I’ve observed Colorado @SenCoryGardner since his election. What I’ve seen has left me dismayed. Rather than building bipartisan bridges to get things done, Cory became a supine Trump yes-man. There are 1000s reasons he shouldn’t be re-elected. Here are 101: #VoteCoryOut#COsen
#1: Even though he was elected by the narrowest of margins in 2014 in a state that has since voted for Hillary in 2016 & a democratic state govt trifecta in 2018, Cory continues to act as if he has a mandate from the white nationalist alt-right. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#2: Cory Gardner has consistently voted for the extreme Trump agenda. During the 2019-2020 Congress, he’s voted with Trump over 90% of the time. During Trump’s 1st two years, Cory’s voting record was over 95% in line with Trump. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#3: W/o even knowing who the Gen. Election candidates will be, Gardner gave a full-throated endorsement of Trump for 2020. He’s clearly forgotten that CO voted resoundingly for HRC & for Dems for statewide office. Trumpism is the antithesis of Colorado pragmatism. #VoteCoryOut
#4: @SenCoryGardner rejected a bipartisan effort to condemn Trump’s illegal and disastrous war in Yemen. Cory voted AGAINST a bill that would have ended US military assistance to Saudi Arabia, thus voting to continue an endless humanitarian catastrophe. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#5: After the Trump Admin. failed to secure funding for additional border wall during 2 yrs of complete GOP control in Washington, & Trump declared a #FakeNationalEmergency, Cory Gardner voted against a bipartisan measure to overturn the unconstitutional declaration. #VoteCoryOut
#6: @SenCoryGardner voted to confirm Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist who is actively seeking to loosen regulations on deadly mercury pollution, as @EPA Administrator. #VoteCoryOut#COsen
More to come this weekend. Feel free to add your reasons for wanting to #VoteCoryOut.
#7: After the #STEMschoolshooting@SenCoryGardner offered nothing more than meaningless cliches for the victims. As the NRA’s bought & paid for servant, Cory refuses to support even the most mild gun safety reform measures. #VoteCoryOut#COsen
#8: Cory Gardner voted for the #GOPTaxScamBill which has caused the national deficit to skyrocket while raising taxes on many in the middle class. He repaid his out-of-state billionaire benefactors with this YUGE tax cut for the ultra rich. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#10: Despite multiple credible allegations of sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh, @SenCoryGardner broke generations of Senate precedent & decorum to help Mitch McConnell hastily push through the confirmation w/o a robust investigation. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#11: Senator Gardner openly opposes #NetNeutrality. He voted against a Senate resolution that would have overturned the Trump FCC's ruling that eliminated Net Neutrality. (S.J. Resolution 52) #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#12: While in the House and in the Senate, @CoryGardner has consistently expressed hostility towards #Dreamers. After President Obama enacted #DACA protections, Gardner voted to rescind those protections. #VoteCoryOut#cosen#copolitics
#13: @SenCoryGardner voted repeatedly to repeal health care coverage from 100,000s of Coloradans. He voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act on multiple occasions, but has not once offered an alternative way of providing universal coverage. #VoteCoryOut#cosen#copolitics
#14: Sen. Gardner colluded w/ Mitch McConnell to undermine the Senate's role as a deliberative body, & tossed away over a century of precedent when he voted to get rid of the 60 vote cloture requirement for Supreme Court nominations. #VoteCoryOut#cosen#copolitics
#15: Related to #14, @SenCoryGardner bucked the U.S. Constitution when he blocked the SCOTUS nomination of eminently-qualified jurist #MerrickGarland, greatly contributing to Washington's dysfunction. Gardner wouldn't even allow an up or down vote. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#17: Gardner votes like a climate science denier. Holding an abysmal 10% rating from the League of Conservation Voters, he has not once voted in favor of #ClimateAction legislation. Colorado is especially vulnerable to the impacts of #ClimateChange. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#19: (Cont'd) Gardner stated "the president has not done this [fire Mueller], he will not do this, & he should not do this," in justifying his vote to block a bipartisan #ProtectMueller bill. Turns out Trump would have fired Mueller w/o the valiant efforts of Don McGahn. #cosen
#20: As add'l revelations about Trump's involvement in felonies (Stormy Daniels pay-off, obstructing Mueller investigation in plain sight), as close ties between Trump campaign leaders & Putin's intermediaries becomes public, @SenCoryGardner refused to condemn Trump's actions.
More to come over the coming days, as I have time to continue the list.
#21: The #MuellerReport revealed that on multiple occasions, Trump acted to obstruct justice. It shows that Trump ordered his WH attorney Don McGahn to fire Mueller. @SenCoryGardner has refused to subpoena McGahn to testify in front of Congress. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#22: A recent poll revealed that 86% of Coloradans believe that Trump is not above the law & that the public deserves to know whether he or his inner circle committed crimes. Gardner refuses to support a Congressional investigation into the crimes outlined in Mueller's Report.
