Ganahl is an Election Denier
Today, the Washington Post included GOP Gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl on their tracker of Republican candidates who have outright questioned and denied the results of the 2020 election.
Ganahl has not only appointed an election denier as her running mate, she herself has called into question the legitimacy of the election, saying at a campaign event that there was “shady stuff” after the 2020 election.
Prominent believers in the Big Lie have accused Ganahl of lying about her real views on the election. Major election conspiracist Joe Oltmann mentioned Ganahl in a recent video, saying she “sang a very different song” to him regarding the 2020 election in December of that year.
Ganahl has also repeatedly surrounded herself with election deniers, bringing Boris Epshteyn and Brad Parscale on as advisors to her campaign earlier this year, and defending John Eastman, the legal architect of the Jan. 6 coup attempt. Ganahl even exchanged emails attempting to meet with Eastman last year and insisted he was “fantastic” after he wrote a racist op-ed about Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
She also told an election conspiracy group to “keep pushing hard” at an event last November.
"Heidi Ganahl has shown distrust in Colorado’s election since the first day of her campaign. Now even the national media has made it clear: Ganahl is an election denier. She can’t be trusted to run our state.” –Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Kailee Stiles
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Joe O’Dea Built Fortune on Gov’t Contracts & Slammed for Hypocrisy
“O’Dea is now fully onboard the GOP hypocrisy train: he hates government spending, unless it is for his own business.”
GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea is receiving brutal criticism for boarding the “GOP hypocrisy train” and condemning government spending while he has built a fortune off of taxpayer money. Colorado Politics columnist Hal Bidlack slams O’Dea and writes that O’Dea doesn’t “get to sip at the public trough for decades and then denounce that very same type of funding that put your business over the top in the first place.”
Last week, Colorado Newsline reported that wealthy self-funder O’Dea has made a substantial fortune off of government contracts for his business. Public records show that O’Dea has benefited from more than $400 million in government contracts mostly within the last 15 years.
O’Dea has repeatedly campaigned on “reckless” federal spending and touts the success of his business, however he fails to tell Coloradans that his business’ success is largely attributed to taxpayer money. When making arguments to cut spending, O’Dea has suggested making cuts to critical programs like Medicare and Social Security – while approving spending that benefits his bottom line.
Colorado Politics: BIDLACK | O'Dea often sipped at government trough
I mention this hypocrisy to help frame yet another example of such GOP fuzziness with the truth as seen in a recent report. That story noted that GOP senate candidate Joe O’Dea seems to by “pulling a Cruz,”...
…He keeps telling us that he is a moderate who will vote against Mitch McConnell and the MAGA folks.
Those claims fair less well when it is noted that O’Dea has bent the knee in appearances with McConnell and has reached out to the far-right folks for support, while also trying to “pull a Cruz” by indicating his alleged “moderate” positions, but that’s all old news.
But the story above noted that while O’Dea embraces the standard GOP yelping about making government smaller, he himself has massively profited from lots and lots of government contracts and spending. Recently, for example, O’Dea showed up at the groundbreaking ceremony for an environmental mitigation project on the Western Slope.
It makes sense that Bennet, as one of our senators, would be there. But oddly, it also makes sense for O’Dea to be there. Not because he is an elected official, but because his company is the project’s general contractor. That’s $14 million of our tax dollars going to the company of a guy who, at least to some, argues there should be less government spending.
Now, if that one project was the entirety of his governmental largess, that wouldn’t mean too much. Big companies often have governmental contracts. But as is reported in the story, O’Dea has been very, very busy pursuing tax dollars and government contracts for years. The vast majority of CEI’s business comes from governmental entities, with millions and millions of federal, state and local tax dollars finding their way to O’Dea’s company and to his pocket.
All this while on his official website, O’Dea attacks the Dems over, you guessed it, government spending. So, O’Dea hates government spending, unless, it appears, that spending requires the services of a certain company named CEI.
…you don’t get to sip at the public trough for decades and then denounce that very same type of funding that put your business over the top in the first place.
O’Dea “pulled a Cruz” in his two-faced pronouncements on government spending. When tilting toward the left, he calls (through a campaign spokesperson) the environmental project noted above as “an ecologically responsible project that will help wildlife and help conserve Colorado water.” But when he tilts right, he denounces big government and big government spending.
…
But the evidence suggests, it seems to me, that O’Dea is now fully onboard the GOP hypocrisy train: he hates government spending, unless it is for his own business.
Ted Cruz would be proud.
ICYMI: Ganahl Quadruples Down on “Furries” Conspiracy Theory; National Media Takes Note
LGBTQ Community Pushes Back
Over the weekend, GOP gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl repeatedly insisted in multiple interviews and during a town hall on Sunday that kids in Colorado are “identifying as cats” and “furries” in school. They are not.
