Since arriving in Washington only two months ago, Congressman Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) has quickly developed a reputation as a star of one of the largest freshman classes in history.

Gaining a coveted seat on the high profile House Energy and Commerce Committee, a key assignment for Western representatives, Gardner has become a leading voice for stopping the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from pulling a Salazar and doing an end-run around Congress over the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.      

The peoples’ representatives in Congress, from both parties, sent a clear signal to the EPA last year that they would not support the regulation of greenhouse gases via a tax on energy, especially in an economy gasping for air.

Ignoring the will of the people’s elected representatives, the EPA has been trying to push forward with a regulation scheme that can be implemented without Congressional approval.  

As Gardner promised repeatedly on the campaign trail, he has been leading a push to put a stop to the EPA’s attempt at pushing laws through regulatory fiat. This tactic has seemingly become a favorite of the Obama administration – Congress says no, but they try to use rules and regulations to get what they want anyway.

Having won his district by over 11,000 votes and with his most likely opponent in 2012, Senate President Brandon Shaffer, mired in an ethics scandal of his top deputy in the State Senate, Gardner’s re-elect looks better every day.  

This high profile has of course invited scurrilous attacks from the Left.

The Colorado “Independent” had a piece last week on Gardner’s going toe-to-toe with Denver Democrat Diana DeGette on the legislation. Lacking solid substantiation for its charges the “Independent” was forced to quote “national news media” like liberal shills Gawker and ThinkProgress to go after Gardner. It even included a claim that Gardner had taken $10k from Koch industries, but for some odd reason forgot to cite a source for that attack.

These attacks are a sure sign that Gardner’s star is rising fast, as they’re trying to kill his image before it’s too late. As the first re-elect is generally the hardest in Congress, Democrats window to define Gardner in a negative light is quickly closing and so far they’ve failed  miserably.