MLK Resolution Passes With Everybody BUT Rep. Scott Bottoms

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by: Colorado Pols

Freshman GOP Rep. Scott “There Is No” Bottoms (R-Colorado Springs).

On this Friday before the federal holiday Monday commemorating civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Colorado House passed its customary resolution honoring Dr. King with lots of specification on both sides. In previous years, this resolution has witnessed more than its share of controversy, from the “sponsorship boycott” last year in which no Republican House members signed on to the resolution, to supremely forgettable speeches like former Rep. Lori Saine’s bizarre belief that as many white people were lynched as African-Americans during the Reconstruction era. This year the speeches were by all accounts more tame, and a few Republicans actually even signed on as cosponsors.

Instead, the 2024 MLK resolution was marred by the lone protest vote against honoring Dr. King’s legacy from GOP Rep. Scott “There Is No” Bottoms, acting out the contrarian role of his HD-15 predecessors in office Dave “Let’s Go Brandon” Williams and Gordon “Dr. Chaps” Klingenschmitt as the guy who will say the thing far-right Republicans all want to say but out of lingering desire for self-preservation shy away from. No need to take our word for it, here is Bottoms’ explanation for being the only “no” vote in the Colorado House on HJR24-1004:

[T]here are major statements in the resolution that I strongly disagree with, because in the quotes that I’m reading and will continue reading, they they are the exact opposite of what Doctor Martin Luther King said himself. Not what I’m saying, but what he said. He said in his I Have a Dream speech, said I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. And there are statements in this resolution that go strongly against his words right there, and it is not okay for me.

I have a dream as a white grandfather of biracial grandchildren, that we could live in a country someday where we’re not judged by the color of our skin, and where people make the assumption ahead of time what your ideology is and what your your prejudices are, are not according to the color of your skin. You cannot you cannot assess that by someone’s skin color. And we are regressing as a country. And this resolution is confirming that that we are regressing within this…

This led us to read through the text of this year’s MLK resolution to identify which specific parts “are the exact opposite of what Dr. Martin Luther King said himself,” and we confess we were unable to do so. We did find some lines in the resolution that might make Rep. Bottoms uncomfortable, like the part about how “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” But that happens to be a verbatim quote of Dr. King. If Rep. Bottoms decides to clarify what his specific issue with the language of the resolution was that prevented him from voting yes along with every other Republican in the House minority, even Bottoms’ usual partner in ignominy Rep. Ken “Skin” DeGraff[t], we’ll be happy to update.

But we don’t expect it. De facto House leader Bottoms never stops talking, but he doesn’t apologize or explain.

14 thoughts on “MLK Resolution Passes With Everybody BUT Rep. Scott Bottoms”

2Jung2Die says:

January 12, 2024 at 12:39 pm

Not surprised by Bottoms in the tiniest. Resolutions give speechifyers the opportunity to make a point without real consequences to legislation, even if Bottoms really picked the wrong time and place to do this one.

What I find a bit more interesting is Epps' absence. I listened on opening day and she wasn't at the Capitol. If she's got legit excuses for missing work and apparently a vote on the MLK resolution (health, family, etc), that's fine by me. But I can't help wondering if something else is going on.

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1. kwtree says:
  
  January 13, 2024 at 12:04 pm
  
  Epps' office was moved to the mailroom,and Alex Valdez now has her old office. Seems a bit petty.
  
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  1. 2Jung2Die says:
    
    January 13, 2024 at 1:21 pm
    
    Petty perhaps, but a good reason for what appears by the picture to be an unexcused absence?
    
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    1. Lauren Boebert is a Worthless POS says:
      
      January 13, 2024 at 1:23 pm
      
      Perhaps Epps was too busy working on resolving the issues in Gaza.
      
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      1. 2Jung2Die says:
        
        January 13, 2024 at 1:31 pm
        
        I honestly wish she could do that, but nope, the war continues, last I checked.
        
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Lauren Boebert is a Worthless POS says:

January 12, 2024 at 1:52 pm

It's something about Colorado Springs. There is always keen competition to see who can be the biggest turd in the punch bowl. Example: Betty Beedy who was a county commissioner back in the '90's. (She's #5 on the Hall of Shame list.)

Hall of Shame | News | Denver | Denver Westword | The Leading Independent News Source in Denver, Colorado

As offensive as Scott Bottoms' vote on the resolution was, he's got a long way to go to catch up with "Let's Go Brandon" Williams in the punch bowl turd competition.

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1. davebarnes says:
  
  January 12, 2024 at 4:41 pm
  
  "It's something about Colorado Springs."
  
  “It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids, without the knowledge of the individual, certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works.”
  
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davebarnes says:

January 12, 2024 at 4:38 pm

Took me 4 tries to login and stayed logged in when reading this article.

What is with the tally board misspelling Tin Hernández’s name ? Are the white folks discriminating against the brown folks?

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1. JohnInDenver says:
  
  January 13, 2024 at 5:35 pm
  
  His campaign website identifies him as Tim Hernández.
  
  Colorado General Assembly website has Tim Hernandez. [are they dropping accents from any other name?]
  
  Board in the photo above has HERNANDEZ [and an odd look by having what I think is a hand in the background photo imitating an accent mark over the R ].
  
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ElliotFladen says:

January 16, 2024 at 8:38 am

I remain of the belief that it is inappropriate to give fallible and flawed mortals a holiday solely in their honor.

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1. spaceman2021 says:
  
  January 16, 2024 at 10:15 am
  
  And yet, Christmas remains a holiday.
  
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  1. ElliotFladen says:
    
    January 16, 2024 at 9:52 pm
    
    A majority of people don't believe Jesus was a fallible and flawed mortal.
    
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    1. Duke Cox says:
      
      January 17, 2024 at 6:07 am
      
      Elliot,
      
      ” A majority of people” don’t even believe in your Savior. It would be more appropriate to say, a majority of Christians think so, but your statement, as presented, is poppycock.
      
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Budded says:

January 16, 2024 at 9:06 am

Spare us your pearl-clutching, Bottoms! We all know you've jumped on the bandwagon for worrying about what color your airplane pilot is, but sure, you have biracial grandchildren… what does that mean, they're Norweigan and Irish?

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