#23: @SenCoryGardner has been a poster child for homophobia. During his tenure in the Colorado state legislature, he voted AGAINST a bill that would allow gay and lesbian coupled to adopt children. #VoteCoryOut#cosen#LGBTQunite
#27: In 2018, Cory Gardner refused to support the International Human Rights Defense Act (IHRD), which would have built an unprecedented framework into U.S. diplomacy to protect #LGBTQ rights worldwide. #LGBTQtogether#VoteCoryOut#cosen
#28: In 2017, @SenCoryGardner declined to support the Equality Act (S.1006), which would have provided non-discrimination
protections for #LGBTQ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, etc. #VoteCoryOut#LGBTQtogether#cosen
#29: In 2018, Gardner did not support the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which would require school districts in states that receive ESEA funds to prohibit bullying & harassment, including on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.
#31: When Trump announced he was banning transgender individuals from serving in the military, all Cory Gardner could manage was a tepid "I don't agree with the president." Since then, Cory has done NOTHING to help reverse the ban. #LGBTQtogether#VoteCoryOut#cosen
#32: Betsy DeVos' controversial nomination as Education Secretary raised many critical concerns, including her hostility towards the #LGBTQ community. Gardner voted to confirm Devos, & since then she has undermined LGBTQ students' basic rights: #cosen aclu.org/blog/lgbt-righ…
#33: Cory Gardner received a 100% score for his anti-LGBTQ voting from a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group: the "Family Research Council." The FRC sponsors junk science-based "research" to defame & harass the LGBTQ community. #LGBTQtogether splcenter.org/fighting-hate/…
#34: @CoryGardner stands w/ Mitch McConnell in blocking the #ForThePeopleAct, which would:
✅ Expand voting rights
✅ Restrict gerrymandering
✅ Prohibit taxpayer-funded harassment settlements
✅ Require full transparency behind dark money
#36: You can tell a lot about a politician based on where they get their funding. Those who are primarily funded by small grassroots donors are more accountable to the people. @SenCoryGardner obtained most of his funding from large, wealthy donors. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#37: Related to #9, on rare occasion when @SenCoryGardner conducts town halls with his constituents, he opts for online or telephone town halls, where his staff can vet questions and Cory can run from accountability. #VoteCoryOut#WheresCory#cosen
#38: Related to #17, @SenCoryGardner holds an abysmal record when it comes to protecting Colorado's precious natural environment. While serving in the U.S. House, he voted to expand offshore drilling in the aftermath of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#39: @CoryGardner also voted to prohibit the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. Many of Colorado's rural, agriculture-based counties are among the most #ClimateChange-vulnerable areas in the country. CO's ski industry is also facing climate devastation. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#41: Cory Gardner voted to repeal a Department of Interior rule that required energy companies to reduce waste and pollutive emissions. (H.J. Res.36) #VoteCoryOut#cosen#copolitics
#42: @CoryGardner voted for legislation that would no longer require permits for pesticide runoff in our streams, rivers & lakes. B/c of this, Cory was dubbed by @LCVoters as one of the "Dirty Dozen" - one of the 12 most anti-environment legislators in Congress. #VoteCoryOut
#43: When it comes to women's health care, @SenCoryGardner has been among the worst. While serving in the House, Cory sponsored 'personhood' legislation (Life at Conception Act), which would make most common forms of birth control illegal. #VoteCoryOut#cosen#MyBodyMyChoice
#45: While serving in the U.S. House, @SenCoryGardner voted to ban federal health insurance coverage that includes abortion. This means millions of federal employees and military service members are not covered for abortions under their insurance plans. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#47: Relatedly, while voting to cut reproductive health care services that actually reduce unwanted pregnancies (& abortion), Cory Gardner voted for wasteful spending ($110 million/year) on ineffective & non-science-based "abstinence only" education. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#48: I just found this gold nugget about @SenCoryGardner's past:
#49: Related to the SCOTUS items above (10, 14, 15), @SenCoryGardner was a full-throated obstructionist while @BarackObama was in office. He blocked scores of Obama judicial & executive branch appointees, leaving critical posts vacant. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#50: And while obstructing scores of Obama judicial and executive branch appointees, @SenCoryGardner voted for legislation that prevented President Obama from making recess appointments. What a hypocrite! #VoteCoryOut#cosen#copolitics
#51: Colorado's U.S. Senator Cory Gardner is no friend to privacy rights. He voted to repeal an Obama-era FCC rule that protected the privacy of broadband/telecom services CUSTOMERS, enabling COMCAST & other big companies to share your information w/o consent. (SJ.Res.34)
#52: Republican @SenCoryGardner is also no friend to Colorado's workers. Cory voted against workers when he voted in March 2017 to repeal a rule requiring some federal contractors to report labor violations. #cosen#VoteCoryOut#copolitics
#54: On the economy, @SenCoryGardner has been disastrous. As noted previously, he voted for the #GOPTaxScam to give his billionaire pals a YUGE tax break. He's since lied about the bill's negative impact on our national deficit & the future of #Medicare & #SocialSecurity.
