Rep. Lauren Boebert - Colorado Pols

A Self-Own Only Lauren Boebert Could Achieve

by: Colorado Pols May 24, 2023 at 11:41 AM MDT

Rep. Lauren Boebert and family on the cover of her book “My American Life.”

One of several filters we apply before deciding to post on a news item involving Colorado’s perpetual controversy machine Rep. Lauren Boebert is trying to ensure that the subject has an intersection with political issues that Boebert has taken a position on. When Boebert announced publicly that her 17-year-old son was about to be a teen father, for example, her attempt to spin the situation as “choosing life” was fundamentally compromised by Boebert’s vitriolic opposition to sex ed courses that might have helped her son avoid the serious negative consequences of teenage parenting.

Well, as The New Republic’s Tori Otten reports, yesterday Boebert bested herself in the unintentional self-owning life’s story department, conceding guilelessly that unaffordable birth control led directly to the birth of one of her four children:

“I left a prescription at a pharmacy once. I went to get birth control,” Boebert said, explaining that the price was so high she thought the medicine was for three or even six months. But it turns out she was only getting one month’s worth of birth control.

“I said, ‘It’s cheaper to have a kid.’ And I left it there, and now I have my third son,” Boebert said. [Pols emphasis]

Boebert then said that not being able to afford her medication “turned out to be a really great thing” because it resulted in her son. But instead of making birth control easier to access for people, Boebert has decided to force everyone into the same predicament she was in.

Of course, if you have now or have ever had kids, you’ve already done the math in your head to know that Boebert’s claim that birth control costs more than having a child is totally absurd. But Newsweek dutifully went through the motions of contacting someone qualified to explain that yes, Boebert’s suggestion is totally absurd:

“The congresswoman’s statement is not factual and misleading,” Kristen Batstone, a policy expert for the National Women’s Health Network (NWHN), told Newsweek. “The average cost of the birth control pill can range from 0 to $50 depending on a person’s insurance status. LARCs [Long-Acting Reversible Contraception], such as the implant or IUD [intrauterine device] can be more expensive, but nothing that compares to the cost of giving birth in the United States.”

The average cost of childbirth is about $18,865 and includes pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, a nonprofit focused on health issues, according to data collected in 2022…

“Even with insurance, out-of-pockets costs average around $3,000,” Batstone said. “These costs do not include extra bills, insurance premiums or ambulance costs….Further, research suggests postpartum women are more likely to experience medical debt than other women.

And that’s just the cost of giving birth, to say nothing of the cost of raising a baby to adulthood. The cost of contraception for most Americans was stabilized years ago by the Affordable Care Act, which we shouldn’t have to explain Boebert hates with the fury of a thousand proverbial suns. But if that’s not enough hypocrisy, Boebert voted just last year against the Right to Contraception Act to protect access to birth control following Justice Clarence Thomas’ not-so-veiled threats as Roe was repealed–and then sponsored legislation to defund Planned Parenthood in the new GOP-majority House.

Rep. Boebert has worked throughout her short career to make birth control harder to get and more expensive. Boebert would vote in a minute to repeal the laws on the books that make contraception affordable or even free for the majority of Americans, and wants to defund the largest provider of reproductive health services in the United States. It’s with this agenda in mind that Boebert unwittingly told her fictional story about how birth control cost more than having one of her kids.

No one forces Boebert to make such a perfect fool of herself. She does this to herself. Every time.

Get More Smarter on Friday (May 19)

by: Colorado Pols May 19, 2023 at 11:36 AM MDT

The Denver Nuggets are two wins away from advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. Game 3 is Saturday in Los Angeles. 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 learner, check out The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter.

FIRST UP…

► With the United States roughly two weeks away from a potentially catastrophic debt default, Congressional Republicans are playing a game of “chicken” with the White House. From The Associated Press:

A top debt ceiling negotiator for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Friday it’s time to “press pause” on talks as negotiations with the White House came to an abrupt standstill at the Capitol.

Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., tapped by McCarthy, R-Calif., to lead the talks, emerged from an hourlong session and said gaps remained between House Republicans and the Democratic administration.

“It’s time to press pause because it’s just not productive,” Graves told reporters.

He added that the negotiations have become “just unreasonable” and that it was unclear when talks would resume.

Wall Street turned lower as talks on raising the nation’s debt limit came to a sudden halt, raising worries that the country could edge closer to risking a highly damaging default on U.S. government debt.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is claiming that a legislative deal needs to be in place by this weekend. But as POLITICO reports, that’s not really true:

Even though timing may seem extremely tight, both chambers have their own escape hatches that could allow them to vote on a bill more quickly, sometimes dramatically so. Plus, lawmakers aren’t all convinced that June 1 is a hard deadline, given the Treasury Department’s uncertainty about when it would truly run out of cash. Congress could potentially have until June 8, according to one estimate, giving lawmakers a crucial extra week to tie up loose ends.

McCarthy faces another potential problem of his own creation:

Next week, the spotlight is on the House, since the Senate is in recess. There, McCarthy believes it would take about four days to pass any potential legislation due to commitments he made back in January, including his promise to give lawmakers 72 hours to review bills before a vote.

He could theoretically ignore that rule if the timeline gets squeezed, but he’d risk the wrath of his right flank.

“I don’t think our members would tolerate it,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a senior Republican appropriator, adding that he didn’t think McCarthy would abandon the rule. “I don’t think we want to look like our members didn’t have the time to read and consider the legislation.”

The House is scheduled to depart for recess the week of May 29, but Cole said he wouldn’t be surprised if members are called back to pass a debt limit deal, should a vote fall through next week.

► In other debt ceiling news, Colorado Rep. Ken Buck (R-Greeley) is still playing his ridiculous game of pretending to be involved in debt ceiling talks even though he has voted against any such proposal going back to the Obama administration:

Buck is making no serious effort to contribute to a solution here; he was one of just four Republicans to vote against a GOP proposal passed a few weeks ago, and has suggested RAISING THE RETIREMENT AGE to 72 or 73 years of age as a way to cut spending. It’s important to remember here that the debt ceiling discussions are about paying for things that Congress has already approved in previous years.

► Congressperson Lauren Boebert (R-ifle) first made her name in politics by yelling at a Member of Congress. Now that she is in Congress herself, that sort of dissent from a member of the public is apparently not tolerated.

It shouldn’t be lost in the coverage that the topic of the press conference itself was completely bonkers. As Erik Maulbetsch reports for the Colorado Times Recorder:

…lawmakers, including Boebert, made numerous unsubstantiated claims, from the World Health Organization being controlled by China, to blaming it for the COVID pandemic, to claiming it is the vehicle for a plot to force all nations under a single worldwide government.

Among other things, Boebert claimed that the United States is surrendering its sovereignty to the WHO, an organization that she and other Republican legislators claim is controlled by “Communist China.”

► In other Boebert-related news, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Denver) has reached the end of his rope when it comes to Boebert’s habit of taking credit for things she voted against.

Click below to keep learning things…

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Boebert Promotes “Globalist” Conspiracy at Rally Opposing World Health Organization

by: Erik Maulbetsch May 19, 2023 at 10:42 AM MDT

U.N. skull pile courtesy of the rally organizers’ “meme library”

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO) joined many of her Freedom Caucus colleagues in a full-blown “globalist” conspiracy press conference yesterday.

In addition to a dozen or so members of Congress, the “Exit the WHO [World Health Organization]” event at the Capitol featured organizer Frank Gaffney, a notorious Islamophobe whose Center for Security Policy is an anti-Muslim hate group.

Gaffney and the lawmakers, including Boebert, made numerous unsubstantiated claims, from the World Health Organization being controlled by China, to blaming it for the COVID pandemic, to claiming it is the vehicle for a plot to force all nations under a single worldwide government.

Gaffney kicked off his remarks with a claim that has been repeatedly debunked:

“The Chinese Communist Party runs the World Health Organization,” said Gaffney. “It runs the World Health Organization in furtherance of its long-standing objective of global governance- that’s one world government.”

In advance of the rally, Gaffney’s Sovereignty Coalition has created a “meme library” for the purpose of attacking the WHO.

The images are rife with unsubstantiated conspiracies, including one that says: “The W.H.O. killed over One Million Americans?” presumably blaming the organization for all American COVID deaths.

None of this is true.

