Dear Leader Trump Threatens Armed Soldiers in Streets

10
  by: Colorado Pols June 1, 2020 at 4:46 PM MDT

Via CNN (6/1/20)

On Monday evening, President Trump at last addressed a nation reeling from nationwide protests. It went worse than you even could have guessed.

As The New York Times reports:

In his first remarks from the White House since massive protests have swept the country, President Trump said Monday evening that the looting and violent demonstrations in reaction to the death of George Floyd in police custody were “acts of domestic terror.”

Speaking in the Rose Garden as protesters and law enforcement held a tense standoff outside, Mr. Trump said he planned for a police and law enforcement presence to “dominate the streets” and said he would respond with an “overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled.”

If governors were unable to end the violence, he said, he would send in the military “to do the job for them.”

As NPR notes:

The president’s Rose Garden remarks came as just across the street, law enforcement officers deployed tear gas and shot rubber bullets at peaceful protesters.

Trump’s remarks came amid reports that the president may try to enact the Insurrection Act in response to protests. Earlier in the day, Trump berated the nation’s governors during a conference call for a “weak” response to the protests.

After delivering his remarks, Trump was scheduled to walk to St. John’s church in Washington D.C., but not before crowds were cleared out of the way:

This is America?

“Antifa” Slapped With “Terrorist” Label? KNAZI Sure Hopes So

14
  by: Colorado Pols June 1, 2020 at 12:28 PM MDT

KNUS host Steffan Tubbs, ex-KNUS producer Kirk Widlund.

CNN reports on yet another controversy caused by the simple act of thinking through a Tweet from President Donald Trump to its logical conclusion:

President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that the United States will designate Antifa as a terrorist organization, even though the US government has no existing legal authority to label a wholly domestic group in the manner it currently designates foreign terrorist organizations.

Current and former government officials say it would be unconstitutional for the US government to proscribe First Amendment-protected activity inside the US based on simple ideology. [Pols emphasis] US law allows terrorist designations for foreign groups since belonging to those groups doesn’t enjoy the same protections.

Antifa, short for anti-fascists, describes a broad group of people whose political beliefs lean toward the left — often the far left — but do not conform with the Democratic Party platform.

Antifa positions can be hard to define, but many members support oppressed populations and protest the amassing of wealth by corporations and elites. Some employ radical or militant tactics to get out their messages.

We weren’t initially decided on whether or not this latest probable empty threat via Twitter from the President of the United States against far-left activists was worth its own blog post. For one thing, our understanding of the “Antifa” movement is that is rejects organization, and self-organized autonomous bands of people engage in all kinds of activity under the brand from online to direct action. With that said, we want to be absolutely clear that do not condone any kind of violence, property destruction, or any other criminal activity by any person or group.

But to label “Antifa” as terrorists, with all that entails in the post-9/11 world, is a frightening prospect.

Here in Colorado, the Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists group in particular has proven to be an accurate source of information about far-right and unapologetic neo-Nazi movements–unmasking a local white supremacist activist serving in the Air Force in Colorado Springs and more recently the not-so-secret Nazi double online life of Kirk Widlund, now fired producer at local conservative AM radio station 710 KNUS where top-shelf Colorado Republicans like Sen. Cory Gardner regularly appear.

Because Antifa by design has no hierarchy, there’s no “group” for law enforcement to target–just individuals, and under terrorism laws those who have provided “material support.” Because these are Americans acting autonomously, there’s no qualifying connection to foreign terrorism to permit those laws to apply. All Trump will most likely succeed in doing with this threat is to motivate his supporters to all every kid wearing black with a bandanna as a face mask a “terrorist.” No doubt to Nazis outed by Colorado Springs Antifa, it would feel like sweet justice.

For the rest of us, plenty of whom will never identify as any kind of radical, this is playing with authoritarian fire.

House GOP Statement Vile Even For Pat Neville

16
  by: Colorado Pols June 1, 2020 at 9:14 AM MDT

Colorado House Minority Leader Patrick Neville (R).

