May 22, 2014 12:24 PM UTC

Throwback Thursday: Coffman's "Rinse, Repeat" Apology

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

Walk with us down memory lane: two years ago today, 9NEWS reporter Kyle Clark finally managed to track down Rep. Mike Coffman outside a fundraiser after unsuccessfully trying to reach Coffman for several days. Coffman had been in hiding after an audio recording of remarks made by Coffman a few days earlier as an Elbert County Republicans fundraiser became a nationwide scandal:

Coffman had steadfastly refused to speak on camera regarding his May 12th comment at a fundraiser in Elbert County. The comments, recorded and posted online by a Coffman supporter, were first aired by 9NEWS.

"I don't know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don't know that," Coffman told donors. "But I do know this, that in his heart, he's not an American. He's just not an American."

On May 22nd, 2012, Kyle Clark got Coffman's now-famous verbatim scripted answer, over and over:

REP. COFFMAN: I think that… Umm… I stand by my statement that I misspoke and I apologize.
KYLE CLARK: OK. And who were you apologizing to?
REP. COFFMAN: You know, I stand by my statement that I misspoke and I apologize.
KYLE CLARK: I apologize, we talk to you all the time, you're a very forthcoming guy. Who's telling you not to talk and to handle it like this?
REP. COFFMAN: I stand by my statement, that I wrote, that you have, and I misspoke and I apologize.
KYLE CLARK: Was it that you thought it would go over well in Elbert County where folks are very conservative and you'd never say something like that in the suburbs?
REP. COFFMAN: I stand by my statement that I misspoke and I apologize.
KYLE CLARK: Is there anything I can ask you that you'll answer differently?
REP. COFFMAN: You know, I stand by my statement that I misspoke and I apologize.
​KYLE CLARK: Thank you, congressman…

To this day, Coffman has never explained his statement to the Elbert County Republicans, saying "I don’t know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America," but he "is just not an American," beyond apologizing and later saying he does think President Obama is legally allowed to be President. But Coffman's reportedly unprompted remarks don't seem to be "misspoken" or otherwise verbally bungled in the recording, and the recording of Coffman was originally posted to Youtube by a supporter of Coffman who approved of everything he said. And that's an important point: so frequently when these kinds of "gaffes" become scandalous in hindsight, the fact that the audience in attendance loved it gets lost.

Safe to say, this is an anniversary Coffman would be happy to forget.