Cory Gardner: "A Warrior For President Trump"

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by: Colorado Pols

President Trump and Sen. Cory Gardner.

A fascinating story from the Colorado Sun’s John Frank today on the three candidates running to be the next chair of the Colorado Republican Party–a daunting position being vacated by outgoing chair Jeff Hays following the worst defeat for the GOP in this state since the Roosevelt era. One of the principal fault lines with the Republican Party remains loyalty to President Donald Trump, with the grassroots firmly backing the President versus a party elite who spurned Trump in 2016 and has spent the last two years trying to live that misjudgment down.

Today, you surely won’t find any candidates for GOP chair scumbagging the President:

“There is some element of anti-Trump in Colorado, but I think it is smaller than has been reflected in some of the surveys,” said state Rep. Susan Beckman of Littleton, one of the candidates seeking to lead the party.

“The reality is, in an off-year election like this, there is going to be a blue wave. … I don’t think it’s fair to blame Trump for what happened,” said U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, the most prominent name in the race.

“I do not blame Trump,” said Sherrie Gibson, the current party vice chairwoman and candidate. But she added, “I do think there is an element of unaffiliateds who were certainly unhappy with the messaging tone and tenor coming out of the White House, so they voted accordingly.”

From there, the conversation turned to embattled Sen. Cory Gardner, who is set (barring anything unexpected) to share the top of the GOP ticket in Colorado with Trump in 2020. Gardner of course publicly broke with the President in October of 2016 after Trump’s rapey remarks from an Access Hollywood shoot some years before became public, but now says that he “likes” the President and says that Coloradans should have the opportunity to like Trump too! To wary Republicans who worry Gardner hasn’t got the chops to represent the state’s stridently conservative GOP base, Rep. Susan Beckman has this to say:

“I know that there are some that are frustrated at Sen. Gardner, and they should voice their concern, but he has become a warrior for President Trump,” [Pols emphasis] said Beckman, referencing Gardner’s recent endorsement of the president.

And there it is, folks–what the Republican base wants to hear, and every other voter in Colorado doesn’t. It distills the truth of why Gardner has been forced in recent months to close ranks with Trump even as the majority of the state’s voters punished Republicans as a proxy for Trump last November. Within the Republican ideological bubble, what looks like madness to the majority is a matter of survival. It’s the same snare that caught Rep. Mike Coffman last year, and in 2020 it looks increasingly like Gardner is next.

No shaking the Etch-a-Sketch now. He’s a “warrior for President Trump” to the bitter end.

11 thoughts on “Cory Gardner: “A Warrior For President Trump””

unnamed says:

March 28, 2019 at 1:42 pm

Hopefully if Beckman doesn't vacate her seat to become state GOP chair this year, she will be forced to vacate her seat in 2020 by the will of the voters. She is currently the only Republican in a Clinton district and came close to losing last fall.

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1. mamajama55 says:
  
  March 28, 2019 at 1:54 pm
  
  Why does every candidate for GOP chair have to have a day job and a plan b? Um, nevermind…..
  
  via GIPHY
  
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Conserv. Head Banger says:

March 28, 2019 at 2:36 pm

Beckman and Gibson can double down on Trump all they want. The so-called Colorado Republican base does not include very registered Republican in the state; far from it.

Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld will decide next month if he'll offer a primary challenge next year to Trump. I could see Weld doing very well in New Hampshire. Maybe also Iowa if enough rural voters are disaffected by the impact of Trump's tariffs on farm markets.

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1. unnamed says:
  
  March 28, 2019 at 2:42 pm
  
  If Weld does jump in, that should be interesting. I'd be interested to see if he makes inroads. Just would love to see someone make Trump's life hell.
  
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  1. JohnInDenver says:
    
    March 28, 2019 at 2:54 pm
    
    Gov. Weld won't be a candidate to make Trump's life anything other than what it is today. If Kasich or Hogan decide to run, there could well be some interesting moments — not hell, but perhaps a bit of irritation to bedevil the Trump political organization.
    
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RepealAndReplace says:

March 28, 2019 at 3:01 pm

As Dave Barnes would say, Weld is too old. Larry Hogan is not nearly as old (early 60’s), doesn’t have the Libertarian run with Gary Johnson as baggage, and may be able to pry more votes from Trump.

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Independent Voter says:

March 28, 2019 at 9:34 pm

It's like Gardner is begging to lose by record numbers, he's doing everything the majority of voters in Colorado oppose. Whatever happens in 2020 I'll feel better about my state once we replace Gardner.

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1. RepealAndReplace says:
  
  March 29, 2019 at 6:06 am
  
  Maybe he saw how futile Mike Coffman's pathetic attempts to survive turned out (i.e., voting to save ACA, studying Spanish, openly contemplating the possibility of Trump being impeached) and decided that he might as well go down towing the party line. It might help him land a job working for Koch or Sheldon Adelson.
  
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  1. Davie says:
    
    March 29, 2019 at 7:33 am
    
    It would more likely be for Adelson's soon-to-be-widow. They are already getting Sheldon's room in Hell ready for him.
    
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    1. Duke Cox says:
      
      March 29, 2019 at 8:45 am
      
      It seems to me the comment, "Coloradans should have the opportunity to like president T***p", is an incomplete sentence.
      
      The second phrase is, "before he does what if I don't?".
      
      That could be taken as a veiled threat if you are a terrified , snowflake, uber-lefty, socialist, conspiracy theorist like me.
      
      😋
      
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  2. mamajama55 says:
    
    March 29, 2019 at 8:57 am
    
    Phil Anschutz, then. Cory could become the next spokesmodel for Anschutz' wind farm empire in Wyoming. OK, he's a bit short and chunky, but what a smile.
    
    And he could still pose with Michael Bennet, former Anschutz managing director.
    
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