Yesterday afternoon, the Colorado House Republican Minority released a statement we assume they thought was very strong: demanding that Democrats “outright condemn” the last several days of protests over the killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, and essentially accusing Democratic lawmakers of supporting the violence committed by a tiny minority of protesters:

Over the past several days, chaos has erupted in the streets of Denver while supportive Democrats have shut down the State Capitol in “solidarity” with the rioters who have attacked police officers, blocked traffic, and destroyed public and private property. Some elected Democrats have actually gone out of their way to do everything they can to block police from stopping the rioters and restoring law and order.

Even more egregious, is that Colorado Democrats and Governor Polis will take swift action against business owners who try to reopen their small businesses and make ends meet, but will give “space” to criminals who start fires in the streets, lob homemade explosives at police, and deface the State Capitol in defiance of the rule of law.

The Colorado House Republicans call on all Democrats, starting with the House and Senate Democrats, to outright condemn these rioters.

We further call on Democrats to not block the prosecution of these criminals like they did in January when rioters disrupted the opening day of the Colorado General Assembly.

It’s time that Colorado Democrats, and the liberal press who enable them, take steps to condemn what’s happening around the State Capitol and see what’s most important here — protecting the innocent from harm and restoring law and order immediately.

It’s tough to know where to begin with this statement, which seems to ignore just about every known fact about the protests of the past few days. Democrats like Rep. Leslie Herod who have led the massive and peaceful daytime protests against police violence repeatedly urged their supporters to obey the law. Rep. Herod specifically exhorted protesters to respect the curfew imposed in Denver after the second night of unrest.

And that’s just the beginning. Did riot police deploy to restaurants that illegally reopened during the COVID-19 emergency? A few dozen climate activists who super-glued themselves to the rail in the House gallery are “a riot?” House Republicans are seriously suggesting that Senate President Leroy Garcia wanted his truck destroyed?

Failing to differentiate the peaceful protests across the nation and in Denver over the weekend from the actions of a comparatively small number of hoodlums after dark shows that Republicans don’t want to address “what’s most important here,” which is police brutality against people of color. Characterizing this weekend’s protests indiscriminately as “riots” only demonstrates that platitudes Republicans offer over police brutality in the wake of a major incident, like Colorado House Republicans did last week after the death of George Floyd, are meaningless.

We’re not surprised that’s how Minority Leader Pat Neville feels, after Neville has spent pretty much every day since the 2018 elections marginalizing his caucus and sullying the Republican brand. But to see the whole GOP House minority sign this disgraceful letter…

Well, that’s pretty shocking. And we hope there are some privately delivered apologies.

Denver Police Seized Assault Rifles from Anti-Govt Gun Activists at Friday Night Protest

15
  by: Erik Maulbetsch May 31, 2020 at 6:24 PM MDT

(This would seem to confirm the worst fears – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

During a vehicle search near the downtown Denver protest on Friday evening, police officers seized several military-style assault rifles from anti-government gun enthusiasts who call themselves “Boogaloo Bois.”

Most peaceful protesters had left downtown Denver by the time police searched a car that had been occupied by a group of young men, one of whom was wearing a military-style vest.

They found several semi-automatic assault rifles, numerous magazines and other weapons in the trunk.

CPR reporter Allison Sherry tweeted an image of the seizure:

Chevy McGee, a 20-year-old anti-government gun enthusiast who lives in Fort Collins, claims to own some of the weapons.

In a May 30 Facebook post, McGee shared the same image, writing, “Shout out to Denver PD for stealing our shit last night. None of this left the trunk of our car, and they said they had reasonable suspicion because someone called that’s why they searched it. They cuffed us and let us go after 30 minutes.”

McGee also alleges in the Facebook protest that the officers told him someone called the police after seeing one of his group wearing a military-style plate-carrier vest, which allows the wearer to add ballistic protection. McGee states that neither he nor his associates open-carried their rifles.

“Open carry is illegal in Denver and we did not have enough guys to open carry so I don’t wanna hear it,” wrote McGee on Facebook.

McGee’s Facebook account “NotChevyMcGee” appears to have replaced his previous account using his correct name. It was from that older account that McGee made news earlier this month.

CBS Denver featured a portion of McGee’s May 1 livestream as part of its report on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s arrest of his associate Brad Bunn for possessing pipe bombs.