The fact checks debunking the various claims are legion, and longstanding. Here’s a line from the Associated Press:

“CLAIM: A legally-binding World Health Organization ‘pandemic treaty’ will give the organization the authority to control U.S. policies during a pandemic, including those on vaccines, lockdowns, school closures and more. AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The voluntary treaty, which is in draft form and is still far away from ratification, does not overrule any nation’s ability to pass individual pandemic-related policies, multiple experts, including one involved in the draft process, told The Associated Press.”

Boebert mentioned several classic conspiracy tropes in her brief speech. As the fact-check above makes clear, the U.S. is not surrendering its sovereignty to the WHO. She then lists three reasons the WHO is bad: she claims it’s controlled by China, it’s linked to the World Economic Forum, and it sabotaged the investigation of COVID’s origin. None of these are true. The WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations, governed by an executive board of 34 countries that currently includes the United States and China.

While there are disputes over how aggressively the WHO pursued the COVID origin investigation, it’s Boebert’s second point that raises the conspiracy red flag. Without any context or follow-up, she links the WHO to the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is a dog-whistle reference that “globalist” conspiracists no doubt heard loud and clear.

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“On Day One Biden made it clear he wasn’t fit for the job when he brought the United States back into the World Health Organization,” said Boebert. “The results of Biden’s failed foreign policy is absolutely astonishing. The Biden Administration plans to surrender U.S sovereignty to unelected bureaucracy— [interrupted by heckler]. To paint a clear picture the Biden Administration is giving the same organization that is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, the same [that has an] affiliation with the World Economic Forum, and the same organization that sabotaged an investigation into the origin of COVID, more control over the American people’s lives. The WHO continues to spread lies and disinformation by praising China’s response to the virus as transparent, which frankly isn’t true. “Before Biden took office the WHO was unable to do anything without written permission from our government. Now, if Joe Biden gets his way the WHO will have even more control over the most most private parts of our lives. This is not about public health! The WHO made it very clear they will censor anyone who does not agree with their agenda to control every aspect of people’s lives. They want total control over vaccinations, digitalization of health records, and your travel. Under this plan the Biden Administration is adopting Marxism by distributing medicine based on “equity.” This is not what a constitutional republic looks like. This is a dictatorship and we must defund the WHO and stop this radical agenda being put forward by the Biden Administration.”

Responding to an email request for evidence of her claims and comment on her participation in the rally, a spokesman for Congresswoman Boebert sent a number of links to previous statements and two published reports.

With regards to why she references the World Economic Forum, the spokesman offered five previous tweets she wrote attacking the WEF.

Those include:

“Rather than trying to please Klaus Schwab and George Soros, the people elected to serve our nation should try and actually make the lives of the American people better.”

“Klaus Schwab: ‘The future is being built by us.’ Take it from me, you don’t want to be a part of ANY FUTURE designed by the WEF – because globalism isn’t about YOU, it’s about THEM CONTROLLING YOU.”

Another tweet references a conspiracy that “the WEF announced they hired hundreds of thousands of “information warriors” to police the social media narrative.” The conspiracy was debunked the same day as Boebert’s tweet.

Conspiracies accusing the World Economic Forum of attempting to control the planet and place all humans under a single global government are widely understood to be antisemitic.

Her office also shared a May 2022 opinion column by former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson that contained nearly all the points Boebert made in her speech, some in nearly identical language.

A week prior to yesterday’s rally, Gaffney’s group also shared content from another organization making the same “call: “defund and withdraw” call: the infamously racist and conspiracist John Birch Society.

U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Chip Roy (R-TX) urged the public to call Congress and demand passage of a pair of bills they have introduced that would end American payments to the WHO and withdraw the United States from the agency.

The John Birch Society also supports their legislation, as well as the overall “Exit the WHO” demand. It echoes the Sovereignty Coalition’s conspiracist claims on its own website:

“The WHO’s threat to national sovereignty and individual freedom is becoming increasingly blatant and obvious,” claims the John Birch Society. “Not only is the WHO effectively controlled by Communist China and other subversive globalist interests, but it is actively seeking greater, totalitarian control over its member nations, along with all of humanity. If the WHO gets its way, U.S. national sovereignty will become a thing of the past, and the WHO will have total power to mandate vaccinations, impose vaccine passports, and implement a digital health ID — worse, the Biden administration is trying to help the WHO achieve its tyrannical goals.”

Another Sovereignty Coalition meme links the WHO to drag queens, apparently implying some sort of international plan to introduce LGBTQ content to children.

Boebert isn’t the only Coloradan connected to the Sovereignty Coalition. Dede Laugesen, a former Trump campaign staffer and wife of Colorado Springs Gazette editorial page editor Wayne Laugesen works for Gaffney.

She promoted the rally on social media and was praised by longtime anti-WHO activist James Roguski, who after the event wrote “All the credit for the press conference goes to Frank Gaffney, Reggie Littlejohn, DeDe Laugesen, everyone at Sovereignty Coalition.”

The full video of the press conference is available to watch here.

“Hell No Beto Mom” No Longer Tolerates Dissent

by: Colorado Pols May 19, 2023 at 10:38 AM MDT

UPDATE: For more on the subject of yesterday’s GOP press conference, unfounded conspiracy theories about the World Health Organization, Erik Maulbetsch of the Colorado Times Recorder has the story.

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Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) manhandles heckler away from Rep. Lauren Boebert.

The Daily Beast reports today on a wild scene yesterday afternoon outside the U.S. Capitol, where a heckler at a Republican news conference featuring Rep. Lauren Boebert in opposition to the World Health Organization was physically shoved away from the event by fellow Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana–all of which was caught on video from start to finish:

A news conference hosted by conservative legislators outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday was interrupted by a blue-shirted protester, who buzzed around the podium with his phone out, peppering lawmakers like Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) with questions…

During this initial encounter, Rep. Higgins got very up close and personal with the heckler, nonetheless offering to answer his questions after the event had concluded.

But when the protester swooped back in as Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) was speaking, he barely had time to get out his question—about whether her recent divorce was linked to her restaurant’s tainted pork sliders [Pols emphasis]—before Higgins was back.

In video captured both by the protester, Jake Burdett, and other people at the scene, Higgins can be heard saying, “Uh-uh. Uh-uh. No. You’re out. You’re out.” He then puts his hands on Burdett and starts physically propelling him backwards, bundling him away from the event.

“Aren’t you a congressperson, touching me?” Burdett asks. “Get off me! You’re hurting me!”

Opinions of the video you can watch above of the incident vary with respect to the appropriateness of the “Bernie Bro” activist interrupting the press conference to interject rather obviously trolling questions just prior to the events shown. But short of the protester committing an assault of his own, which no one has accused him of, getting violently bum-rushed by a sitting member of Congress is a wildly inappropriate response to a situation that could and should have been handled by Capitol Police or some other security. The protester is reportedly weighing his legal options.

For Rep. Boebert, the complicating factor with this incident is how her own career in politics launched back in 2019: when Boebert confronted then-presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke over O’Rourke’s vow to ban assault weapons at a town hall event in Aurora. For the first few months of Boebert’s rise to prominence, she was better known as the “Hell No Beto Mom” than by her actual name.

Can you imagine the hue and cry that would have ensued if Boebert had been “escorted” out of Beto’s event with a tiny fraction of the force Rep. Higgins used on Boebert’s heckler yesterday?

It’s an age-old story. Everything changed for Boebert when she went behind the podium.

Republicans Focus More Attention on Silly Culture War Battles

by: Colorado Pols May 18, 2023 at 3:55 PM MDT

UPDATE: As Lauren Boebert likes to say, “When you go woke, you go broke.” She’s not quite accurate there. As it turns out, when you get all riled up about woke nonsense…then you go broke.

From The Associated Press:

The Walt Disney Co. announced Thursday that it was scrapping plans to build a new campus in central Florida and relocate 2,000 employees from Southern California to work in digital technology, finance and product development.

The decision follows a year of attacks from Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature because the company opposed a state law that bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades. Disney filed a First Amendment lawsuit against DeSantis and other officials last month.

Disney had planned to build the campus about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the giant Walt Disney World theme park resort, but Josh D’Amaro, chairman of the parks, experiences and products division, said in a memo to employees that “new leadership and changing business conditions” prompted the company to abandon those plans.

