John Hickenlooper is flip-flopping on his core campaign belief and launched a negative and false ad against U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner.
The old Hickenlooper used to tell anyone who would listen that negative ads are part of the problem we have in this country and that it poisons the environment.
There was even a Washington Post article that called Hickenlooper “the man who hates negative ads.”
VIDEO: Hickenlooper on negative campaign ads – including being featured in a negative PAC ad from a group supporting Jared Polis. #cogov #copolitics #coleg #kdvr pic.twitter.com/y3LcEUfSUG
— Joe St. George (@JoeStGeorge) June 13, 2018
But since Hickenlooper has been found guilty of violating state ethics laws, held in contempt, and his poll numbers are dipping, he is flip-flopping and running a nasty attack ad.
John @Hickenlooper, who has long been considered a clean campaigner, goes negative in his latest ad.
Three times in the ad he accuses Gardner of being “on vacation,” or what the rest of the political world calls August recess. #cosen #copolitics https://t.co/o2h5y5rKb8
— Justin Wingerter (@JustinWingerter) September 2, 2020
Hickenlooper’s ad claims Gardner spent the August recess on a fishing vacation — an odd attack since Hickenlooper has been running a “bunker-styled” campaign according to the Colorado Sun:
Hickenlooper’s team says it is not advertising most events and limiting the size because of the coronavirus. But the decision also allows Hickenlooper to avoid questions from reporters and voters, and it limits his propensity to make comments that hurt his campaign, as he did in the primary.
Hick went on the defense late last week, spent a few days in Aspen and Vail and declared it a Western Slope campaign swing.
It’s laughable considering Gardner’s twitter feed is filled with photos from his statewide tour.
Senator @CoryGardner has been all over Colorado during the state work period meeting with constituents and talking about how #ResultsMatter.
Take a look at Sen. Gardner’s work and travel across Colorado in August. #copolitics #cosen
THREAD:
— The Colorado GOP (@cologop) September 4, 2020
Gardner was in Grand Junction to announce a $12.9 million grant for the airport, he toured Genesis Plastics in Greeley, which has been focused on making plastic shields during COVID.
He visited the Peterson Air Force Base, attended the dedication of the new Poplar Hall in Fort Morgan, spoke at the ground-breaking of the new Roaring Fork Transportation Authority in Glenwood Springs, visited CSU’s COVID lab, conducted a small business roundtable in Colorado Springs to discuss the impact of COVID-19, and visited Montrose Forest Products to discuss sustainable business and job creation opportunities.
And as we reported last week, Gardner is making sure firefighters battling major forest wildfires have the resources they need.
If this is what Hickenlooper considers vacationing, it explains why he thought a cruise through Aspen and Vail is considered a Western Slope campaign swing.