Why is U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet bailing on Colorado voters?
It’s bad enough that he was missing in action during his six-year tenure, living spending more time in Washington than in the state he purports to represent.
Now that he’s campaigning for reelection, it appears that he still doesn’t want to spend any time with voters, or explain his voting record for things that have made our lives miserable, like Obamacare.
He cancelled a debate with Republican challenger Darryl Glenn hosted by CBS4 in Denver, then he bailed on Colorado Springs, cancelling that debate hosted by 11 News.
Now he’s breaking a long-standing date with Southern Colorado voters and The Pueblo Chieftain, bailing on that paper’s political forum with Glenn that was scheduled for Oct. 20.
Chieftain Managing Editor Steve Henson is ticked at how it all unfolded, and in true journalistic fashion, shared with readers how Bennet came to pass on his commitment, and in his words, “has refused to find a date that will work.”
The debate was agreed to months ago, but Bennet’s office told the Chieftain this week that date would not work.
The Chieftain was flexible, offering any other date that suited Bennet, but here’s the reply they received:
“I’m sorry, we just can’t fulfill every request and won’t be able to make this one work.”
Henson’s response:
Allow me to comment: That’s ridiculous and an insult to Southern Colorado. If the campaign really wanted to, it could have committed to Oct. 20 early on if it had considered it important enough. But, obviously, it didn’t and either scheduled another event or simply doesn’t want to participate in forums with Glenn.
And this:
By deciding that a forum in Southern Colorado wasn’t a priority, by deciding that some other event crossed Pueblo and Southern Colorado off the list, the Bennet campaign made a pretty strong statement about how it feels about standing up and defending oneself in a public event, and a pretty strong statement about how the campaign regards this part of the state.
Ouch!
Check out Henson’s recount in its entirety here, it’s worth the read.
If Bennet doesn’t have time to ask Coloradans to vote for him and explain why, he shouldn’t be surprised when they don’t.