Hope your silly spat was worth losing a $1 BILLION development project, Gov. Ron DeSantis.

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Last week in this space we marveled at the inexplicable decision by Congressperson Lauren Boebert (R-ifle) to immerse herself in a no-win battle against the Disney Corporation on account of “wokeness” or whatever.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz apparently felt left out in the anti-woke crusades in the lower chamber, so he’s making up for lost time:

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, laser-focused on America’s most important problems.

As Fox [urp] News reports:

Sen. Ted Cruz is putting pressure on the beer industry’s regulatory body, demanding an investigation of Bud Light’s transgender ad campaign with activist Dylan Mulvaney over concerns the company violated rules on marketing to individuals under the legal drinking age.

“A massive percentage of Dylan Mulvaney’s audience are kids. And Budweiser was trying, I believe, with this ill-fated marketing attempt to target teenagers,” Cruz, R-Texas, said on “Fox & Friends” Thursday.

In a joint effort with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., the Texas senator sent a letter to the Beer Institute Chairman Brandon Whitworth who also serves as the CEO of Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light. The letter called on the Beer Institute’s Code Compliance Review Board to investigate the beer brand’s controversial ad campaign with Dylan Mulvaney.

First of all…there’s something called the “Beer Institute’s Code Compliance Review Board.” Who knew?

But more importantly, why are actual United States Senators spending one iota of their time focusing on this ridiculous manufactured grievance? The United States is less than a week away from a potential catastrophic default on its debts, but Cruz is worried about transgender people drinking Bud Light.

In case you missed this dumb story, Republicans and other right-wingers who are scared of transgender people lost their collective minds last month when Bud Light beer was featured in a social media post by the popular online “influencer” Dylan Mulvaney. Republican politicians, including Boebert, immediately called for a boycott of Bud Light producer Anheuser-Busch for reasons that were never articulated beyond their thinly-veiled hatred of LGBTQ people.

Via “The Pink News” (5/17/23)

Once upon a time, the Republican Party stood up to defend corporations against government interference. But Republican politicians will now toss even free-market capitalism under the bus if it will prevent the MAGA base from saying mean things about them.

Meanwhile, as USA Today reports, Anheuser-Busch is learning that reacting to conservative cupcakes just ends up hurting them more in the end:

In a May 9 letter shared exclusively with USA TODAY, the Human Rights Campaign informed the Bud Light maker that it has suspended its Corporate Equality Index score – a tool that scores companies on their policies for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees.

Companies that receive a 100 score on the index’s four criteria – protections from workplace discrimination, inclusive benefits, inclusive culture inside and outside the workplace and responsible citizenship – receive a “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality” seal of approval from the Human Rights Campaign.

Disney Corporation, BTW, recently reported higher than expected quarterly earnings — including “significant growth at its theme parks.”

Hicken-Letter Epically Destroys Boebert’s Earmark Hypocrisy

by: Colorado Pols May 18, 2023 at 10:01 AM MDT

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D) doesn’t always throw down, but when he does…

Prior to the GOP’s narrow takeover of the U.S. House in the 2022 midterms, Colorado’s then-freshman all-purpose blowhard Rep. Lauren Boebert ostentatiously refused to pass on requests for so-called “earmarks,” otherwise known as specific funding appropriations for numerous projects in her district, decrying Democratic leadership for engaging in a process she condemned as corrupt. At the same time, Boebert rushed to take credit for funding allocated to projects in CD-3 carried by Colorado’s Democratic lawmakers–despite voting against the legislation that appropriated the money.

After Republicans retook control of the House last year, the GOP House conference voted overwhelmingly to keep “earmarks,” thus putting Boebert is a difficult position that she resolved by simply asserting that Republicans had “fixed earmarks.” In March, the Grand Junction Sentinel reported that Boebert’s office was accepting appropriations requests. To our knowledge, Boebert hasn’t had the opportunity to vote on any of those newly acceptable requests that made it into legislation, and simply accepting requests doesn’t entitle Boebert to any credit if she votes against the bill containing them.

But as readers know, neither eschewing earmarks nor voting against appropriations bills containing funding for CD-3 projects has ever stopped Boebert from demanding credit for them. Again, these are line-items that in many cases Colorado’s Democratic U.S. Senators and Democratic majority members of Congress are responsible for winning, after which Boebert swoops in for wholly undeserved credit.

Today, in a letter to the editor of the Grand Junction Sentinel, Sen. John Hickenlooper took the gloves off in responding to Boebert’s flip-flop on to bringing home the proverbial bacon for her district–deservedly, since Boebert demands credit for what is in many cases Hickenlooper’s efforts and (most importantly) votes:

Rep. Lauren Boebert recently announced in this paper that she had reconsidered and now supports Congressionally Directed Spending, or earmarks as they’re sometimes known. She defended this change of heart by saying that she helped “fix” the process by stripping out “corrupt, vote-buying behavior” that supposedly marred the program over the past two years. (That didn’t stop her from taking credit for these projects once they were passed into law without her support.)

Maybe the $1.4 million for the city of Grand Junction to build affordable housing was the problem. Or the $1 million to build the Glenwood Springs South Bridge project to provide crucial emergency routes and improved access — funding that was apparently only corrupt when someone else requested it, because she submitted the exact same project for consideration this year. Or money to shore up disaster response efforts in Monte Vista, establish a comprehensive medical care program in Pueblo, and develop a new engineering degree program at Adams State University in Alamosa? You get the idea, and these are only a few of the $60 million in projects over two years we were able to fund across Rep. Boebert’s district. She steadfastly voted against all of them… [Pols emphasis]

The simple truth is that earmarks, Congressionally Directed Spending, or whatever you want to call it, help Colorado get our fair share of federal funding. The funds we requested are our priorities because they are your priorities. We stand behind every single one of them and will keep fighting tooth and nail to make sure Colorado — all of Colorado — gets its fair share every single year. I won’t break the law or my values for this state, but I’ll do damned near everything else to make sure we get the help we need. I’m glad Rep. Boebert has come around and I look forward to working with her to support all the great work Congress is trying to do for Colorado. But it doesn’t make sense to call the last two year’s worth of projects corrupt without telling these communities which of them didn’t deserve the money. [Pols emphasis]

Hickenlooper goes on to link to “every project we’ve funded across Colorado’s 3rd District over the last two years — despite Rep. Boebert’s opposition.” It’s a long list, but our brief examination failed to turn up anything nefarious. Many of these line-items are projects that Boebert has praised, with the usual convoluted excuses about voting against them after helping insert them into bills that passed without her help. There is absolutely no good reason for Democrats to allow Boebert to get away with this deception any longer now that she’s one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents in Congress.

The gauntlet at last is thrown. Time for Boebert to stop stealing the credit for other people’s work.

The Boeberts are Splitsville

by: JeffcoBlue May 16, 2023 at 12:33 PM MDT

(Has news value, please be civil — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

POLS UPDATE #2: The Denver Post’s Conrad Swanson:

Lauren Boebert filed for divorce in late April, Mesa County court records show. The process server who provided Jayson Boebert with the paperwork on April 25 found him at the couple’s home in Silt “drinking a tall glass of beer, and cleaning a gun that was sitting on the table,” court documents show.

“Once he learned that he was being served with Dissolution of Marriage papers he was extremely angry,” the process server wrote. “I tried to hand him the documents but he did not take them. He started yelling and using profanities, and told me that I was trespassing, and that he was calling the Sheriff’s Office.”

The server left the documents on an outside chair while Jayson Boebert closed the door “then let the dogs out.”

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POLS UPDATE: The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul reports:

“It is with a heavy weight on my heart that I have filed for divorce from my husband. I am grateful for our years of marriage together and for our beautiful children, all of whom deserve privacy and love as we work through this process,” the congresswoman said in a written statement. “I’ve always been faithful in my marriage, and I believe strongly in marriage, which makes this announcement that much more difficult.”

She added: “This is truly about irreconcilable differences. I do not intend to discuss this matter any further in public out of respect for our children, and will continue to work hard to represent the people of Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.”

The Boeberts have four sons, the oldest of whom is 17 and was set to become a father in April. The congresswoman announced during the Conservative Political Action Conference in March that she would become a grandmother. She noted that the child would make her a 36-year-old grandmother, just as her mother was.

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Rep. Lauren Boebert and her husband Jayson are divorcing according to multiple sources.

