For those Democratic operatives who’ve taken offense at the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s ad targeting John Hickenlooper’s ethics troubles — no — the ad was not in reference to the former governor’s brush with the law while driving impaired in 1989.
The “Joyride John Travel Agency” ad was specifically directed at luxury airline travel, not automobiles, which is painfully obvious for anyone who got a glimpse of the actual ad.
NEW AD: Ahead of Joyride John @Hickenlooper‘s ethics meeting this week, we’re reminding Coloradans that he can’t be trusted and isn’t cut out to be a Senator… his words, not ours. #COSen #copoliticshttps://t.co/hSyxs6lhYD pic.twitter.com/iZzghIpNRK
— The Senate Majority (@NRSC) December 2, 2019
“It has come to our attention that some Democratic operatives alleged this was a reference to an incident in Hickenlooper’s past,” Joanna Rodriguez, NRSC press secretary said in an email statement Wednesday.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. We want to be clear: ‘Joyride John’ was NOT a reference to Hickenlooper’s 1989 citation for driving while ability impaired,” Rodriguez said.
Well, glad we got that cleared up.
But for those Democrats still insisting this was some sort of negative ad about something that happened two decades ago, rather than Hickenlooper’s recent flouting of ethic rules, Rodriguez goes on to say:
“Driving while ability impaired is no laughing matter. It is a serious offense that tragically endangers the lives of other drivers and passengers and we would never make light of it.
“Let there be no ambiguity, we were talking about recent reports that Hickenlooper potentially violated Colorado state ethics rules by taking free flights from wealthy donors, not his past reckless driving offense.”
We hope that clears it all up for everyone.