September 09, 2013 12:34 PM UTC

Stop Using Aurora Shooting Photos For Politics. Now.

• 6 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Ken Buck's Senate campaign appears to have deleted this photo.

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Back in June, we called out a local conservative blog after they used a photo of President Barack Obama hugging Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper for an attack unrelated to the original photo's context. Seeking a photo of an unhappy Gov. Hickenlooper with Obama, they ended up using an image of Obama embracing Hickenlooper in the immediate aftermath of the Aurora theater shooting. To that blog's credit, once this was pointed out to them, they promptly removed the photo and apologized for misusing it.

This time, it's Ken Buck's 2014 U.S. Senate campaign:

The photo used in this graphic is a copyrighted Associated Press photo. Here's the accompanying caption:

President Barack Obama, second from left, talks with Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., left, as Aurora, Colo., Police Chief Daniel Oates, right, and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, second from right, watch, after Obama arrived at at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo., Sunday, July 22, 2012. Obama is traveling to Aurora, Colorado to visit with families of victims of the movie theater shooting as well as local officials. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

And with that, it's time for Ken Buck to eat some fresh crow. With one final note to all Colorado Republicans going forward: photos of grieving officials following the Aurora shootings are off limits for political attacks. No exceptions.