Lauren Boebert and Jason Boebert appear to be getting a divorce. The DR in the docket number below stands for “domestic relations” and pertains to “divorce, dissolution of a civil union, legal separation, invalidity of marriage, [and/or] allocation of parental rights.” pic.twitter.com/kGfNYWYXFy

— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 16, 2023

I can’t say it’s surprising. Boebert has moved beyond roughnecks to classier guys. Jesus may not approve, but Jesus doesn’t pay the bills.

Try to be nice to her kids though. They didn’t choose their parents.

Boebert Hyperventilates While Migrant Surge Fails To Materialize

by: Colorado Pols May 15, 2023 at 12:16 PM MDT

UPDATE: We’re just going to leave this here:

Fortunately, 9NEWS’ Kyle Clark is there to help:

The days of the week, in order, are: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. https://t.co/tQxh9a9wpT

— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) May 15, 2023

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For weeks leading up to last week’s expiration of Title 42 public health border controls put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, Colorado’s low-information max-volume Rep. Lauren Boebert has warned of impending catastrophe, falsely declared Democrats in support of “open borders,” and freely recirculated racist memes and misinformation about the looming “invasion” of the southern U.S. border:

This last image is especially problematic since there’s no actual evidence that the person depicted is in the country without documentation. This seems to be a judgment made entirely based on the skin color of the person in the photo. It’s a case of racist presumption that would have sunk Republican careers a decade ago (here’s looking at you, Dave Schultheis), but for Boebert it’s par for the vitriolic course.

The bigger problem for Boebert may be, as NBC News reports, that at least so far the dire warnings of a massive surge of migrants at the U.S. Border with the expiration of Title 42 have not come true. In fact:

“Over the past two days, the United States Border Patrol has experienced a 50% drop in the number of encounters versus what we were experiencing earlier in the week before Title 42 ended at midnight on Thursday,” Mayorkas said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” [Pols emphasis]

Still, he cautioned that it’s “too early” to tell whether the migrant surge has peaked.

“It is still early. We are in day three, but we have been planning for this transition for months and months. And we have been executing on our plan. And we will continue to do so,” Mayorkas said. “It is too early. But the numbers that we have experienced over the past two days are markedly down over what they were prior to the end of Title 42.”

Instead of the expiration of Title 42 prompting a surge, the new rules put in place by the Biden administration appear to be significantly slowing migrant crossing attempts. Even the conservative Wall Street Journal is acknowledging this development:

Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed for the rapid expulsion of migrants seeking asylum, expired just before midnight Friday and was replaced with new rules that the Biden administration said included tougher consequences for those who cross into the U.S. without legal authorization.

Although the situation remains fluid by all accounts, the reality of the past few days on the southern border has proven the polar opposite of Boebert’s alarmist rhetoric over Biden’s border policy. The new rules put in place strongly incentivize asylum seekers to follow the lawful process, and an admittedly controversial new rule requires most asylum seekers to apply for protected status in other countries they’ve passed through on their way to the U.S. border. Much like former President Barack Obama received absolutely zero credit from Republicans while becoming known as the “Deporter in Chief” by immigrant rights activists, Boebert is pathologically unable to acknowledge that Biden’s policies might be having an impact she should support.

But as we’ve seen countless times, the reality-based debate over this issue has no relationship whatsoever to the nonsense Boebert sprays like a fire hose. Of course, Boebert doesn’t let facts get in the way of the incendiary script she’s reading from. If Boebert has decided there is an “invasion” underway, no amount of evidence to the contrary will ever convince her.

For solutions to these important and complex issues, the world must look to grownups.

The Get More Smarter Podcast Legislative Wrap Up

by: Colorado Pols May 15, 2023 at 11:10 AM MDT

This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, the First Regular Session of the 74th General Assembly has adjourned Sine Die and it was a despicable failure, or a resounding success, or somewhere in between, depending entirely on how much time you spend putting money into Elon Musk’s pocket. Your hosts Jason Bane and Ian Silverii break down the results.

To wrap up the session in style, Christy Powell returns to play “Legislating with Crayons,” and we check in on our 6th and 8th favorite members of congress from Colorado to see what in the hell they’re up to (spoiler alert: nothing good).

Listen to previous episodes of The Get More Smarter Podcast at GetMoreSmarter.com.

Questions? Comments? Complaints? Let us have it at AngryRants@getmoresmarter.com.

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Trump’s Triumphant Trashing of CNN’s Reputation a Turning Point

by: Colorado Pols May 11, 2023 at 11:28 AM MDT

The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr reports for those of you who found something better to do on a Wednesday night than listen to ex-President Donald Trump fictionalize recent American political history for more than an hour:

During a roughly 70-minute-long forum with likely Republican voters in New Hampshire on Wednesday night, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins attempted to correct inaccurate claims made by former president Donald Trump about many topics — but she found her rebuttals falling on deaf ears.

As the crowd cheered throughout Trump’s boasts and falsehoods, Collins repeatedly pushed back when Trump said the 2020 election was “stolen.”

“The election was not rigged, Mr. President,” Collins said. “You can’t keep saying that all night long.”

But he did…

Instead of nailing Trump to the wall once and for all on the historic amalgamation of lies and prejudice that fueled his rise to power and defined his chaotic presidency, ending in removal from office tainted by an attempted insurrection, CNN appears to have demonstrated again how accountability is basically impossible to extract from an unflappable liar like Donald Trump. Even when host Kaitlin Collins was able to follow up with a fact-check, it didn’t matter, because the pro-Trump audience preferred to believe Trump. Politico captured the moment well:

Steamrolling his way through a made-for-primetime spectacle, Trump maintained his lie that the 2020 election was rigged, refused to pledge to accept the results of the 2024 election and called his interviewer a “nasty person.” And he had the crowd on his side for all of it, cheering his answers and laughing at his jokes…

The crowd applauded, laughed and cheered as Trump discussed his decision making on Jan. 6, said he was “inclined” to pardon “many” of the defendants from that day, continued to call the 2020 election “rigged,” and suggested former Vice President Mike Pence should have done more to overturn the election.

There was laughter in the room when he belittled E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine advice columnist to whom a jury in Manhattan awarded $5 million in damages.

In the end, Trump turned this “town hall” event into a campaign rally at the expense of CNN’s airtime and (more importantly) reputation, and proved correct critics who warned that giving Trump any kind of platform would result in a net disservice to the truth CNN is nominally dedicated to reporting. Colorado’s “Ultra-MAGA” go-to Rep. Lauren Boebert rejoiced this morning that “President Trump destroyed Kaitlin Collins.” We have no doubt that CNN attracted a large audience of disaffected Fox News viewers, but the total failure to counter Trump’s serial falsehoods brought CNN’s credibility to the level of Fox News.

With Trump enjoying a commanding lead in Republican primary polling and once-favored challenger Ron DeSantis sputtering before his campaign even launches, last night did a great deal to cement Trump’s status as the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee. Republicans who already harbor contempt for the mainstream media were thrilled to see Trump effortlessly powering through fact-checking attempts. The same lies that repel a majority of Americans resonate with a majority of Republicans.

There’s no sugar-coating it, folks. Last night was a bad night for American democracy, but even worse for Republicans who want to move on from Donald Trump. Sources keep insisting to us that such Republicans exist, but today they have never seemed less relevant.

What in the Hell is Lauren Boebert Doing?

by: Colorado Pols May 11, 2023 at 10:16 AM MDT

Near the end of this week’s episode of the Get More Smarter Podcast, hosts Jason Bane and Ian Silverii spent a few minutes discussing the absurdity of Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis waging an all-out political war on The Walt Disney Company because it disagreed with his “Don’t Say Gay” law. DeSantis is betting that attacking Disney, which operates massive theme parks in his own state, will help his pending bid for President by attracting MAGA Republican robots who are activated by any mention of the word “woke.”

The argument on the GMS Podcast was that no politician is ever going to come out ahead by taking on a brand as beloved and well-known as Disney. Sure, there may be people who live in Orlando, Florida who are sick of seeing stuff about Disney World, but you don’t need polling data to tell you that the average American generally likes Mickey Mouse and the Disney princesses. If you disagree, try to find a young family that has NOT watched at least a handful of Disney movies in the last year. Go ahead, we’ll wait…

In a fascinating, if inexplicable, turn of events, The DeSantis “War on Disney” has now advanced to become a REPUBLICAN “War on Disney.”

