Did Denver Mayor Hancock remove the homeless from Civic Center Park to set the stage for President Biden’s visit to Colorado on Monday?
That’s the question many are asking since the White House announced the three-state western swing just days after Hancock announced the upcoming closure of the park.
It all looks so suspiciously convenient.
“It’s not safe to walk through the park,” said Scott Gilmore, Deputy Executive Director of Parks and Recreation, during a phone interview Tuesday morning with CBS4.
“We need to take back the park,” said Gilmore, noting several violent incidents in and around the park recently.
https://twitter.com/TubbsShow/status/1435256554098282502?s=20
Already barricades are going up and homeless people are being told to leave.
Homeless sweeps in Denver have been historically tied to upcoming events like the Major League Baseball All-Star game and the Democrat National Convention.
Hancock conveniently happened to be out of the office and was unavailable for comment.
It makes sense the White House and Denver City Hall aren’t keen to have journalists wandering around and photographing one of those Democrat-run cities we keep hearing about on the news where the parks are crime-ridden and full of needles and human waste, literally unsafe to walk though.
It would also be awkward for U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper to explain why his 10-year plan to end homelessness, and previous Civic Center Park closures under his watch as mayor were such utter failures.
We wonder whether U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet will even risk being seen with Biden.
The president’s approval rating is sitting at -4 in Colorado, and Biden is 23 points underwater with unaffiliated voters after a politically disastrous August for the White House.
The Colorado event Monday is billed as part of a tour to promote Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda, which faces an uncertain future in Congress with Democrats increasingly at each others’ throats.
Or maybe we hit the “cancel” button on this so-called “bipartisan” charade of an Exxon lobbyist drafted infrastructure bill unless we actually pass a law that helps people’s lives with healthcare expansion, childcare, climate action, etc. https://t.co/85Uio8GyWz
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 2, 2021
If Bennet shows up, Biden will likely talk up a proposed extension of the back-to-welfare Child Tax Credit.
But with major infighting among Democrats in both the House and the Senate, it’s hard to say whether a clean extension even stands a chance of passing.
West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin reportedly wants to means test an extension, so at the very least the Child Tax Credit probably will not pass in the permanent form Bennet has bragged about all summer.
Whether or not any Colorado Democrats show up, a “Build Back Better” event in a city where the crown jewel was forced to begin shutting down because of violent crime and rampant drug use seems like it would be a nonstarter for the White House.
Let’s see if Hancock starts answering some questions.