#55: @SenCoryGardner misled Coloradans when he argued that the #TaxScamBill would be a boon to the middle class.
#56: While serving in the House, @CoryGardner stood lockstep w/ Paul Ryan in attempting to push the U.S. to DEFAULT on its debt, when he voted against increasing the debt limit. Cory's federal debt hypocrisy is astounding, as the #GOPTaxScam has pushed our deficit to the brink.
#57: Also while in the House, @CoryGardner voted to terminate the Home Affordable Mortgage Program that the Obama Administration put into place to help struggling families during the Great Recession. Cory's votes make it clear that he's only in this to help the 1 percent. #cosen
#58: While Colorado's farmers and manufacturers suffer from Trump's irrational and insufferable trade war with China, Mexico, and Europe, @SenCoryGardner continues provide no resistance to runaway Administration. #cosen#copolitics denverpost.com/2019/05/31/sil…
#59: While Cory feigns opposition to the ruinous trade war, he supports corporate welfare as Trump's U.S. Treasury hands out taxpayer cash to farmers. Montana Senator John Tester said it best: "farmers want to get their check from the marketplace, not from the federal government”
#60: While @SenCoryGardner pays lip service towards seeking to hold Russia accountable for its election interference, he has stood idly by as his comrade, @SenateMajLdr blocks legislation that would protect America's election infrastructure: nytimes.com/2019/06/07/us/…#cosen
#61: HEALTH CARE - @CoryGardner has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, & Donald Trump in trying to take away health coverage from millions of Americans.
He has voted numerous times to repeal the Affordable Care Act. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#62: In 2017, @SenCoryGardner voted for Republicans' 'skinny repeal' of the ACA, which would have devastated the insurance market. This was the bill @SenJohnMcCain famously stopped with his thumbs down. #VoteCoryOut#FlipTheSenate
#64: Altogether, @CoryGardner has voted dozens of times to repeal #Obamacare - both as a House member and as a Senator. Not once has he proposed a viable alternative that would provide universal health coverage of all Americans. #VoteCoryOut#cosen#FlipTheSenate
#65: While serving in the U.S. House, @CoryGardner voted for Paul Ryan's far-right budget plan, which would have cut billions from #Medicare and #SocialSecurity, endangering millions of seniors who paid into these programs their entire lives. #VoteCoryOut#FlipTheSenate#cosen
#66: @CoryGardner also repeal federal funding for public health programs including disease prevention in April 2011. These programs prevent and reduce outbreaks and improve overall public health. #FlipTheSenate#copolitics#VoteCoryOut
#67: During the height of the #EbolaOutbreak, Cory Gardner voted against advice of medical experts handling the crisis, & attempted to ban all travel to/from West Africa. Luckily, it didn't pass & critical medical supplies & professionals were able to travel to/from West Africa.
#69: On immigration, Cory Gardner has sided with the Tea Party in pressing for an iron-fisted approach. As noted earlier, he voted to strip Obama's #DACA program of funding. Gardner has also opposed comprehensive immigration reform. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#70: In March 2019, after the record-breaking #TrumpShutdown, Cory Gardner voted against a measure that would have overturned the #FakeTrumpEmergency. This is especially egregious as the national emergency ruse was an unconstitutional bypass of Congress' power of the purse.
#72: When Trump announced his #MuslimBan in 2017, Cory Gardner couldn't muster more than a tepid response; he offered no substantive leadership, no new legislation, no effort to block the un-American & immoral policy. Over 2 yrs later, Cory is now silent on the issue #VoteCoryOut
More to come folks. I'm in the middle of moving; I aim to have the list completed within the next few weeks.
In the meantime, please share your reasons for wanting to #VoteCoryOut!