McGee and Bunn were among a group of gun rights activists who intended to open-carry firearms at the state Capitol during the May Day “Reopen Colorado” protest. Open carrying is illegal in Denver, but they hoped to have so many armed supporters that police officers would decline to enforce the law.

(more…)

Second Night of Denver Violence Raises Troubling Questions

5
  by: Colorado Pols May 30, 2020 at 10:33 AM MDT

UPDATE: Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announces an 8:00PM curfew tonight and Sunday to curtail the violence, CBS4 reporting:

A curfew will go into place on Saturday night in Denver at 8 p.m. in order to prevent more damage and violence downtown. The chaos has happened on two successive nights and been part of the protests of the George Floyd death at the hands of police in Minnesota.

“We had hoped that we would not have to take these steps. But the aggressive and dangerous actions taken by some individuals and groups under the cover of darkness has made it necessary,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said on Saturday afternoon…

The Colorado National Guard has been deployed by Gov. Jared Polis to help Denver police “maintain public safety and protect infrastructure and property in the downtown area,” according to Hancock. The city attorney says there could be up to a $999 fine or 300 days in jail for violation of curfew.

Rep. Leslie Herod of Denver says that all sanctioned protest activities will end tonight by 5:00PM.

—–

As Denver7 reports and readers are no doubt aware, yesterday marked another day of nationwide protests against police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, one of whom is now in jail on murder charges. In Denver, the protests began peacefully with a noon march led by Denver school board member and activist Tay Anderson, and speeches later in the afternoon from Anderson, Rep. Leslie Herod of Denver, and a press conference from Mayor Michael Hancock expressed support–all of them urging that the ongoing protests remain peaceful after significant property damage around the state capitol building the previous night.

Unfortunately, despite these commendable efforts by Denver leaders to keep things peaceful, the destruction in downtown Denver this morning is sadly evident:

Clashes between police and protesters continued to escalate through the night, with tear gas creating a billowing cloud of white smoke in the area that could be seen from the air by AIRTRACKER7. Some protesters responded by setting things on fire, including a dumpster and a car, defacing Civic Center Park with graffiti and vandalizing the Colorado Supreme Court building as well as the Denver Public Library.

By midnight, Denver police confirmed the Target store on the 16th St. Mall had been looted by protesters who made off with a few items. No other details were immediately available.

“What we’re seeing is destructive, it’s needless, it’s senseless,” said Denver Mayor Michael Hancock in a Zoom interview with Denver7. “It’s unfortunate for everyone in Denver. … the demonstrations started peacefully… unfortunately as the night grew near, we had some folks show up who, quite frankly, meant to disrupt the peace. This is not who we are, and calmer heads must prevail. Our police officers have a sworn duty to maintain everyone’s safety – and they will. People are crying out to be heard, but this violent distraction only divides us.”

Tay Anderson lays the blame without hesitation on “white allies” who attacked Denver police despite the loud and clear exhortation from leaders present at his rally to remain nonviolent:

The context for last night’s second round of violence and property destruction in Denver are new reports coming out of the Twin Cities that a large percentage of the protesters being arrested there for looting and other crimes are not local residents—NBC News:

The mayor of St. Paul said that while that city was quieter Friday night than the previous night, he has been told that all of those arrested were from out of state.

State officials said that around 80 percent of those arrested in the Twin Cities on Friday had come from outside Minnesota.

While “there’s a group of folks that are sad and mourning” about Floyd, Mayor Melvin Carter said, “there seems to be another group that are using Mr. Floyd’s death as a cover to create havoc.”

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota confirmed an alarming possibility in a separate NBC News story:

Acknowledging reports that white supremacists and drug cartels [Pols emphasis] were taking advantage of the widespread chaos in Minneapolis and fueling some of the destruction throughout the region, he said his office was working closely with federal officials to identify any organized groups fueling the mayhem.

All circumstances aggregate to raise major questions about who might really be responsible for the violence–in Minnesota and here in Denver. Whether it’s anarchist white kids who don’t understand they are not helping or something more sinister like white supremacist agents provocateurs, what matters for the present is this violence is not condoned by community leaders. In this space, we are extremely reticent to subsidize conspiracy theories, and try to ensure a factual basis exists for any allegation we level or subsidize with our attention.