From WOW News Today (a Disney-related news site):

“Woke corporations shouldn’t get any favors from the government…

…No corporation should get preferential treatment from the government—especially when it is grooming children. Go woke, go broke.”

— Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-ifle)

New legislation from Troy E. Nehls co-sponsored by Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene requests the no-fly-zones over Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort be revoked. [Pols emphasis]

After an an initial introduction in 2022 after The Walt Disney Company made a public stand against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ “Parental Rights in Education” bill, Nehls has reintroduced the Airlines Independent of Restrictions (AIR) Act that would require the Secretary of Transportation to remove the two no-fly-zones over Disneyland and Disney World….

…The no-fly zones were created in wake of the the September 11 attacks on the twin towers in New York City. Both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California worked with the federal government to designate these zones. The intention was to increase park safety for guests, as there was considerable concern at the time that additional attacks on Americans could be orchestrated via an aircraft, and large theme parks would make an easy target to hurt many civilians at once.

We say again: What in the hell is Lauren Boebert doing?

These comments are similar to those that Boebert recently made in a subcommittee hearing in Congress:

Boebert: The hearing today will help us better understand what congress can do so that activist stakeholders will not encourage woke corporate activism as we have seen recently with Anheuser-Busch, Disney, and even Nike pic.twitter.com/bY4x4iyKwM

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 10, 2023

Said Boebert:

“Today’s hearing will help us better understand what Congress can do to ensure that activist stakeholders will not encourage woke corporate activism as we’ve seen recently with Anheuser-Busch, Disney, and even Nike. Because as we all know around here, when you go woke, you go broke.” [Pols emphasis]

Actually, Congresswoman, when you attack corporations for going “woke,” YOUR STATE could end up going broke.

On Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger hit back at DeSantis and attacks on Disney. From CNN:

Disney CEO Bob Iger said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ attacks on the company threaten its plans for $17 billion of investment and 13,000 new jobs at Disney World over the next 10 years. [Pols emphasis]

In comments Wednesday during a call with investors, Iger defended Disney as Florida attempts to wrest control of powers granted to a special taxing district overseeing Disney World’s zoning decisions. Disney and Florida are locked in a legal battle.

Iger did not mention DeSantis by name or explicitly say Disney is reconsidering its planned investment. But he said Florida is acting unfairly to the company and asked: “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes or not?”…[Pols emphasis]

…Spokespeople for Disney did not immediately respond to a question Thursday on whether the company is considering dropping its planned $17 billion investment. And DeSantis’ press office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening on Iger’s latest comments.

Whoops!

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis understands the importance of NOT fighting with big corporations for no good reason. As Polis said last year:

Florida’s authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away. In CO, we don’t meddle in affairs of companies like @Disney or @Twitter. Hey @Disney we’re ready for Mountain Disneyland and @twitter we’re ready for Twitter HQ2, whoever your owners are https://t.co/r7Vcvu20eb

— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) April 19, 2022

Some Republicans jumped on this response from Polis but missed the point entirely — criticizing the Governor as though there was actually a proposal to build a Disney theme park in Colorado. What Polis was saying, quite simply, was this: “We’ll take your business.”

Once upon a time Republicans portrayed themselves as the party that supported free-market capitalism and business interests. That time is now over. Republicans such as DeSantis and Boebert now want to tell corporations what they can and cannot do. It’s a bad look, and a really terrible political strategy ahead of the 2024 election.

Boebert Silent While AR-15 Ally Santos Turns Himself In

by: Colorado Pols May 10, 2023 at 9:52 AM MDT

Reps. Lauren Boebert, George Santos (R) in happier times.

Politico reports that serial fabulist and alleged financial fraudster GOP Rep. George Santos of New York has turned himself in after being indicted yesterday on a range of charges related to campaign finance violations and defrauding would-be donors to his congressional campaign:

Rep. George Santos surrendered to federal authorities Wednesday morning after being charged with wire fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds.

In a 13-count indictment, federal prosecutors accused Santos, a first-term Republican congressman from New York, of fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits, using campaign contributions to pay down personal debts and purchase designer clothing and lying to the House of Representatives about his financial condition.

“This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself.

Reps. George Santos, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert (R).

After learning over the months since Rep. Santos’ election that the man’s entire life story is just the latest iteration of a long-running con job, the revelation that Santos’ congressional campaign was more about personally enriching Santos than actually being elected to Congress isn’t that much of a surprise. The one thing that Santos has in his corner at this obviously bleak moment in his short political career is the narrow Republican House majority, where Santos has been smart enough to suck up to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and reliably vote leadership’s way. As a result, McCarthy still refuses to call for Santos to resign despite the growing number of New York Republicans demanding it.

One notable exception to Santos’ general rule of keeping his head down in Congress was his co-sponsorship with Colorado’s own bad bookkeeper of record Rep. Lauren Boebert of legislation that would designate the AR-15 assault rifle “America’s National Gun.” It’s a bill that frankly made more sense for Boebert to support than Santos, whose Long Island constituents were unimpressed. In his short time in the House, Santos has generally hung out with Boebert’s back-bencher crowd along with Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

But they’re all silent today. Boebert still hasn’t responded to Donald Trump’s sexual battery verdict yesterday.

The more scandals pile up, the more the silence roars.

The Get More Smarter Podcast: Episode 150!

by: Colorado Pols May 8, 2023 at 11:10 AM MDT

This week on the 150th EPISODE of the Get More Smarter Podcast, Sine Die is Nigh! Hosts Jason Bane and Ian Silverii celebrate the end of the 2023 Colorado legislative session; with so many outstanding items we ask the question every reporter has asked this week since 1876: “How will they get it all done?”

The Supreme Court of the United States is an ethical disaster, but really only the Justices appointed by Republican Presidents; Heidi Ganahl, the last statewide elected Republican in Colorado (and possibly the worst candidate in state history) may be planning on Unleashing herself onto the state. Again. We take bets on how big her margin of defeat will be next time.

With one month to go in the Denver Mayoral Election, two dudes from Lakewood will discuss how the hell it got like this; our 8th favorite congressperson from Colorado clearly, badly needs attention, and we’ll give her a little more! And finally, Tucker Carlson may be off the airwaves, but his inexcusably racist influence on the GOP will remain for a long, long time.

Listen to previous episodes of The Get More Smarter Podcast at GetMoreSmarter.com.

Questions? Comments? Complaints? Let us have it at AngryRants@getmoresmarter.com.

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Boebert Faces Yet Another Campaign Finance Complaint

by: Colorado Pols May 5, 2023 at 10:34 AM MDT

Newsweek reports today on a new complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission by the Democratic-aligned national group End Citizens United against Colorado’s worst bookkeeper in Congress Rep. Lauren Boebert, alleging that Boebert misused funds from a PAC to pay for last-minute phone banking services in the hectic final days of the 2022 campaign she barely survived:

Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert has been accused of illegally spending $60,000 on campaign calls and texts in the run-up to November’s midterm election.

End Citizens United has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging the Republican’s political action committee spent tens of thousands of dollars on so-called “get out the vote” contact calls and texts that were not reported accurately.

According to the FEC filing, seen exclusively by Newsweek, Boebert, her campaign Lauren Boebert For Colorado, We The People Leadership PAC and Taylor Moose, her PAC and campaign treasurer, are accused of failing to accurately report communications as independent expenditures or in-kind contributions on their reports filed with the Commission.

In a statement, End Citizens United echoes the charge leveled against Boebert in several other cases: that Boebert used campaign funds as a “personal bank.”

“Congresswoman Boebert used her leadership PAC as a personal bank, but unfortunately for her, this practice is illegal under federal law,” said ECU President Tiffany Muller. [Pols emphasis] “The timing of the purchases, and the fact that they were made to the same vendor her campaign used, clearly illustrates that she was attempting to bypass federal law in order to either influence her own race or another campaign. The FEC should launch an investigation into this corrupt scheme and hold Congresswoman Boebert accountable.”

Since Boebert’s election in 2020, her campaign has been repeatedly scrutinized for paperwork “mistakes” that in practice appeared to be Boebert using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses. This came after Boebert filed for a huge “mileage reimbursement” from her campaign account that just happened to be close to the size of a tax lien against Boebert’s Shooters’ Grill. This latest complaint essentially alleges that Boebert used leadership PAC money to pay for “hard side” campaign expenses without reporting it as an in-kind contribution.

