One lingering lowlight from yesterday’s failure by the GOP-controlled Colorado Senate to follow the House’s precedent for accountability for perpetrators of sexual harassment and expel Sen. Randy Baumgardner that we wanted to be sure received a dishonorable mention–as Colorado Public Radio’s Sam Brasch reports:
Republican Senate President Kevin Grantham had resisted over a month of calls from Democrats to hold a debate and vote on Baumgardner, who faces three harassment complaints. Baumgardner has denied the accusations, although an outside investigation found Baumgardner likely grabbed and slapped a former aide on the buttocks multiple times in 2016.
Grantham relented on Monday evening, and allowed hours of debate. But from the outset, it was clear Democrats lacked 24 votes needed to force Baumgardner from the chamber. Only Democrats stood as a Senate clerk read the resolution on the Senate floor. State Sen. Cheri Jahn, a former Democrat who became an independent in December 2017, also stayed in her seat… [Pols emphasis]
The Denver Post’s John Frank:
Sen. Cheri Jahn, a Wheat Ridge Democrat who became an independent this session, said before the vote that she didn’t believe Baumgardner’s action rose “to the ultimate level of expulsion.”
And she expressed concern about the current political climate and the numerous sexual harassment complaints being filed against lawmakers. “I think we have to be very careful,” Jahn said.
Term limited Sen. Cheri Jahn of Wheat Ridge, who disaffiliated from the Democratic Party late last year as part of the publicity kick-off for the so-called Centrist Project (now known as “Unite Colorado”), has a long record of voting against workplace discrimination protections such as the landmark Job Protection and Civil Rights Enforcement Act Of 2013. Her votes against most of the Democratic caucus on this issue were generally considered to be due to her “pro-business” leanings, not wanting to “place burdens on small business” like not allowing them to discriminate.
Not something to be proud of, but Jahn’s votes with the caucus on other matters helped preserve an uneasy peace.
After last night’s vote against the expulsion of Sen. Baumgardner, in which Jahn asserted that credible findings of sexual harassment which would result in termination of employment at any responsible Colorado business do not “rise to the level” of expulsion, we’re left wondering if Sen. Jahn just doesn’t think discrimination or sexual harassment in the workplace is a problem. Her vote, like the votes of sixteen Republican Senators, unmistakably sends that message.
Once the dust settles, this will not be viewed as a positive development either for Sen. Jahn’s political career or the “Unite Colorado” campaign to elect “centrist” unaffiliated candidates to office. Much like the Unite Colorado campaign is in truth run by a conservative former Republican congressional candidate, Jahn didn’t take anything like a “centrist” position by voting to protect Baumgardner. She sided with Republicans, against victims of sexual harassment, after an independent investigation validated the allegations.
Good luck finding a majority of voters to support that–without an (R) after your name, anyway.
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She had always been a DINO. She still made some decent votes this session, but, over the past month, her votes have gotten progressively worse.
As an independent, I reject Jahn. She's an opportunist. Hopefully a progressive can replace her seat.
As for the Colorado Senate, the R's are scheduled to lose it all. It will be a Democratic Congress for both local and federal this fall. Vote for who you feel represents your needs, not party identity. Always listen to issues and see if the candidate matches the issues that you are concerned about.
This ain't American Idol people. This ain't Apprentice either. This is our lives, and we vote based on what we need, not what is "hot".
With that in mind, I'll disappear for months at a time. Maybe. But I do read locally from time to time.
Maybe Ms. "Not Blackmail" Coffman will announce Ms. "Not Harassment" Jahn as her running mate for a "Unite Colorado" governor/lt. governor pair.
Your viciousness to Sen. Jahn makes sense, Pols. It's the same thing you did to Kathleen Curry. Anyone who ventures from the Democrat line is savaged by this blog. You're nothing but attack dogs for Jared Polis and the VLWC.
With that said, she is entitled to her opinion without your character assassination. Shame on you….
What do you think Steve Lebsock's accusers thought when they read your comments defending him and defaming them by suggesting that they are lying?
What the VLWC?
http://vtlivablewage.org/
Don’t try to make sense outta’ Fluffy’s blargle . . .
. . . he just wrote those words; nobody here has yet proven he intended them to mean something . . .
. . . sounds like a good cause, however.
So, now our resident dipshit is against a living wage? I thought his party "valued" prosperity.
Let's see….
Get rid of medical insurance subsidies for those with low wage jobs.
Keep these people working at low wage jobs.
Tell them to practice personal responsibility and take care of their own health care.
Do I have that right?
I'm not exactly a socialist but even I find this scenario disturbing.
And dipshit wonders why it's so easy for us to take the "Republicans hate poor people" ball and run with it. It's like taking every opportunity to say that they are the evil caricature they are made out to be.
Actually, Sir Craps-His-Pants-A-Lot was referring to the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy
There’s no proof he intended what he wrote!
True — he could just be a misunderstood computer scientist referring to Very Long instruction Word Computers
Violent Larvae In Weird Combinations
Voracious Lumberjacks Want CocoPuffs
Vapid Lambs Western Campaign
Vagrant Lesbians Will Canonize
Victims of Legislators Working Caucus
Vermin Live Wild Club
Voters Like Women Candidates
In some cases (usually involving Republucans, but not always) just reporting a person’s actions says volumes about their character . . .
. . . in Jahn’s case here, it’s more correctly “character suicide,” Fluffy.
With Jahn's recent string of votes, I wonder if she will become a Rethug before the session is over.
and then perhaps resign and permit a GOP vacancy committee to name here replacement through the end of the year…..
Given that Ms. Jahn is my senator; I live in her District; I haven't had major concerns about her work, by history. She's generally been on the right side of the issues that concern me most, as one of her constituents, such as public lands and environment. Haven't gotten any in-District mailings from her this session, either e or regular mail. But she is being term limited out.
DustPuppy wrote: "as an independent, I reject Jahn." Unless you're a constituent, no offense, but your personal feelings about her don't matter a bunch.
dustpuppy's feelings about any given legislator matter as much as any other polster's. We are not a shy bunch about expressing our positive or negative feelings about lawmakers, whether or not we are in their districts.
The lawmakers themselves usually don't care about our feelings even if we are in their districts. See (Gardner, Cory – Buck, Ken – Sonnenberg, Jerry – Tipton, Scott ).
Unless, that is, our "feelings" are attached to large sums of money., or can affect the movement of dollars into or out of their campaigns. Then, they care.
I disagree. Dustpuppy was a big Jill Stein cheerleader, i.e. Part of the IQ 40 and Falling crowd that elected Trump president. His opinions mean less to me than fluffy,'s.
I'm sure Fluffy will be so gratified to hear that. And he thought you didn't care.
As for me, I certainly do care what independent voters all along the political spectrum think. I'm pretty sure we'll all be trying to get them to vote for our preferred candidates in about 7 months.
Not the dustpuppy. Idiots like hi m elected trump and george w. Bush by voting for Nader. At some point of stupidity you lose your right to be taken seriously.
Pesident Bush, instead of Gore
Trump instead of Hillary.
Dustpuppy couldn't pour piss from a boot by reading the instructions on the heel. You don't listen to idiots like that, you outflank them.
Dust Puppy is a man? For some reason, I thought he was a woman.
duplicate
I don't actually know, but women are usually smarter than that.
Sometimes women lie or act unreasonably to advance a political agenda. No reason everyone or even anyone has to follow or respect them when they do.