Disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal has lawmaker ‘questioning my service … as a Democrat’

Littleton state Rep. David Ortiz isn’t holding back on the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In a little noticed interview Aug. 19 with the Colorado Sun, Ortiz said the entire debacle has him “questioning my service as an elected leader, as a Democrat.”

The comments from Ortiz follow another interview last week where the disabled Afghanistan veteran called out President Biden’s “bullsh*t” spin.

Ortiz also took aim at “privileged” politicians like Democrat U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.

Bennet is defending Biden’s handling of the withdrawal that quickly resulted into the fall of the Afghanistan government to the Taliban, calling it the “right decision.”

Ortiz went on to call Biden’s decision to elevate politics over the reality on the ground as it became clear the withdrawal was not going as planned, “heartbreaking … and disgusting for me to see.”

A former Army helicopter pilot, Ortiz also described the 2012 harrowing accident in Afghanistan that left him paralyzed.

“We initiated an emergency landing just in case things went from bad to worse, and they did, the engine exploded,” he said.

“My memory cuts out about 20 feet from the ground. I woke up three to five minutes later, with dust thick in the air, just feeling hot, covered in metal.”

He is the first known lawmaker in the Colorado General Assembly to use a wheelchair.

Ortiz is not alone among Colorado Democrats who have questioned the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal.

Aurora U.S. Rep. Jason Crow has also criticized Biden’s precipitous withdrawal, and called on the administration Tuesday to extend their Aug. 31 deadline to evacuate all Americans and Afghan allies from the country.