Boebert’s well-earned reputation for suspiciously sloppy bookkeeping puts the onus on her campaign to show how this was not a violation. If it’s a valid complaint, it means illegal spending played a role in Boebert’s exceedingly narrow 546-vote victory last November. In a race that close, any amount of provable chicanery is a big deal.

Perhaps this will be the one that, as they say, sticks.

Get More Smarter on Wednesday (May 3)

by: Colorado Pols May 3, 2023 at 12:23 PM MDT

May the Third be with you. 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 learner, check out The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter.

FIRST UP…

► Congressional Democrats are pushing for ethics reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court. As Ashley Murray explains for Colorado Newsline:

U.S. Supreme Court justices should follow a strict code of ethics when receiving gifts and travel or doing business with political funders and attorneys, argued Democratic senators Tuesday at a hearing that Chief Justice John Roberts declined to attend. [Pols emphasis]

After a spate of investigative articles detailing Justice Clarence Thomas’ luxury travel and real estate transactions with a GOP donor, and a property sale by a limited liability company partly owned by Justice Neil Gorsuch to a law firm head, Democratic leaders on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary maintained the highest court in the land cannot be trusted to police itself.

GOP members of the panel dismissed the hearing as “selective outrage” — as ranking member Lindsey Graham of South Carolina put it — against the court’s conservative majority that recently handed down controversial high-profile decisions, including overturning Roe v. Wade and striking down New York’s concealed carry law.

In declining the invitation to testify in front of the committee, Roberts asserted that the court must remain independent and that it adheres to its own set of principles.

In a follow-up letter Monday, Roberts wrote that there are “no set rules” for the court’s adoption of such principles or guidelines. [Pols emphasis]

From Clarence Thomas to Neil Gorsuch, it’s hard to argue that SCOTUS does NOT need new ethical guidelines that Justices might actually feel compelled to follow.

► Colorado Public Radio reports on the latest news regarding a controversial land use/affordable housing proposal in the state legislature:

A Colorado House committee partially restored the most controversial part of a land use reform bill before it advanced the measure late Tuesday night.

The bill, SB23-213, was initially a sweeping measure that would’ve forced many local governments to allow varying degrees of denser homes in all residential neighborhoods. The state Senate gradually trimmed those mandatory upzoning requirements before eliminating them entirely last week.

But the House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee has brought back some of those provisions, as previewed Monday by CPR News.

The bill would have to make it back through the State Senate in order to see its passage before the end of the 2023 legislative session on Monday.

► In other news from under the gold dome at the State Capitol, Democrats are working on last-minute legislation to provide property tax relief for Coloradans while also protecting school funding mechanisms.

There are lots of bills that still need to be finalized before Monday’s end of session. Legislative Republicans, however, are doing everything they can to slow discussion to a crawl. Their entire strategy is just to get in the way of whatever Democrats want to accomplish. Republicans don’t have ideas of their own.

► There are too many people with too many guns. Period.

CONTENT WARNING: A man on Reddit shared this video with me of a shooting at Monaco and Evans last night. The drivers of a black Lexus SUV and a white Ford pickup are in a chase down the wrong side of the road.

(Music is from driver’s radio) pic.twitter.com/vFAasywosj

— Steve Staeger (@SteveStaeger) May 3, 2023

Click below to keep learning things…

(more…)

Boebert Co-Sponsors “Tainted Slider Protection Act”

by: Colorado Pols May 3, 2023 at 11:18 AM MDT

Rep. Lauren Boebert, pork sliders.

A fresh and never frozen battle is brewing in Congress over the so-called PRIME Act, legislation that would allow some producers to directly sell meat products that have not been inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for safety to consumers and restaurants. As Dan Flynn writes for Food Safety News:

Food safety is reason enough to kill the Processing Revival and Interstate Meat Exemption Act, otherwise known as the PRIME Act, according to some of the industry’s most powerful players…

NCBA President Todd Wilkinson says the nation’s largest organization for the cattle industry “is in favor of reducing regulatory burdens, but not at the expense of food safety,” He calls the PRIME Act ” well-intentioned,” but allowing uninspected beef to enter the retail market is dangerous to consumers.

“American consumers rely on rigorous USDA inspection to ensure the safety and quality of their meat and poultry,” said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “Allowing the meat to enter commerce without inspection – and without alerting consumers they are buying uninspected meat — jeopardizes food safety and will undermine consumer confidence in all meat products.” [Pols emphasis]

Proponents of the PRIME Act argue that it will give consumers more local choices while giving ranchers new market options for their products. Opponents, who include most of the nation’s large meat producers, counter that the lack of inspection for these meat products will lead to outbreaks of foodborne disease.

There are arguments on both sides of this debate, but Colorado’s far-right Rep. Lauren Boebert’s original sponsorship of the PRIME Act creates its own ghastly message problems for supporters of this legislation. In Boebert’s previous career as a restauranteur in Rifle, as our readers know, a batch of “tainted” pork sliders her business cooked up for a local rodeo in 2017 sickened dozens of spectators with “Boebert’s Revenge,” also known as Clostridium perfringens. And during the early period of COVID-19, Boebert narrowly avoided losing her business license for defying public health orders.

It’s not the first time we’ve said this about Rep. Boebert…but could proponents of the PRIME Act have found a worse spokesperson for this particular issue if they tried?

We’d be hard-pressed to.

Get More Smarter on Tuesday (May 2)

by: Colorado Pols May 2, 2023 at 11:48 AM MDT

The Denver Nuggets took a 2-0 series lead on Monday night by beating the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinals matchup; Game 3 is in Phoenix on Friday. 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 learner, check out The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter.

FIRST UP…

► The Colorado legislature is scheduled to wrap up its 2023 session on Monday, but there is still much work to be done. Jesse Paul of The Colorado Sun has more on one late — but very important — proposal:

Colorado voters would be asked in November to approve a 10-year plan aimed at preventing property taxes from rising at a historic clip under an eleventh-hour proposal unveiled Monday by Gov. Jared Polis and Democrats in the state legislature.

The effort, which would reduce Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds in order to make up for the cuts, is aimed at combating a dizzying rise in property values that will cause a corresponding jump in homeowners’ and businesses’ tax burden. Property tax bills are in large part determined by property values, and home values increased statewide by an average of 40% over the past two years.

Proponents of the measure say it would cut the projected property tax increase for the average Colorado homeowner by 62% in the 2023 tax year for which taxes are due in April 2024…

…To get the measure on the November ballot, the proposal only needs the support of a simple majority in the legislature. The measure was introduced Monday as Senate Bill 303 and state lawmakers will have to act quickly, as the 2023 legislative session in Colorado ends on May 8.

You can read more on this proposal from Colorado Public Radio, The Denver Post, and 9News.

► In other news from under the gold dome at the State Capitol, House Republicans saw three stupid ideas get canned in a committee room on Monday. Meanwhile, Democrats continue to work on real ideas:

♦ Marianne Goodland of the publication formerly known as the Colorado Statesman takes a big-picture look at the work left to be done in the final week of session.

♦ House Democrats will try to paste some lost pieces of a land use/affordable housing bill favored by Gov. Jared Polis that were cut by the State Senate. Seth Klamann of The Denver Post has more on changes to SB23-213.

♦ Legislation that seeks to lower the threshold for workplace harassment claims is still moving along, as is a bill that would increase regulations for no-knock warrants.

♦ A bill to extend Medicaid and child health care access is headed to the desk of Gov. Polis.

♦ Halfway houses will be audited for the first time in decades.

♦ Legislation to implement a new magic mushroom industry in Colorado has been finalized.

► State Republican Party Chair and former lawmaker Dave Williams finally showed up at the State Capitol for his other job as a legislative aide.

► Give your eyes a break and put your ears to work with this week’s episode of the Get More Smarter Podcast:

Click below to keep learning things…

(more…)

Podcast: Just Do Your Job! (feat. Andrew Baumann)

by: Colorado Pols May 2, 2023 at 10:22 AM MDT

Andrew Baumann

This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, your hosts Jason Bane and Ian Silverii talk once again with Andrew Baumann, Partner at Global Strategy Group and the lead pollster for the quarterly “Rocky Mountaineer” poll in Colorado. Baumann takes us through the latest numbers in CO-03, where Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert is running neck-and-neck with Democrat Adam Frisch despite what should be an overwhelming Republican advantage.

