While the country is struggling with inflation, empty shelves, and the growing totalitarianism of government, Colorado’s U.S. Sen. Hickenlooper has been busy drinking beer.
¡Salud! 🍻 Over the weekend I stopped by Suave Fest to celebrate the Latino beer community and to support local and minority-owned businesses! pic.twitter.com/POqrG5uIqi
— Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) September 21, 2021
A lot of beer.
Oh, how the time flies! The first picture was in 2018, the second picture was yesterday! One of my favorite parts of traveling the state is meeting local business owners like Danny at The Dive in Gunnison! pic.twitter.com/MCYTxt64Hx
— Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) September 4, 2021
But he’s not alway guzzling just for his own drunken pleasure.
Always a pleasure to stop by a brewery, especially one like @ElevationBeerCo! 🍻 We also caught up with local leaders on jobs, infrastructure, broadband, and economic development! pic.twitter.com/mYjUxXDhBo
— Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) September 3, 2021
Now he’s found a way to inject identity politics into his beer binging, so he’s no longer just your common barfly (Diptera Dipsomaniac).
Hick’s a stiff with a sales pitch.
Celebrating #LGBTHistoryMonth with @NewBelgium Biere De Queer! ⁰⁰This month, we honor the LGBTQ+ activists who have fought so hard for basic rights. But there’s more work to do. We must pass the #EqualityAct! pic.twitter.com/JMRIzNLX1x
— Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) October 16, 2021
How soused does a sitting United States senator have to be to agree to endorse a consumer product on his government Twitter account?
All the best people we know are still boycotting New Belgium for the company’s anti-energy politics and (checks notes) ethnic cleansing ties.
Is crafting a new brew for Coming Out Day supposed to erase the sordid claims against the new owners of New Belgium for those pesky ethnic cleansing allegations by Human Rights Watch?
Granted, the company finally agreed a few months ago to cut ties with its Myanmar military business partner, after years of harassment by human rights advocates.
Myanmar’s armed forces, the Tatmadaw, have been responsible over many years for numerous grave violations of human rights and war crimes against the country’s ethnic minority populations. These abuses culminated in the August 2017 campaign of ethnic cleansing against the ethnic Rohingya population in Rakhine State, including killings, sexual violence, and forced removal. Human Rights Watch found that Myanmar’s security forces committed crimes against humanity and genocidal acts in those 2017 operations against the Rohingya.
Someone really should report Hickenlooper to the proper ethics commission for a ruling on his side gig hawking beer for a company that waited four years to cut ties with a foreign military that engaged in ethnic cleansing.
What next, Hick?
Toking with the Taliban?