April 25, 2018 12:28 PM UTC

Post-Holbert Coverup, Take Two on Baumgardner Expulsion

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Denver Post reports, the new recently-exposed additional confirmation of serial sexual harassment by GOP Sen. Randy “Boob Grabber” Baumgardner is moving Senate Democrats to once again attempt a late resolution to expel Baumgardner from the chamber–a move likely to be killed by GOP Senate leadership, which appears to have cast any pretense of holding their members accountable for sexual harassment aside:

Because it’s past the deadline to file resolutions and bills, the rules dictate that the chamber’s Republican leaders would need to consent to its introduction.

“They don’t want that,” said Sen. Rhonda Fields, an Aurora Democrat who is pushing for resolution. “I don’t think it’s going to happen, but it’s a request I felt like needed to be made.”

Senate Majority Leader Chris Holbert, who as we discussed yesterday appears to have helped suppress this latest investigative report ahead of the first vote to expel Sen. Baumgardner, is using that delay to deflect from Senate Democrats’ request for a new resolution to expel:

“Don’t shortcut the process,” Holbert said. “…We’ve now had a chance to read them. And now we need to come back and meet and agree how we’re going to move forward.”

Holbert’s disingenuous call for everyone to ‘slow down’ since Senators “had just received reports on the latest investigation Friday” is undermined by the ample evidence the vote to expel Baumgardner was deliberately scheduled to maneuver around this second investigation–an investigation that validates the original complaints agfainst Baumgardner, and further underscores Baumgardner’s serial harassment of women at the state capitol. Although Senate staff had the new report, it wasn’t released to the victims because Baumgardner had refused to be interviewed. Between Baumgardner’s obstruction and the willingness of Senate leadership to proceed as if he wasn’t obstructing, Republicans had enough manufactured uncertainty to justify among themselves voting against expulsion.

And now it appears they’re going to run out the clock–no matter what else comes out, no matter how bad it looks.