#73: Prior to voting to confirm ex-coal industry lobbyist Andrew Wheeler as EPA chief, @SenCoryGardner voted for the most corrupt EPA Administrator in history, Scott Pruitt. While Pruitt committed his abuses, Gardner was completely silent. #VoteCoryOutvox.com/2018/7/5/17192…
#75: Senator Gardner helped repeal a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rule that modernized land management processes and shut out viewpoints of local communities in BLM decision-making. #cosen#VoteCoryOut nrdc.org/experts/bobby-…
#77: @SenCoryGardner is a snake oil salesman, employing Orwellian tactics. He poses for photo-ops next to wind turbines while having spent his career voting at every opportunity to undermine our environmental protections. #VoteCoryOut#cosen#ClimateCrisis
#78: In 2015, while the Obama Administration brokered a historic multi-lateral deal to stop Iran's nuclear program, @CoryGardner & 46 other GOP Senators sent a letter directly to Iran's top leaders in an effort to sabotage the #IranDeal. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
#78 (cont'd): This letter was an unprecedented breach of American foreign policy decorum, which has dictated that partisan politics should stop at the water's edge.
#80: SECDEF Mattis, SECSTATE Tillerson, NatSec Advisor McMaster & many other top WH advisors agreed that Iran was adhering to the #IranDeal & warned Trump not to withdraw.
The current tensions in the gulf are a direct result of Trump's (& @CoryGardner's) failed Iran policy.
#81: @SenCoryGardner voted twice to confirm Mike Pompeo- once as CIA Director and again as SECSTATE. Pompeo is a war-mongering neo-con who his collaborating with John Bolton to increase tensions with Iran. #NoWarWithIran#VoteCoryOut
#82: Senator Gardner voted to confirm Gina Haspel as CIA Director, despite her record of helping to lead the agency's torture program. As John McCain said, these practices do not serve our interests nor do they comport with our values. #VoteCoryOut#cosen
Zinke resigned in Dec 2018 amid FIFTEEN ongoing corruption investigations tied to his real estate dealings in Montana & his abuse of power while in office. #VoteCoryOut#cosenvox.com/science-and-he…
When Trump told minorities in Congress to "go back to their country," all Cory could manage was a tepid, "I wouldn't have sent these tweets." #VoteCoryOut kdvr.com/2019/07/16/sen…
Mass shootings may grab the headlines, but are only a small part of a much bigger gun violence epidemic in America.
Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens in America! #GunReformNow
Unintentional shootings by children are often fatal. Just this month:
Near San Diego, CA: In two separate unintentional shootings, a 12-year-old boy shot and killed himself at a sleepover, and a 15-year-old boy was shot and remains in critical condition. #GunReformNow
Manitou Springs, CO:
A 4-year-old boy found an unsecured firearm in a car and unintentionally shot and killed himself. #GunReformNow
The Trump Administration has neutered America's ability to combat the #coronavirus global emergency.
Throughout his tenure, Trump has slashed public health budgets & eliminated critical public health infrastructure. #TrumpVirus
The White House released its new budget in recent weeks. It includes the following:
✂️ 16% cut at @CDCgov
✂️ 10% cut at @HHSGov
✂️ 7% cut at @NIH #coronavirus#TrumpVirus
This follows previous Trump-era public health budget cuts. For example, in 2018, the CDC cut 80% of its efforts to prevent global disease outbreaks due to a budget shortfall. 🌍☣️
NEW THREAD: (TL;DR - The 2nd Amendment was never intended as a limitless right to private firearms ownership.)
18th Century concepts of 'militia' in America were very different than popular understanding these days. #2A#GunReformNow
In the late 1700s, the militias were the backbone of security for the newly established USA. Every adult white man from age 16 and up was required to be in the militia. It was the 18th Century version of compulsory military service. #2A#GunReformNow
The militia were viewed as a bulwark against the tyranny of a standing army. Because of their experience with the British Red Coats, Americans were robustly against a paid, standing army.
(Clearly, in 2019, having a standing army is no longer a concern for most Americans.) #2A
(THREAD) Donald Trump promised he'd put #AmericaFirst. The past 2 years have proven that his agenda is #MeFirst. Rather than #DrainTheSwamp, he filled his cabinet with elitist & grifting billionaires who have capitalized on their office at taxpayer expense. #TrumpCorruption
No one has profited more from the Trump Administration than the Trump Family. In violation of the Constitution's Emoluments Clause, Trump retains ownership interests in his family business while he's in office. This is unprecedented. #AmericaFirst
When Jimmy Carter won the Presidency, he sold his family peanut farm in order to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. Every modern President has put their assets in a blind trust - every President except for Trump. #AmericaFirst
Those who conflate opposition to unquestioning support for Israel with anti-Semitism are like #JussieSmollett: they cheapen the experiences of actual victims of anti-Semitism
Let's be clear, anti-Semitism is real and, sadly, it's on the rise in the U.S., especially since the 2016 election. According to the Anti-Defamation League, there was a 60% increase in anti-Semitic incidents from 2016 to 2017. adl.org/news/press-rel…
The massacre at the #TreeOfLifeSynagogue last fall was the deadliest attack on the American Jewish community in U.S. history. And it was committed by an anti-Semitic white nationalist. nytimes.com/2018/10/27/us/…