Later…the new chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, Dave Williams, is hopefully “not just milking big government” by drawing a taxpayer funded salary at 40 hours a week while also allegedly running the party for 40 hours a week…and this is according to the Republican House Minority Leader. As the scourge of gun violence continues to plague the nation one Republican state Representative says the quiet part out loud — like really, really loud. A right wing dark money group wins an appeal on a campaign finance case in which they were absolutely, clearly guilty; we ask why bother having laws? And DARK BRANDON RISES to run for re-election.

For more details on this week’s episode, head over to our free substack page.

Listen to previous episodes of The Get More Smarter Podcast at GetMoreSmarter.com.

Questions? Comments? Complaints? Let us have it at AngryRants@getmoresmarter.com. Or send emails to jason@getmoresmarter.com or ian@getmoresmarter.com.

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Boebert Exhorts Followers To Get Kicked Off Planes

by: Colorado Pols May 1, 2023 at 12:10 PM MDT

*Not valid for air travel.

As HuffPo reports, last week Colorado’s foremost compounding controversy Rep. Lauren Boebert appeared at a rally in Texas, where she launched into one of her trademark overly-animated culture-war cheerleader tirades. But this time, things took a more than usually worrisome turn as Boebert appeared to encourage those present to become unruly on commercial airplanes:

Donald Trump-loving Boebert called for “boldness” from the audience as she listed what she — and they — should be prepared to do in the name of what she claimed was patriotism.

“I will do what’s right. I don’t care if it costs me an election,” Boebert said. “I don’t care if the school principal gets mad at me or the county commissioners get upset at me, or if the flight attendant kicks me off the plane.” [Pols emphasis]

“I will do what’s right and answer the call because without righteous men and women, without patriots taking a stand for this country, our children, and our children’s children will not benefit the blessings of America,” she added.

It’s a bit of an outdated call to action, since the FAA reports that incidents by unruly air travelers have dropped substantially in the year since the mask mandate for commercial transportation was struck down. Nonetheless, AP reported earlier this month that disruptions do continue for all kinds of reasons, and hundreds of people have been referred to the FBI for criminal prosecution since the unfortunate fad of being an asshole on planes exploded two years ago:

Federal officials said Thursday they have referred more than 250 unruly airline passengers to the FBI for possible criminal prosecution since late 2021, including one as recently as last month, when a man tried to stab a flight attendant with a broken-off spoon.

The pace of the criminal referrals is slowing, however. The Federal Aviation Administration identified 17 cases it has sent to the FBI in the first three months of this year — mostly for incidents that happened last year but took time to investigate.

Well folks, if Lauren Boebert gets her way, there will be a whole new round of “patriots” disrupting a flight near you soon! It’s not clear what exactly they’ll be protesting, but that’s apparently not the point so much as “taking a stand” in order to secure “blessings of America.” Back in 2015, as readers will recall, Boebert picked up a disorderly conduct charge (later dropped) after she tried to physically intervene in an arrest, yelling at deputies about her “friends at Fox News” who would make them regret depriving her friends of their liberty to drink underage. While not exactly behavior to be proud of, at least Boebert is…consistent after all these years.

With that said, we hope no one ever makes the mistake of calling Boebert a “law and order” politician again.

Once Again, Lauren Boebert: You Voted AGAINST That

by: Colorado Pols April 27, 2023 at 2:30 PM MDT

Congressperson Lauren Boebert (R-ifle) is known for a few things, none of which relate to her actual title as a Member of Congress.

As we saw from the latest polling via the The Rocky Mountaineer, voters in Boebert’s Congressional district (CO-03) primarily know her for one of two things: 1) Defending Donald Trump, and 2) Promoting herself on social media. “Being a Congressperson who actually does the job” is not a trait that people generally associate with Boebert.

Boebert may not do anything useful in Congress, but she would sure like you to think otherwise. In fact, Boebert should really be known for a third reson: 3) Taking credit for things she actually opposed.

This has been a common occurrence for Boebert. It begins when Boebert votes against a thing in Congress, which she does mostly so that she can stick her tongue out on Twitter as proof that she is the most conservative conservative who ever conservatived. Said “thing” often ends up passing anyway (particularly when Democrats were in the majority). Later, when the “thing” is implemented and turns out to be pretty helpful to local communities in Colorado and CO-03, Boebert jumps up and down and says, “Your welcome” (in the picture in our mind, she does not use the correct punctuation).

It happened again recently, as Anna Lynn Winfrey reports for The Pueblo Chieftain:

Boebert’s office recently issued a press release to celebrate a $5.1 million grant for Pueblo Community Health Center, but Boebert voted against the bill funding it because of what the release called “Democrat poison pills” in the legislation.

Most congressional Republicans voted no on the 2023 appropriations act. The grant was secured during the appropriations process in a bill approved by Congress in December 2022.

In an interview with the Chieftain, Boebert said the final bill was over a thousand pages and included “amendments that were not germane.”

“There was a lot of things in those pieces of legislation that I couldn’t bring myself to vote for,” Boebert said. “One of them had a $200 million earmark for the Presidio (park) in San Francisco, there was salmon recovery, there was a butterfly recovery — just all of this nonsense stuff, when we have to get our country back on track. It was just a lot of wasteful spending.”

Now, it’s completely fine for Boebert to oppose legislation because she doesn’t like something (or anything) included in the text. That’s what Boebert did when she voted ‘NO’ on the 2023 Appropriations bill (HR 2617) on Dec. 23, 2022.

But if Boebert is going to do that, then she can’t also do this:

From Rep. Lauren Boebert’s newsletter to constituents (April 2023)

In an email to constituents, Boebert writes, “I helped secure a $5,109,735.00 grant for Pueblo Community Health Center.”

By voting against the bill that funded the grant???

The Pueblo Community Health Center will use the $5.1 million grant to help provide health care services for anyone in need, regardless of an ability to pay. In responding to the Chieftain, the CEO of the Center, Donald Moore, was considerably more statesmanlike than his own Member of Congress:

Moore said PCHC was not directly contacted by Boebert’s staff about the appropriation request but that the center is appreciative of the grant. [Pols emphasis]

“We are grateful for whatever steps Rep. Boebert took directly or indirectly to secure (the funding),” Moore wrote to the Chieftain. “We need as many members of Congress as possible to be proud of their advocacy for community health center funding.”

The TL;DR version of Moore’s comment is basically: If Boebert did something helpful, that’s cool.

Boebert knows that the best chance she has of winning re-election in 2024 is to spend her time doing useful things for her constituents rather than Tweeting inane nonsense. But Boebert really likes inane nonsense. Also, Tweeting is fun and easy, and doing actual work requires, well…actual work.

So, instead, Boebert is just going to skip the policy and the voting stuff and jump ahead to the “taking credit for this nice thing” stage of the legislative process. Whether she had anything to do with it or not.

This makes Boebert look like a YUGE hypocrite, but let’s be honest: She doesn’t care about any of that. Boebert just hopes that the number of voters who think she is a hypocrite is smaller than the number of voters who thinks she did a helpful thing.

Caption This Photo: Boebert And Kitty’s Thousand-Yard Stare

by: Colorado Pols April 26, 2023 at 11:14 AM MDT

Colorado’s sophomore maven of misadventure Rep. Lauren Boebert’s campaign for re-election announced the addition of a new team member on Monday, whatever it takes to keep at least 546 votes to the good from early retirement:

We’re suckers for a cute kitten like anyone else, but much like the goat Boebert made “friends” with a couple of years ago, we’re concerned this may not be a consensual relationship:

Our theory is that photo of Boebert as Cruella DeVil must circulate widely in the animal kingdom.

Either that, or the animals…just know.

Secretary Pete Burns Boebert Masterfully

by: Colorado Pols April 21, 2023 at 10:23 AM MDT

Colorado’s far-right two-term Republican terror Rep. Lauren Boebert thought she was coming in hot–more literally in this case than usual–but Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had the perfect riposte:

Your budget plan cuts railroad safety inspections. https://t.co/eNVcjb8vRu

— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) April 20, 2023

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R).

