September 06, 2014 10:08 AM UTC

READ THIS: The Many Lies of Con Man Cory

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• by: ProgressNow Colorado

(Link rich – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

This evening, Rep. Cory Gardner will join Sen. Mark Udall in Grand Junction for the first debate of the 2014 U.S. Senate race. There are a lot of issues at stake in this race, and I wanted to take a moment to recap everything we’ve been talking about so far.

No politician is perfect, but Cory Gardner could truly be one of the most deceptive candidates Colorado has seen in years. Just this week, the Associated Press reported that one of Gardner’s latest TV ads, which you’ve probably seen, claims credit for “launching” Colorado’s green energy industry. The truth is Gardner opposed the landmark 2004 law, Amendment 37, that made Colorado a leader in the renewable energy economy. And the bill that Gardner sponsored never funded a single renewable energy project before being repealed.

Tell Cory Gardner it’s time for the lies to stop.

There’s a reason we call him Con Man Cory. From the moment Cory Gardner entered the race for the U.S. Senate, he has been covering up his long political record–a record that ranked him as the 10th most right-wing member of Congress in 2012, according to National Journal. Days after getting into the Senate race, Gardner claimed to have disavowed the Colorado Personhood abortion bans he’s supported for years, even though he is still sponsor of federal legislation that would do the same thing: ban abortion and many common forms of birth control.

On every issue that matters to women and families, Gardner is not only trying to claim a new position; he is trying to pretend his old votes didn’t happen. Gardner claims today that he "never" supported the disastrous shutdown of the federal government last year, which impeded recovery from devastating floods that impacted our state just days before. But the truth is, Gardner did support the shutdown, voted with his party at every step to shut down the government, and publicly defended the Republican strategy. In addition to impeding flood recovery, the shutdown’s closure of the state’s national parks and monuments cost Colorado’s economy millions of dollars.

It goes on and on. Gardner claims today that he has been vocal for immigration reform, but in Congress and the state legislature, he has repeatedly voted with the Tom Tancredo wing of the Republican Party–even opposing routine medical care and vaccinations for immigrant children. Gardner voted to stick taxpayers with the bill for cleanup of toxic waste sites. Gardner even told a Colorado senior living on a breathing tube, "we got to protect Medicaid," even though he repeatedly voted for Congressional budgets that restrict and slash Medicaid benefits. He said this to her face without flinching.

Gardner claims in TV ads that his health insurance premiums have skyrocketed under Obamacare, but he won’t release the documents to prove it. Gardner talks about over-the-counter birth control on TV, but the truth is this is an empty gesture for many reasons, and he’s even voted to deny women access to Plan B contraception without a prescription.

Cory Gardner’s strategy this year is to inundate the discussion with false claims about his record, hoping the voters won’t find out the truth until it’s too late. His strategy is part of a long con, and hard working Coloradans are his mark.

Gardner’s brazen dishonesty represents a new kind of political challenge: not just to hold him accountable, but to reach the voters he is actively trying to deceive with the facts.

Help us now. Click here to tell Cory Gardner that Colorado deserves better than a serial liar in the U.S. Senate. We are compiling your names and comments to share over the next eight weeks with Gardner’s campaign, the press, and fellow Coloradans. With less that 60 days remaining until Election Day, the time is now to speak out: and make sure everyone you know understands what Cory Gardner would mean for Colorado.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I know it’s a lot of information, but Gardner’s campaign has become so deceptive that a comprehensive response was needed. Please forward this important information to everyone you know. I know in my heart that Colorado deserves better than Cory Gardner, and with your help, by Election Day everyone will.

Sincerely,

Amy Runyon-Harms