Jarrod Munger, Chair of the Stonewall Democrats of Colorado, Assistant Secretary for the Colorado Democratic Party, and Chair of the Morgan County Democrats made the following statement:
“It’s unbelievable that Republicans like Heidi Ganahl would resort to criticizing children instead of believing in them and supporting them. Democrats will continue to be the party of inclusion, especially for those hurt by these heartless conspiracies.”
The Colorado Democratic Party also released the following statement on behalf of One Colorado:
"Heidi Ganahl's recent comments on 'furries in schools' is an insidious attack on the most marginalized in our society. Ganahl is presenting a disparaging attack on LGBTQ+ youth and it demonstrates her clear lack of integrity and intention to represent all Coloradans. We encourage Colorado voters to support a candidate for Governor this fall who chooses to uplift rather than harm fellow Coloradans.”
One Colorado is a 501(c)(4) organization that conducts lobbying and advocacy efforts on behalf of LGBTQ+ Coloradans and their families.
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Joe O’Dea Signed Petition to Put Abortion Ban on Colorado Ballot
“O’Dea’s vote and his petition signature we now know about are at odds with his position on abortion today.”
In case you missed it, the Colorado Sun reported last week that GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea not only voted for an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape and incest, he also signed the petition to put it on the ballot. Kyle Clark from 9News points out that this recent development in O’Dea’s position is “at odds with his position on abortion today.”
O’Dea is proving to Coloradans that he can’t be trusted on a wide range of issues. Colorado Sun columnist Mike Littwin emphasizes this point in his latest column and writes: “O’Dea now says his beliefs have changed since 2020. And while we often hear of religious epiphanies, it’s fair to be at least slightly more skeptical of political epiphanies.”
9News Denver:
Axios Denver: Colorado Senate candidate Joe O'Dea backed tougher abortion ban to make 2020 ballot
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe O'Dea signed a petition to put a measure on the Colorado ballot in 2020 that would ban all abortions after 22 weeks, including in cases of rape and incest.
Why it matters: O'Dea's position on abortion is a central issue in the race against Democratic incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet. And the revelation — first reported by the Colorado Sun — raises new questions about where O'Dea stands on the issue.
His daughter appears in a campaign commercial saying her father "supports a woman's right to choose." And O'Dea has stated he supports Roe v. Wade, but that's not the full picture.
The backstory: O'Dea's campaign told Axios Denver he would support a prohibition on abortion after 20 weeks, including exceptions for situations involving rape, incest and threats to the mother's life.
But the candidate made clear he wouldn't pursue legislation seeking a ban.
Yes, but: The latest details about his work to get Proposition 115 on the 2020 ballot suggest otherwise.
He previously acknowledged voting for the measure, which he said he didn't fully consider. It only allows exceptions to the 22-week ban if the physical life of the mother is at risk.
The other side: Bennet supports Colorado's law that protects unfettered abortion access.
ICYMI: Ganahl’s Tax Plan Derided as “Bull–” at Forum
Last week at Colorado Concern’s gubernatorial forum, moderator and former Denver Post publisher Dean Singleton looked at flailing GOP candidate Heidi Ganahl’s details-free tax plan and called it what it is: “bulls#*t.”
When Singleton again asked for details on the plan, Ganahl sniped: “Can’t you just assume my plan works?”
Ganahl promised her full plan would be published in June, but so far has not provided key information about how she would keep the state government running after the loss of over $11 billion in income taxes.
Without a plan, close observers, including Singleton in Friday’s forum, have speculated that the hole in the general fund would mean massive cuts to funding for education, corrections, or other core state services.
“Under even the slightest pressure, MAGA Heidi shows again what was clear long ago: her promised “plans” have no substance.” –Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Kailee Stiles
Partial Transcript:
HOST
Do you actually believe the voters will believe that you can cut the state income tax in the state income tax and cut gasoline tax in half and you think voters will actually believe that?
GANAHL
They believe it because we can, I have economists helping me figure this out.
…
HOST
I don't want to belabor it. You still have told us how you're going to run the government with no state income tax, and with half of getting tax. It makes it a good soundbite. But for most of us who understand state government, it's just totally bull–. So tell me. Come on.
GANAHL
A lot of people across Colorado think the current government's total bull– right now. I hate to say it.
HOST
But you still gotta give [details], you just can't say it.
…
HOST
What would you do to fix crime? Knowing that you're not gonna have any money to do it. What would you do?
GANAHL
Dean I keep explaining how this is going to work, now this is gonna work. So can you just assume that my plan works?
HOST
That’s a pretty big assumption, I don't believe anyone in this room believes that but if you do…
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Ganahl’s Tax “Plan”? “Total Bull–.”