Followed by a dose of truth about Republican fiscal priorities:

We estimate its impact on FRA would mean about 1,000 fewer rail safety inspection days next year and 30,000 fewer miles of track inspected annually.

If you care about preventing derailments, please change course and help us increase accountability for freight railroads.

From there, Rep. Boebert’s response became…less persuasive:

We haven’t seen Secretary Pete’s response to Boebert’s predictably offensive non sequitur, probably because it doesn’t merit one. It’s clear that Boebert doesn’t want to have a substantive discussion with Secretary Pete about railroad safety or anything else. What we saw here was just another cheap drive-by waste of time substituting for what should be Boebert’s job, getting things done for her constituents.

On top of that, in the end Boebert gets dunked on. Every time. Like Boebert’s self-owning quest to get to the bottom of public urination in Washington D.C., Boebert never sets out to become an object of ridicule. It’s just what happens, with no one to blame but herself.

So, keep ’em coming we guess.

Boebert Unintentionally Turns Glenwood Springs Fabulous

by: Colorado Pols April 20, 2023 at 11:01 AM MDT

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R).

As the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent reports, last Saturday saw the town’s first-ever drag queen storytime event go off without a hitch, an event unintentionally inspired by Colorado’s premiere culture-warrior headliner Rep. Lauren Boebert:

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Silt, shared tweets last year telling drag queens to stay out of her district with storytimes, and recently posted divisive tweets against the trans community.

If anything, the Arauzas joined Bluebird Cafe Justin Bishop in being more concerned about the people who have political opinions against the Divas and other members of the LGBTQ+ community… [Pols emphasis]

That’s the thing about demanding people “stay out of your town” when you don’t have any legal authority to do so: that just makes them more likely to show up. And show up the drag queens did, bringing with them…factually accurate stories about the history of LGBTQ+ people in America. The horror!

Each Diva picked the stories they told, and they were all centered on self-love, inclusivity and even some of the origins of Pride and backstories of queer heroes, like the story of late California politician Harvey Milk, “the most famous and most significant openly LGBT official ever elected in the United States,” Milk’s final campaign manager, Anna Kronenberg said in 2002.

Diva Thelma Thunderthighs said that it is crucial to remember the people who have laid the path for others today.

“I think it’s so good to look at the good, but it’s imperative to know that our history is not the proverbial rainbows,” they said. “We’ve had dark times, and that was a dark time. It’s important for the kids to know not to dwell on that, but to know we’ve come a long way.”

Although additional security was on hand to prevent any disruption, by all accounts Glenwood’s first drag storytime hour was a big success–and in no way inappropriate for the kids:

“There was nothing about that event that was inappropriate for my children,” [parent Steven Arauza] said. “It is highly inappropriate for bigoted people to sexualize children’s events for political gain, which was the reason why we had to have security as a thing in the first place.” [Pols emphasis]

In the end, children were only enriched educationally, and the symbolic protest against Rep. Boebert’s intolerance was lodged. It could be the first of many drag queen storytime hours across Boebert’s district. It’s not like the Roaring Fork Divas didn’t exist before Boebert, but Boebert’s demagoguery created the rallying point to publicly push back.

As a result, Boebert gets what she wants least.

Get More Smarter on Wednesday (April 19)

by: Colorado Pols April 19, 2023 at 11:36 AM MDT

Get outside and enjoy the weather before it cools off over the next couple of days. 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 learner, check out The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter.

FIRST UP…

► Legislation to ban assault weapons in Colorado appears to be running out of steam but may be changed to address bump stocks instead:

After an emotional opening statement, @RepEpps says she doesn’t see the bill having enough support to make it into law. She says she will likely ask for an amendment narrowing the bill to only relating to bump stocks. #copolitics #coleg @PoliticsSun

— Elliott Wenzler (@ElliottWenzler) April 19, 2023

Overall, Democrats have been successful this legislative session when it comes to gun violence prevention bills. As Jesse Bedayn writes for The Associated Press:

The proposals include strengthening red flag laws, raising the firearm purchasing age to 21, opening the gun industry up to legal liability and installing a three-day waiting period after buying a gun.

A measure set to be debated Wednesday that would implement a sweeping ban on semi-automatic firearms faces much stiffer odds and illustrates that even Democratic-controlled statehouses don’t have free rein on overhauling laws rooted deep in American culture.

Hundreds of people have signed up to testify at the proposal’s first hearing in what is expected to be a passionate hearing with a mix of gun owners opposing the measure and supporters campaigning to reduce gun violence that plagues the country.

► In other state legislative news, Seth Klamann of The Denver Post reports on a watered-down land use bill backed by Gov. Jared Polis:

Colorado legislators advanced a marquee land-use reform bill Tuesday night, but not before making changes to it that carve out resort communities from some parts of the proposal, scale back zoning reforms in the state’s larger cities and enact a 10-year sunset on the entire policy as supporters sought to shepherd the bill through a contentious first hearing.

The bill — SB23-213 — advanced out of the Senate’s Local Government and Housing committee on a party-line 4-3 vote Tuesday night, after more than three hours of debate on more than a dozen amendments. The meeting came fewer than two weeks after legislators heard 12 hours of testimony for and against the proposal, which broadly seeks to encourage density, faster building and better planning by significantly reshaping the state’s single-family zoning policies.

The bill’s received the backing of Gov. Jared Polis and a coalition of housing, business and environmental groups who say the measure is vital to kickstart housing, but it’s opposed by local government officials who castigate it as an intrusion on their authority. But supporters say state intervention is needed, given the scale of the housing problem — both in terms of supply and affordability — facing Coloradans.

Colorado Public Radio and Colorado Newsline have more on the fate of SB23-213.

► House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says he will release his plan today for avoiding the debt limit, with a proposed vote as soon as next week. McCarthy’s Republican caucus is not believed to be on board with his plan, however.

► Give your eyes a break and put your ears to work with this week’s episode of the Get More Smarter Podcast:

Click below to keep learning things…

(more…)

Get More Smarter on Tuesday (April 18)

by: Colorado Pols April 18, 2023 at 12:07 PM MDT

Comedian Conan O’Brien turns 60 years old today. 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 learner, check out The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter.

FIRST UP…

► A trial for the $1.6 billion defamation case between Denver-based Dominion Voting Services and Fox News Corp. got underway today after last-minute efforts to reach a settlement agreement failed to bear fruit. Jury selection took up most of the morning in a Delaware courtroom.

► A controversial land-use policy bill backed by Gov. Jared Polis will get its first hearing in a Senate committee today. Senate Bill 213 is intended to help increase the availability of affordable housing by, among other things, limiting the ability of local municipalities to enact growth gaps.

► Democrat Adam Frisch is having a good week in his bid to unseat Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert in CO-03. New polling suggests that Frisch and Boebert are running neck-and-neck in their rematch of a 2022 election that Boebert won by just 546 votes. Meanwhile, Frisch outraised Boebert by nearly $1 million in the first quarter of this year.

► Last week Republicans marked 100 days in control of the House of Representatives. The first three months of a GOP majority under House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been underwhelming at best. McCarthy spoke at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday about his demands for a deal on increasing the debt limit; Wall Street has thus far tempered its panic about a potential government default.

As POLITICO reports, McCarthy is already dealing with dissension in the Republican ranks:

During House Republicans’ first private meeting in weeks, McCarthy and his leadership team laid out the basics of an opening strategy to relieve the nation’s looming debt crisis — a proposal the speaker previewed at a high-profile Monday speech on Wall Street. But while GOP leaders still hope to turn that plan into a formal bill within days, a handful of disgruntled members made clear inside the morning meeting that achieving unity would take more time…

…House Republicans’ internal frustrations go beyond their long-stalled debt limit talks with President Joe Biden. The conference is near its breaking point over a contentious border bill that has exposed divisions between hardline conservatives and politically vulnerable purple-district members. Then there are the simmering tensions that no GOP lawmaker wants to talk about — the evident disconnect between the speaker and his budget chief, as well as chatter over the elevation of a new McCarthy lieutenant with a vast portfolio.

Gee, who coulda seen this coming? Besides, you know, EVERYBODY. Also, maybe not the best idea to push for a vote on something that doesn’t even exist yet.

► Give your eyes a break and put your ears to work with this week’s episode of the Get More Smarter Podcast:

Click below to keep learning things…

(more…)

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