President (To Win Colorado) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Biden*

(R) Donald Trump

80%

20%↓

CO-01 (Denver) See Full Big Line

(D) Diana DeGette*

90%

CO-02 (Boulder-ish) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse*

90%

CO-03 (West & Southern CO) See Full Big Line

(D) Adam Frisch

(R) Jeff Hurd

(R) Ron Hanks

40%

30%

20%

CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado) See Full Big Line

(R) Lauren Boebert

(R) J. Sonnenberg

(R) Ted Harvey

20%↑

15%↑

10%

CO-05 (Colorado Springs) See Full Big Line

(R) Dave Williams

(R) Jeff Crank

(R) Doug Bruce

20%

20%

20%

CO-06 (Aurora) See Full Big Line

(D) Jason Crow*

90%

CO-07 (Jefferson County) See Full Big Line

(D) Brittany Pettersen

85%↑

 

CO-08 (Northern Colo.) See Full Big Line

(D) Yadira Caraveo

(R) Gabe Evans

(R) Janak Joshi

60%↑

40%↑

20%↑

State Senate Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

80%

20%

State House Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

95%

5%

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
May 13, 2022 09:21 AM UTC

"Monster"--Boebert's Ex-Employees Confirm The Worst

  • 7 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Lauren Boebert, Jayson Boebert, and Jayson’s little friend.

A feature-length story from Abigail Weinberg writing for Mother Jones published yesterday is getting a lot of attention on both sides of the aisle, an extremely damaging but also insightful look at freshman GOP scandal incubator Rep. Lauren Boebert’s  background and rise to prominence as the owner of the Shooters’ Grill in Rifle.

Ever since she came in like a wrecking ball to Colorado’s political scene back in 2019, Boebert has been dogged by questions about her repeated brushes with the law, carefree attitude about public health, compliance with tax and labor laws–and of course, an infamous 2017 food poisoning incident that sickened dozens of people at an area rodeo. Since taking office, Boebert has come under an unusual amount of scrutiny from federal regulators for persistently sloppy campaign finance accounting, donations exceeding the legal limit, and misuse of campaign funds for personal expenses.

Boebert’s former Shooters Grill employees have a message for you: they were there, and it’s as bad as you thought.

[F]ive former Shooters employees tell me that Boebert frequently failed to pay her employees on time. (Two of the former workers wished to remain anonymous because they feared retaliation; another did not want to be named and publicly associated with Boebert.) “The second the restaurant blew up, her head blew up, and it became something entirely different,” one former waitress says. “And I got to meet a new version of her that is a monster.”

Multiple employees say that they were paid in cash, either out of the register or from Boebert’s husband’s wallet, without any taxes deducted. While many workers were struggling to make ends meet, they say Boebert spent exorbitant sums on breast implants, private schooling for her sons, and a new Cadillac Escalade…

Workers say that once Trump became president, Boebert increasingly intertwined her political views with the restaurant. In 2019, Boebert attended a Beto O’Rourke presidential campaign event in Aurora, responding to the candidate’s proposal to take away assault rifles with, “Hell no, you’re not.” “When she went to confront Beto O’Rourke, that’s when she started selling T-shirts and stuff,” one waitress says, “and then so we lost a lot of our customers.” [Pols emphasis]

…Employees tell me they believed that Boebert’s husband, who works as a consultant in the oil and gas industry, was keeping the company afloat. “There were times when we were waiting for him to get his check, so that way she could get us our check,” one former employee says. According to [former cook Josh] Boyington, “He’s the one who paid the rent, all the bills, everything.”

The descriptions of the experience of working for Boebert at Shooters’ Grill in this story corroborate reporting that has already been done documenting the precarious state of the Shooters grill business and the Boeberts’ frequent financial problems. Jason Salzman at the Colorado Times-Recorder reported on the liens filed over Boebert’s failure to pay unemployment insurance premiums all the way back in October of 2020, consistent with the long-held suspicion confirmed in this story that Boebert’s employees were being paid under the table. These are the same liens that were paid off right around the same time Boebert charged her campaign in excess of $20,000 for “mileage reimbursement.”