But if you’ve got a strong feeling that something’s not right about this, you’re not alone.

Weekend Open Thread

25
  by: Colorado Pols May 29, 2020 at 10:43 PM MDT

“All satire is blind to the forces liberated by decay. Which is why total decay has absorbed the forces of satire.”

–Theodor W. Adorno

The Cory Gardner We Saw After Charlottesville Is AWOL

0
  by: Colorado Pols May 29, 2020 at 2:21 PM MDT

President Donald Trump, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma)

We touched on this in today’s Get More Smarter update, and the debate goes on over one of the most vitriolic Tweets ever from President Donald Trump–so much so that Twitter again took the exigent step of flagging the Tweet for violating its policy against “glorifying violence.”

The original tweet read:

“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”

Twitter’s response: The tweet is hidden by a notice from Twitter — but is still viewable behind the notice.

“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible,” says the notice.

A separate statement from the official Twitter Communications account explained that the tweet had been flagged “based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today.”

“When the looting starts, the shooting starts” is a quote originally attributed to a Miami police chief in 1967, complaining that 10 percent of “our Negro population…are young hoodlums who have taken advantage of the civil rights campaign.” We’ll repeat this for emphasis: the President of the United States quoted a Southern police chief from the civil rights era vowing to shoot black people.

After Trump praised the neo-Nazis and other white supremacists who violently demonstrated in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 as “very fine people,” Sen. Cory Gardner called out Trump in the most direct terms he ever has before or since, notwithstanding Gardner’s call for Trump to pull out of the race in October of 2016–imploring Trump to condemn white supremacists without reservation, and “call evil by its name.”

Today, Cory Gardner’s silence is a reminder of how much things have changed since 2017.

Get More Smarter on Friday (May 29)

1
  by: Colorado Pols May 29, 2020 at 1:28 PM MDT

We don’t normally do a GMS update later in the day like this, but since there is SO much happening in the world, we figured it might be helpful. Now, let’s Get More Smarter. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of an audio/visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show or The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

BECAUSE CORONAVIRUS…

*Colorado Coronavirus info:
CDPHE Coronavirus website 

*Daily Coronavirus numbers in Colorado:
 http://covid19.colorado.gov

*How you can help in Colorado:
COVRN.com

*Locate a COVID-19 testing site in Colorado:
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

 

► A second day of protests are underway in Denver after a long night of anger on Thursday over police brutality. The Denver Post has a rundown of Thursday’s protests if you happened to miss the news (also check this story from The Colorado Times-Recorder). The Colorado legislature will not reconvene until Monday because of the the protests. If you’re trying to be out and about today, be aware that RTD has suspended all lightrail and bus services in downtown Denver.

Meanwhile, one of the officers accused in the death of George Floyd has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

 

► President Trump is speaking out about protests related to the death of George Floyd…and not in a way that is at all helpful. As The Washington Post reports, Trump’s rhetoric led to a response from Twitter:

“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” Trump tweeted shortly before 1 a.m. Friday, adding, “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

Critics immediately condemned Trump’s tweet, asserting that he was promoting violent retaliation against protesters, and Twitter took swift action. “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence,” read a gray box that now hides Trump’s tweet from public view unless a user clicks to see it. In doing so, Twitter also prevented other users from liking the president’s tweet or sharing it without appending comment.

Prior to this exchange, Trump signed a (legally questionable) Executive Order on Thursday accusing social media companies like Twitter of “censoring” right-wing voices. Notably, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg isn’t saying shit.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, took a different approach. Via POLITICO:

Biden said Friday that the death in Minnesota of a black man who had been detained by police exposed racial injustice that “none of us can turn away” from, urging Americans to treat the volatile national moment as a turning point for race relations in the U.S.

Biden said Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer detained him and knelt on his neck for several minutes, was denied basic “human” and “civil rights.”

 

► As The New York Times reports, President Trump says he is officially cutting U.S. ties with the World Health Organization:

“We will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs,” Mr. Trump said in remarks in the White House Rose Garden.

