On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner’s Great American Outdoors Act passed passed the United States Senate. This bill has been a long time coming and is a testament to Gardner’s growing clout in the Senate. The bill has been described by many as a huge win for Colorado’s public lands and environment. Several articles have even described it as “the biggest federal lands bill in 50 years.”
One person that unsurprisingly seems to be upset about this huge win for Colorado is U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.
While Gardner has continually delivered results for Coloradans in the Senate, the opposite can be said for Bennet. This will be Gardner’s tenth bill signed into law, meanwhile Bennet, who has been in the Senate for four years longer than Gardner, only has one bill signed into law. That has to be hard for someone who grew up in Washington D.C. and is still reeling from a failed presidential campaign.
But instead of being thrilled that Gardner achieved something he never could, Bennet decided that he would play politics. Bennet even lied about Gardner’s voting record on protecting Colorado’s public lands. Here is what Bennet told Colorado Public Radio on Wednesday: “On climate change and our public lands generally, he’s been missing in action. And I don’t think that this late attempt to do something to try and help him with his election is going to make a big difference.”
But… several years ago, Bennet talked about how much he respected Gardner for bucking his party leadership and voting for the LWCF.
MICHAEL BENNET: Actually you should know that Senator Gardner voted with the Democrats on that, when we had an amendment on the Senate [floor] to basically sell off our public lands in the United States.
CORY GARDNER: He came over to check on me to make sure I was ok.
Michael BENNET: I came over to check on him to make sure he was ok! He was ok, and the reason he was ok is because that’s the right vote for Colorado. We treasure our public lands, they’re a huge part of our heritage.
What changed for Bennet besides election year shenanigans?
What changed is that this is a huge accomplishment for Colorado and something that neither Bennet or former U.S. Sen. Udall could get accomplished when the Democrats held the House, the Senate, and the White House. While Gardner continues to focus on delivering results for Coloradans, Bennet has instead decided to stand with Chuck Schumer and John Hickenlooper in playing partisan politics.
Good luck to Bennet trying to explain to voters in 2022 why after 13 years in the Senate, he has achieved nothing for Colorado.