These are in large part things we knew on paper. But the story in the first person is much more compelling.

But even in this highly damaging look at Boebert’s business history, there are signs that it might not matter:

Referring to Democrats, McInnis, the former congressman, says, “​​They’re not saying anything about the radicals or some of the people that they are dealing with on their side. And so I don’t think Lauren’s being radical at all. You know, you got to speak up if you want to be heard…”

“I think she’s going to become a very powerful member of the US Congress,” McInnis says.

As readers know ex-Congressman now Mesa County Commissioner Scott McInnis has been under siege for over a year by far-right activists who show up every public comment period to rage at the Mesa County Board of Commissioners, and have threatened McInnis with “civil war” with no apparent consideration for the fact that McInnis is a fellow Republican and they would presumably therefore be on the same side. Although some of the MAGA faithful may be worried now that even Lauren Boebert has sold out to Soros, the fringe activists harassing McInnis are Boebert’s base much more than they are Scott McInnis’–or McInnis’ erstwhile friend Scott Tipton’s, or for that matter Don Coram’s who McInnis seems to be writing off. It’s a disappointing cop-out for McInnis that makes it much harder to have any sympathy as he reaps the whirlwind from Tina Peters.

Acknowledging the truth is only the first step. There’s got to be a will to change course.

Comments

7 thoughts on ““Monster”–Boebert’s Ex-Employees Confirm The Worst

    1. Adam Frisch is the only candidate within shouting distance of Bimbobert's fundraising total.

      How does Coram expect to stop her with his anemic fundraising? Don't get me wrong – I'm rooting for Coram.

      Are the oily boys refusing to open their checkbooks because they fear retribution from Boebert if they give to both sides?

      1. MAGA GOP is funding and promoting Boobert. 

        40% of CD3 is unaffiliated meaning they are libertarian leaning but will switch to GOP in a heartbeat (see DJ Drumpf) . 

         

        CO-03: Lauren Boebert (R)

        2021 PVI: R+6

        2020 Biden: 46.1%
        2020 Trump: 51.6%

        2016 Clinton: 40%
        2016 Trump: 52%

        Adam Frisch isn't even polling close to Sol who is exceptional as  Adam is too.  KEY IS NO DEM is gonna win CD3 in 2022. 

        If sane in CD3 want to have a chance in 2024 to change the district back to sanity CORAM is the only opportunity.  

        Come on Senor Don Quixote,  Pablo says we must fight windmills smartly.  Gawd help us here in this district.  

        Remove Boobert from primary then vote Dem. 

         

         

        1. "Remove Boobert from primary then vote Dem"

          That's what folks need to do. That way Us and Dems who change their registration to "U" for the primary get the opportunity to cast two votes against Bimbobert.

           

  1. CO-03 (WESTERN & SOUTHERN COLO.)

    (R) Lauren Boebert* (60%)↓
    Boebert’s re-election odds improved with redistricting, but now she has a real Primary challenger in Coram.

    (R) Don Coram (30%)↑
    Coram could prove to be an ideal foil to Boebert.

    (D) Sol Sandoval (20%)
    Sandoval was the favorite at the Democratic assembly. Now, can she stop her campaign’s troubling burn rate?

    (D) Alex Walker (15%)
    The “poop guy” made it onto the June Primary ballot and raised a decent amount of money, so apparently this is real.

    (D) Adam Frisch (5%)
    Unlikely to be competitive, but his main goal seems to be taking a chunk out of Boebert.

Leave a Comment

Recent Comments


Posts about

Donald Trump
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Lauren Boebert
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Yadira Caraveo
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado House
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado Senate
SEE MORE

208 readers online now

Newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop with regular updates!