Today, Heidi Ganahl’s idea to cut costs was called out as “bulls#*t” at the gubernatorial forum held by Colorado Concern, a business-friendly interest group.
The moderator, former Denver Post publisher Dean Singleton, pressed Ganahl on her ludicrous proposal, which would likely defund Colorado’s public schools and correctional facilities.
Ganahl was asked no less than three times during the 25 minute interview to explain how she would eliminate the state income tax and cut the gas tax in half without completely defunding the state budget and cutting core services.
When Ganahl, predictably, still did not answer the question about how she would backfill the state’s coffers to the tune of $11 billion, Singleton said what had to be on everyone’s mind: “It’s a nice soundbite but it’s just total bulls#*t.”
Ganahl added insult to injury in the following exchange:
HOST: How would you fix crime? Knowing that you're not going to have any money to do it?
GANAHL: Dean, I keep explaining how this is going to work, now this is gonna work. So can you just assume that my plan works?
HOST: That's a pretty big assumption, I don't believe anyone in this room believes that but if you do…
“The moderator today asked an important question: Will voters believe Heidi’s batty plan will actually save them money? Coloradans aren’t fools, which makes the answer clear: No.” –Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Kailee Stiles
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Joe O’Dea Signed Petition to Put Abortion Ban With No Exceptions for Rape or Incest on Colorado Ballot and Voted YES
“The revelation further complicates O’Dea’s portrayal of himself as an abortion-rights Republican.”
The Colorado Sun broke news today revealing that GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea, who is misleading Coloradans on abortion, signed the petition to put an abortion ban on Colorado’s 2020 ballot known as Prop 115. O’Dea voted in favor of the failed ballot measure.
“This bombshell development confirms what Coloradans already know. Joe O’Dea can lie all he wants about abortion, but his disturbing record of supporting an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest proves that he can’t be trusted. He would give McConnell and MAGA Republicans the majority they need to pass a national abortion ban.” – Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado
The Colorado Sun Unaffiliated Newsletter reports:
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe O’Dea didn’t just vote for a 2020 ballot measure that would have banned abortions in Colorado after 22 weeks of pregnancy. He signed a petition to get Proposition 115 on the ballot that year.
O’Dea signed the petition on Feb. 26, 2020, according to documents from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office that The Colorado Sun reviewed on Thursday.
His signature was the first below an explanation of what Proposition 115 would do: “prohibiting an abortion when the probably gestational age of the fetus is at least 22 weeks and, in connection therewith, making it a misdemeanor punishable by a fine to perform or attempt to perform a prohibited abortion, except when the abortion is immediately required to save the life of the pregnant woman or when her life is physically threatened.”
The revelation further complicates O’Dea’s portrayal of himself as an abortion-rights Republican. Proposition 115 failed 59% to 41%, an 18 percentage point margin.
MORE: Colorado State Senator Jessie Danielson called out O’Dea for misleading reporters and voters on his anti-choice record and said, “Republican Joe O'Dea [...] owes apologies to both the voters and the many reporters whom he has deceived about his extreme anti-abortion record. Criminalizing doctors and punishing victims of rape and incest do not make you ‘pro-choice.’”
ICYMI: Heidi Ganahl Revealed her Extreme Agenda for Colorado
Last night’s gubernatorial debate in Pueblo showed Coloradans who Heidi Ganahl really is: an out-of-touch extremist.
Ganahl:
Dismissed inconvenient facts like her running mate’s conspiracies as fake news because it doesn’t fit her extreme agenda. Then doubled down on her pick of an election denying conspiracy theorist for a running mate.
Wants to defund K-12 schools and take away universal pre-K, diminishing how important it is for families to have access to great education and the need to save them an estimated $10,000 on school.
Ran away from her own policy proposal to cut gas fees and refused to explain how she would fill the hole in the state budget from her 0% income tax idea.
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Polis Claims Victory in First Face-Off Against MAGA Heidi
Pueblo, CO– Today at the first gubernatorial debate in Pueblo, Governor Jared Polis proved he’s focused on doing what’s right for Coloradans, while Ganahl once again shouted without solutions.
The Colorado Democratic Party released the following statement from Chair Morgan Carroll on tonight’s debate:
“Heidi’s mission is clear: to force her MAGA agenda on Colorado. Coloradans aren’t interested in Trump extremism, they want someone who can get the job done–that’s why Governor Polis is the right choice for voters this fall.”
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Joe O’Dea Decries “Reckless” Gov’t Spending While He Built a Fortune on Gov’t Contracts
O’Dea made over $400 million in gov’t contracts but says his “business ran the best when we had the least amount of help from our government.”
A new report from Colorado Newsline reveals that wealthy self-funder and GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea who decries government spending has made a substantial fortune off of government contracts for his business. Public records show that O’Dea has benefited from more than $400 million in government contracts mostly within the last 15 years.
