February 23, 2017 01:35 PM UTC

MUST WATCH: Constituents Corner Cory Gardner

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Here’s another camera angle of the encounter:

More video of constituents asking @SenCoryGardner for a #TownHall. #COpolitics #WheresCory #WillCoryShow cc: @KDVR @9news @MSNBC @maddow pic.twitter.com/gooxZtVTGz

— Kaili Lambe (@Kaili09) February 23, 2017

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Wow! Great work by a number of @IndivisibleTeam folks greeting @SenCoryGardner in Broomfield this morning. #WillCoryShow tomorrow? pic.twitter.com/qNUQVkTUhz

— Kaili Lambe (@Kaili09) February 23, 2017

Wild video now circulating on social media of a confrontation this morning between Sen. Cory Gardner and several constituents in a Broomfield office building–in which Gardner tries mightily to escape with a proffered business card and promises of a future “tele-town hall,” and fails miserably as his persistent constituents tail him onto an elevator. Transcript:

CONSTITUENT: We are at 380 Interlocken Crescent trying to meet with Senator Gardner as he’s going into a meeting this morning.
(Gardner enters building, applause)
CONSTITUENT: Hi, Senator Gardner!
GARDNER: How are you?
CONSTITUENT: Hi, I’m Kathryn Ashton Hirst, nice to meet you I’m one of your constituents.
GARDNER: Nice to see you. Nice to see you. How are you guys doing?
CONSTITUENT: Came from Breckenridge Colorado today.
GARDNER: Thanks for coming in.
CONSTITUENT: We’re hoping you’re going to hold a town hall for us soon.
GARDNER: Thanks. If you go to our website there’ll be a tele-town hall soon.
CONSTITUENT: We have been. I’ve tried to sign up for three of them and I have yet to hear, I have yet to hear from your office.
(Crosstalk)
CONSTITUENT: I’ve tried to sign up for town halls, and they’re not returning my calls.
CONSTITUENT #2: Tell him there’s no scheduling either.
GARDNER: Excuse me, I’m trying to…yeah do you have a card you can give them…yeah, look at our website for tele-town halls, that would be fantastic.
CONSTITUENT: We want a town hall. We have…we’ve gone to your website, we’ve called your office, and we’re trying to get on your list…
CONSTITUENT #3: How about in person?
GARDNER: Call the office and we’ll be in touch.
CONSTITUENT: I’ve been refused for three of them, Senator Gardner.
CONSTITUENT #2: I’ve been calling a lot. (unintelligible)
GARDNER: Excuse me…
CONSTITUENT: You’re going to the ninth floor.
GARDNER: Well, um, it’s, uh, if you call the office we have…
CONSTITUENT: We have called the office.
GARDNER: I’m told we have the information on our website, so…
CONSTITUENT: Well we don’t, and I’ve tried to call and I’ve tried to get on three of your town halls.
GARDNER AIDE: Excuse me, you’re blocking the elevator…
CONSTITUENT: And I have yet to have been called back.
(Crosstalk)
GARDNER: (unintelligible) you weren’t on the town hall?
CONSTITUENT: Because there’s, you guys dial us and I’ve asked to be on three of them and I have yet to be reached on any of them.
GARDNER AIDE: Could be a capacity issue.
GARDNER: Well I’m curious now that, so we called you and it didn’t work?
CONSTITUENT: No you haven’t called me. I’ve called to get on your town halls several times…
GARDNER: Oh ok, take Jorge’s (?) card, can you take Jorge’s card, and call him [Gardner motions to staffer]…
CONSTITUENT: I would love to…
GARDNER: And we will add you to the next tele-town hall. (Crosstalk)
CONSTITUENT: Okay I have asked to be added…
(Crosstalk)
CONSTITUENT #3: You had lots of town halls last year.
GARDNER: And we had several yesterday, public forums, open forums, so…
CONSTITUENT: Where?
CONSTITUENT #3: When are you going to start announcing them, Senator?
GARDNER: Well, they’re on the website, I think we talked about them yesterday, I think… (Crosstalk)
CONSTITUENT: They’re not on the website.
CONSTITUENT #3: I’ve called a half a dozen times, signed forms… (crosstalk)
GARDNER: Well, the Governor’s Ag Forum…the Governor’s Ag Forum was well-publicized, so thank you. Thank you.
CONSTITUENT: We look forward to seeing you again Senator Gardner! We look forward to that town hall!
CONSTITUENT #2: Yeah don’t hide from us!

You can detect a very rare flash of public contempt from Gardner for these constituents, when he tells them “look at our website for tele-town halls, that would be fantastic.” Gardner defends himself by claiming to have held several “public forums,” citing yesterday’s appearance at the Governor’s Ag Forum as an example (admission $200). Gardner is able to delay with affected concern that the constituent was not able to connect to his tele-town halls just long enough for the elevator door to open and Gardner to escape down the hallway with staffers watching his flanks. The whole experience is very bad for Gardner, who spends most of the recording ducking his head out from behind his staff.

Yes, Gardner (mostly) keeps cool–but watching him first try to evade his constituents, then evade their obvious points about a face-to-face meeting, shows the limits of even Cory Gardner’s world-famous slickness.

And we’ll be watching for this video in the news.