The declaration was a major escalation of his efforts to blame China and the W.H.O. for the spread of the virus and deflect blame from his handling of a crisis that has killed more than 100,000 people in the United States. Last week, Mr. Trump threatened to pull funding if the W.H.O. did not “commit to major substantive improvements in the next 30 days.”

The United States is the single largest donor to the W.H.O., contributing about 20 percent of its budget in 2018 and 2019. The world’s pre-eminent global health organization, the W.H.O. has been targeted by the Trump administration for its handling of global data as the virus spread.

 

► As Chris Cillizza writes for CNN, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is demonstrating true crisis leadership.

 

 

If you’re looking for political news that isn’t about Coronavirus, it’s available right after the jump…

 

(more…)

Officer Accused in George Floyd Death is Arrested

7
  by: Colorado Pols May 29, 2020 at 11:49 AM MDT

Given the massive attention this story has garnered, including big protests in Denver yesterday, we wanted to make sure people saw this update from The Washington Post:

Fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Friday afternoon.

Chauvin is the former police officer who was captured on video pressing his knee into George Floyd’s neck on Monday as Floyd repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.” Floyd later died.

Certainly, this is not anywhere close to being the end of this story, but it is a development that is important to note for protestors and non-protestors alike.

Denver Police Use Tear Gas, Pepper Bullets in Clash With Protesters at Colo Capitol

3
  by: Erik Maulbetsch May 29, 2020 at 11:16 AM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

A Denver protest of the killing of Minnesota resident George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers included numerous incidents of violence Thursday evening. Although most of the several hundred attendees left before dark, the conflict continued into the night. Eventually officers deployed tear gas canisters and pepper bullets on smaller but vocal and sometimes antagonistic groups remaining near Civic Center Park.

The initial event was a large but peaceful demonstration against police brutality. That changed around 5:30 P.M. with reports of several gunshots into the crowd, State Rep. Leslie Herod was among the first to share that via Twitter. Another widely circulated video showed a car appearing to intentionally run down a protester.

Fox31’s Matt Mauro later tweeted video of dozens of protesters surrounding the Capitol building, some of whom smashed cars and vandalized the building.

As night fell, protesters continued circulating around downtown’s Civic Center Park and shortly after 9:00 P.M. Denver police vehicles carrying dozens of officers in riot gear arrived at the intersection of Broadway and Colfax Ave.

Officers marched west down Colfax, advancing on groups of protesters who shouted slogans “No Justice, No Peace” along with taunts and insults.

(more…)

COVIDiot Senator Smallwood Is No Hero

5
  by: Colorado Pols May 29, 2020 at 10:23 AM MDT

State Sen. Jim Smallwood (R-COVIDiot).

As a followup to the bizarre debate this week in the Colorado General Assembly over new rules allowing limited remote participation by lawmakers who may be at greater risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to take a moment to discuss the objections of one Republican Senator in particular, Sen. Jim Smallwood of Littleton. As Colorado Public Radio reported on Wednedsay:

Senate Republicans agreed lawmakers who don’t feel safe shouldn’t come to the Capitol, but argued that allowing remote participation would fundamentally erode parliamentary rules, weaken public oversight and lead to unequal representation.

“Don’t take away my ability to have a conversation with you,” said Republican Sen. Jim Smallwood of Littleton to his Democratic colleagues. “For my constituents, it’s not fair and it’s not right that I can’t have a conversation with you, that we can’t make good legislation better.”

Smallwood, who had COVID-19 and recovered from it, said he’s sympathetic to colleagues who fear getting sick, but he said his elected role would be undermined by remote work…

Like we said yesterday, the grandstand by Republican lawmakers against the resolutions to allow remote participation was probably the worst possible choice Republicans could have made, elevating the nuttiest in their caucus to the headlines and once again painting the GOP minority in the legislature as almost comically out of touch with events.

It would be comical, except none of this deadly serious subject matter is funny.

But in Sen. Smallwood’s case, there’s an additional degree of hypocrisy that really should be included in any news report on the subject in which he’s cited. Although Smallwood is given a credibility boost in stories that portray him as a “COVID survivor,” the truth is that Smallwood contracted the disease while traveling to California after the legislature adjourned to combat the pandemic back in March. Smallwood’s highly ill-advised spring break excursion to California just as the pandemic was exploding, which appears to have had the worst possible outcome of Sen. Smallwood contracting COVID-19, does not put him in a position to expound credibly on best practices to keep lawmakers safe today.

