Cory Gardner is Hiding Under a Desk Somewhere

11 Comments

by: Colorado Pols

Donald Trump, Cory Gardner in Colorado Springs on February 20th.

FRIDAY UPDATE: CNN’s Manu Raju updates with comment from Sen. Cory Gardner on this very issue on a “tele-town hall” last night:

Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, who has perhaps the toughest reelection race of any Republican member, was asked in a telephone town hall on Thursday evening whether it was “appropriate” for Trump to “lie to the American public” by publicly downplaying the threat of coronavirus in comparing it to the flu, while knowing that it is more dangerous.

Gardner did not directly answer the question, responding that he “certainly” takes the pandemic seriously and that he worked with Democratic Gov. Jared Polis to obtain tests and masks, according to a recording of the event obtained by CNN.

Instead of addressing the President’s comments, he accused the media and Democrats for not taking the pandemic seriously enough back then. He said that “unfortunately” the first question CNN asked him after he left a coronavirus briefing in January was about Trump’s impeachment during the trial. And he criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for inviting people to Chinatown in San Francisco in February.

In his preferred scripted forum of a “tele-townhall” where staff controls every mic and any follow-up question that is permitted, Gardner appears to have forgotten all about the rally attended by thousands starring himself and Donald Trump on February 20th in Colorado Springs–an event that belies every claim by Gardner that he was “taking the virus seriously” at this critical time. To pivot to Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Chinatown days later without even acknowledging his own folly is so perfectly hypocritical…

It could only come from Cory Gardner. It’s simply ridiculous.

—–

Manu Raju of CNN is working the halls at the U.S. Capitol building trying to get Republicans to comment on President Trump’s OWN WORDS that he always understood the full dangers of the coronavirus pandemic but intentionally downplayed the threat and undersold safety precautions. As you might expect, Raju is getting a lot of blank looks in response.

We don’t know of Raju is still lurking in a hallway somewhere, but it’s fun to think about what Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) might be doing at the moment.

Senate Republicans are defending Trump after revelations that he told Woodward he intentionally downplayed the coronavirus in order to avoid creating a panic and gave the public a rosy assessment despite what he knew privately

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 9, 2020

Susan Collins also wouldn’t take questions about Trump’s comments to Woodward as she left votes on her way to an elevator.

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 9, 2020

11 thoughts on “Cory Gardner is Hiding Under a Desk Somewhere”

MichaelBowman says:

September 9, 2020 at 3:10 pm

Meanwhile, last week in Yuma County Senator Michael Bennet (D–not hiding under desk) met with farmers and Republic River Water Conservation District members at the home of Don Brown (Republican), former Ag Commish under Gov Hickenlooper.

Yuma County delivered 80.4% of its vote to Donald J. Trump in 2016. Senator Bennet does a great job representing agriculture on the Senate Ag Committee.

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RepealAndReplace says:

September 9, 2020 at 3:24 pm

I imagine that hiding under a desk is an improvement over the place where Gardner can usually be found – inside Mitch McConnell's descending colon.

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Conserv. Head Banger says:

September 9, 2020 at 4:03 pm

Maybe Cory can also tell his constituents what he thinks about Trump's proposals to cut the payroll tax, or even abolish it if he is re-elected.

If Cory says nothing, does that mean he supports doing away with Social Security & Medicare?

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1. Duke Cox says:
  
  September 9, 2020 at 6:20 pm
  
  😃 …Do you think you could actually get him to answer that question?
  
  But…you already know the answer.
  
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Meiner49er says:

September 10, 2020 at 7:01 am

So much spinning.

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skeptical citizen says:

September 10, 2020 at 7:09 am

Time for word balloon replies from Cardboard Cory

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DaftPunk says:

September 11, 2020 at 2:27 pm

I was on that call (didn't get picked to ask my question.) My disrespect for Senator Spokesmodel increased even more than previously thought possible. I have many choice words for him, but slippery weasel is probably best.

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1. unnamed says:
  
  September 11, 2020 at 3:26 pm
  
  Funny. I got a call from his office inviting me to join that call. Second time it has happened. Kinda been worried about my blood pressure rising if I did join.
  
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Conserv. Head Banger says:

September 11, 2020 at 4:59 pm

New poll shows Hickenlooper up now by only 5 points; 51% to 46%. Make of it what you want.

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1. JohnInDenver says:
  
  September 12, 2020 at 8:23 am
  
  re: New poll of 51% Hick – 46% Gardner:
  
  METHODS & MARGIN: . the bipartisan polling team of Fabrizio Ward & Hart Research to conduct polls in five states with key U.S. Senate races, including Colorado. The firms interviewed 1,600 likely Colorado voters, which includes a statewide representative sample of 800 likely voters, with oversamples of 400 likely voters age 50 and older, and 400 Hispanic likely voters age 50 and older, between Aug. 30 and Sept. 5. The interviews were conducted via landline and cellphone. The margin of sampling error for the 800 statewide sample is plus or minus 3.5 percent; for the 749 total sample of voters 50+ is plus or minus 3.6 percent; and for the 466 total sample of Hispanic voters 50+ is plus or minus 4.6 percent.
  
  I can't find a demographic or partisan breakdown of the sample to see what the firms consider "likely voters." The press releases I've seen come from AARP and focus on the "older voters." No equivalent description of "Hispanic likely voters."
  
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  1. RepealAndReplace says:
    
    September 12, 2020 at 8:59 am
    
    Older voters tend to always turn out whereas younger voters are less reliable. Perhaps this is preparing us for a Hick worst case scenario and represents Gardner’s best outcome.
    
    Since Trump will probably lose Colorado by somewhere between 5% and 10%, that means a lot of people will be splitting their tickets and voting for Biden and Gardner.
    
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