Gary Hart
Gary Hart has apologized to U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner for writing a bitchy letter to the Denver Post last year complaining that the paper’s endorsement of the Republican signaled the end of the world.
It took Hart seven months to own up to his error, which he did in a letter to the editor today:
In response to The Denver Post’s endorsement of then-Congressman Cory Gardner for the United States Senate last fall, I wrote in opposition to that endorsement and in strong support of Sen. Mark Udall. I did so because Sen. Udall had performed admirably on behalf of Colorado and the nation in the Senate. I continue to believe he should have been re-elected.
However, in commending Udall, I also made disparaging comments about Gardner. That was uncharacteristic for me and contributed to the bitter partisanship now stalemating our government. I regret having done so.
Having made those written comments in a public forum, I now apologize publicly to Sen. Gardner for my comments.
Okay, so he’s NOT sorry for what he said, just HOW he originally said it, which was this:
Your editorial board’s decision to endorse Congressman Cory Gardner for the United States Senate ranks as one of the worst endorsement decisions, not only by the Denver Post but by any serious newspaper, in my lifetime.
In last year’s letter, Hart insists he is smarter than everyone else in Colorado, because he’s a politician, and essentially calls the Post a liar for daring to disagree with his assessment that Udall is a God.
As a Colorado citizen who pays more than ordinary attention to American politics generally and to Colorado politics particularly, I am dumbfounded and appalled by your endorsement … It is flatly false to say that Senator Udall is not a leader or that he is not at the center of major debates. It is much more accurate to say that he is not a self-promoter, which seems to have become the coin of the political realm.
Whoa Nelly!
Udall, not a self-promoter?!
SINCE WHEN???
Hart goes on to say that Udall was at the very heart of debate on everything of any importance to everyone, which is true: Udall talked a lot, but did little.
I cannot imagine from what sources you are deriving your information, but it is clearly not other United States Senators or anyone with a clear picture of what is going on in our nation’s Capitol. You have chosen to support a conventional partisan over a serious legislator concerned with the national interest.
Translation: How dare you contradict the Democratic power base in Washington, D.C.?
Then, Hart hits Gardner with the tea party label, because it’s a tired cliché and what Harry Reid would have wanted.
Simply because one source called him a “rising star” does not qualify him for Senate membership. I had the privilege of serving with serious Senators of both parties. Mr. Gardner has a very long way to go before even coming close to their standard of statesmanship. Senator Udall, from a distinguished public service family whom I have known and with whom I have served, has the gravitas concerning the future of our nation that a partisan such as Mr. Gardner will never have in his lifetime.
I will leave it to my wife to decide whether to continue her subscription to the Post. I have lost confidence in the seriousness of your editorial judgment.
What qualifies someone for “Senate membership,” Mr. Hart, is their election BY THE PEOPLE, not some snobby, secret ritual exclusive to only those with a royal family background such as Udall.
Looking back on this letter, it occurs to us that Gardner is not the only person who deserves an apology — a heart-felt apology and not this snot-slinging, huffy, half-baked sort Hart has offered six months after the election.
We think he owes the entire state of Colorado an apology for insulting our intelligence, the Denver Post for his derogatory slam, and his wife for suggesting editorial excellence does not matter to women.
The one thing we do agree with, it is bitter, partisan words like those of Gary Hart’s that contributes to the stalemate of our government.