In fact, it’s ridiculous that Smallwood is talking at all.

Friday Open Thread

8
  by: Colorado Pols May 29, 2020 at 6:45 AM MDT

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

–Desmond Tutu

Developing: Anti-Police Brutality Protests Erupt In Denver

18
  by: Colorado Pols May 28, 2020 at 7:04 PM MDT

FRIDAY UPDATE: The Colorado General Assembly will not meet today or tomorrow.

Today Senate Democrats released the following statement in response to last night’s protests for police accountability following the death of Minnesota resident George Floyd:

“The murder of George Floyd was a senseless, gruesome act of police violence that should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The racism and violence that black communities are forced to navigate on a daily basis is abhorrent and must be stopped. We are shocked and heartbroken by the violence that erupted in our city last night and stand in solidarity with those calling for justice. Our duty is to represent the people of Colorado and the best way we can do that right now is by respecting the gravity of this moment. Therefore, in deference to the demands for police accountability, we will be suspending all legislative work until Monday, June 1. When we return, our priority will continue to be the health, safety, and well-being of all Coloradans.”

—–

UPDATE 8:45PM: Live aerial camera as the situation around the Capitol deteriorates, with reports of vandalism to the People’s House and damage to lawmakers’ cars:

—–

UPDATE #2: Denver7 updates on the gunfire at the state capitol building earlier this afternoon:

Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, told Denver7 in an interview from inside the Capitol Thursday evening that someone fired five or six shots from the RTD bus stop nearby into the crowd.

She said everyone ran while Colorado State Patrol troopers ushered people back inside to shelter in place. Herod said that a bullet hit the Capitol building.

“We will continue to make our voices heard and demand justice for Black communities,” Herod added in a statement. “We will not be deterred by this unspeakable act of violence.”

—–

UPDATE: Please people, not in our town:

This is video a short while ago from Broadway and Colfax of an unknown assailant plowing their vehicle into protesters, then swerving to hit another protester attempting to flee. Viewer discretion advised.

—–

FOX 31 reporting on chaotic protests in downtown Denver in response to the police killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd earlier this week:

Shots were fired near the Colorado state Capitol on Thursday afternoon amid a protest demanding justice following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

At least five or six shots were fired. Officers at the scene told people to hit the ground…

About 7:10 p.m., the Denver Police Department said Interstate 25 was blocked near the 15th Street exit due to the protests. Drivers are urged to avoid the area.

No injuries reported from the gunfire near the state capitol, and the protest march continues in the area while another demonstration shut down traffic on Interstate 25 some distance away across downtown. We’ll update as events warrant, and of course we urge everyone to express their understandable anger peacefully.

Gardner Now Solidly at 50% Disapproval

3
  by: Colorado Pols May 28, 2020 at 2:42 PM MDT

Conservation Colorado released new polling data today showing that Colorado voters overwhelmingly support three legislative proposals aimed at improving air and water quality in the state. These are interesting numbers, but what caught our attention was the favorable/unfavorable breakdown of Colorado politicians. Pay particular attention to the results for Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma):

Via Conservation Colorado/Keating Research

Gah!

This is the appropriate reaction.

Earlier this month, in a different poll from Keating-OnSight-Melanson, Gardner crossed into the wrong end of the public opinion zone with a 53% total unfavorable mark, which was the first time we can recall that Gardner hit 50.

This new poll is the second of the month to confirm that at least HALF of Colorado voters are aware of Cory Gardner AND THEY DON’T LIKE HIM.

How does Gardner’s campaign spin this? At least he didn’t hit 60% disapproval?

As we’ve seen from other recent polls, Colorado voters aren’t particularly confused in their opinion of Gardner; only 10% say they are “Unfamiliar” with the Yuma Republican. And according to this poll from Conservation Colorado, Gardner even polls below “oil and gas companies” in terms of approval ratings. That’s…rough.

We wrote earlier this week that there is still time for Gardner to turn things around, but that might have been too generous. Gardner can really just hope that it doesn’t get any worse from here.

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