O’Dea has repeatedly campaigned on “reckless” federal spending and touts the success of his business, however he fails to tell Coloradans that his business’ success is largely attributed to taxpayer money. When making arguments to cut spending, O’Dea has suggested making cuts to critical programs like Medicare and Social Security – while approving spending that benefits his bottom line.
“Coloradans have yet another reason to vote against self-serving CEO Joe O’Dea. He threatens to cut funding for critical programs that help seniors and working Americans while he builds his fortune with taxpayer money. Worse yet, he insults hardworking people and says they need to ‘get off the couch.’ O’Dea can’t be trusted because he would join McConnell and MAGA Republicans in approving a far-right agenda that benefits wealthy CEOs like himself.” – Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado
As a civil construction company, CEI gets the vast majority of its business from city and county governments, funded overwhelmingly by a mix of local, state and federal dollars. After more than 30 years in business, managing these publicly-funded projects has made O’Dea a wealthy man — and now that wealth is helping propel a Senate campaign whose No. 1 priority, O’Dea says, is slashing government spending.
The dissonance hasn’t gone unnoticed.
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When asked about CEI’s government contracts in a FOX31 interview earlier this month, the first-time candidate sought to make a distinction between other kinds of federal spending and “dollars that are being invested in assets here in Colorado.”
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A Newsline review of publicly available records found more than $400 million in government contracts awarded to CEI by state and local government entities, most of them within the last 15 years. The combined figure likely represents only a portion of the publicly-funded work the company has undertaken since its founding in 1986.
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It’s been a highly lucrative business for CEI’s founder and CEO. In a personal financial disclosure filed earlier this year, O’Dea estimated his net worth at between $17 and $80 million, with CEI stock valued at between $5 million and $25 million, representing his largest single asset.
He’s invested a total of more than $1.6 million of that fortune in his Senate campaign, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures. O’Dea’s early self-funding was key to his strategy in securing the GOP nomination, allowing him to qualify for the June primary ballot via an expensive signature-gathering effort rather than a state party assembly dominated by far-right conspiracy theorists.
Though CEI’s record isn’t spotless — it’s faced penalties for safety violations, including for a 2007 roof collapse in Greenwood Village that injured 13 workers…
But he has been a relentless critic of what he calls “reckless” federal spending under President Joe Biden, including the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill passed in March 2021, and the Inflation Reduction Act, a package of health care and clean energy measures enacted this year. O’Dea said of the latter bill that he “didn’t see anything in there that I like.”
“They’ve got to quit spending,” he told an interviewer earlier this month. “We’ve got to stifle the spending. We’ve got to slow that down.”
“Priority one,” O’Dea’s website says, is to “reduce Biden-era spending to reduce inflation and the deficit.”
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O’Dea, too, has continued to endorse substantial infrastructure investments while drawing a hard line against social spending like health care subsidies and Biden’s plan for student debt relief, arguing that such measures are fueling inflation and amount to an “embrace of socialism by the political elites in Washington.” He has faulted pandemic-era relief measures for “making it too easy not to work,” stressing the need to “get (workers) off the couch,” and has also suggested cuts to longstanding entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
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As O’Dea pitches his small-government message to Colorado voters, his ads and campaign materials have put little emphasis on the specific nature of CEI’s business, while his supporters praise him as a “self-made” entrepreneur. And in another radio interview earlier this year, the candidate who reaped the benefits of hundreds of millions in government funding offered a different interpretation of his success as he promised to “start hacking back this government.”
“We don’t need all that help,” said O’Dea. “My business ran the best when we had the least amount of help from our government.”
Read more in Colorado Newsline.
MAGA Heidi Perpetuates Anti-LGBTQ Hoax, Claims to Care About Youth Mental Health
Says Kids are “Identifying As Cats”
Facing a double-digit deficit in the gubernatorial race, Colorado GOP candidate Heidi Ganahl has devolved into repeating outright lies–targeting marginalized children, no less.
Yesterday, 9NEWS reported on Ganahl’s bizarre claim that kids in Colorado schools are “identifying as cats.” When 9NEWS asked for evidence, the Ganahl campaign only provided an uncredited photo of an animal costume.
This hoax has been thoroughly discredited, and LGBTQ advocates have made clear that this is a far-right conspiracy theory meant to invalidate trans youth, much like claims of bestiality were used to undermine the gay marriage equality movement.
As 9NEWS anchor Kyle Clark noted, the reality is that youth suicide is estimated to be six times higher in trans youth, largely as a result of the kind of harassment that Ganahl is perpetuating.
“Heidi Ganahl’s use of this anti-trans hoax targeting kids is not only false, it is cruel. But this is exactly the extremism we’ve come to expect from her.” –Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Kailee Stiles