Anna Ramirez Crawford, board chair for the Women;s Lobby of Colorado has a good op-ed piece out in the Denver Post that goes after U.S. Senator Cory Gardner’s (R. CO) abysmal record on women’s health and reproductive rights:
It’s no secret that state and local politicians across the country, emboldened by the Trump administration’s overt anti-abortion stance and encouraged by the presence of conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the court, have been working even more diligently to introduce measures to ban abortion in their home states. The ultimate goal: bring a bill that could be funneled up the pipeline to challenge and overturn Roe vs. Wade. As of last month, there were at least 16 other abortion-related cases before U.S. appeals courts, many of which could present a more direct threat to Roe vs. Wade than the issues raised in June Medical Services. With a conservative-leaning court, thanks to the efforts of Republican lawmakers like Sen. Cory Gardner, the fate of legal and accessible abortion across the nation is more uncertain than ever.
As we head into this upcoming election one thing is clear: overt anti-abortion extremists will continue to go after the rights of women to make decisions about their own health care, families, and futures, while Republican senators roll out the red carpet for these zealots and make sure no one stands in their way.
This month, Gardner received an endorsement for his re-election by the National Right to Life, a far-right anti-abortion interest group. They cited his support for Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Gardner’s votes in favor of several pieces of anti-abortion legislation, including one that would have placed a 20-week ban on abortion at the federal level. Gardner’s record and apparent support for the broader anti-abortion agenda are especially aggravating given that his constituents at home in Colorado will have to vote on yet another abortion ban this November — this one targeting abortions later in pregnancy — despite rejecting bans at the ballot box three separate times since 2008. This ban, Proposition 115, would create a medically unnecessary restriction on abortion after 22 weeks, leaving no exceptions for health complications, a serious fetal diagnosis, rape, or incest. This is impossibly cruel.
Also, Gardner’s been facing a lot of pressure for failing to get a new stimulus bill passed:
Gardner acknowledged the unfinished work but offered few specifics about what he sees as a path forward. “We have to do more,” he said in an interview after the event at the National Mental Health Innovation Center, “and more every minute.”
For Gardner, the political stakes for a stimulus deal are significant and the pressure is mounting. The first-term lawmaker faces reelection challenge in 12 weeks and he’s pinned his campaign in large part on his response to the pandemic and his ability to deliver relief to Colorado in his reelection bid.
In May, days after the Democratic-led U.S. House approved another aid package, Gardner demanded that the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate take action before recessing for the Memorial Day break. At the time, he called the break “unfathomable,” but three months later, the two parties remain far apart with no agreement in sight.
Democratic rival John Hickenlooper is using the inaction to bludgeon Gardner, saying the delays are “reckless.”
By the way, Hickenlooper’s been meeting with teachers to roll out his plan for safely reopening schools:
The Democrat and former governor seeks to win the Senate seat currently held by Republican Cory Gardner in November. Saturday he fielded questions from teachers and school administrators in front of less than a dozen people at the park.
Teachers addressed their issues with District 51’s reopening plan that went into effect last week.
“The one thing I do hear, and this is as the father of an 18-year-old, every parent wants their kids to get back in school,” Hickenlooper told The Daily Sentinel. “They realize that every week they’re not back in school, they’re falling behind. It’s not just in math and social studies. It’s in their emotional relationships and how they learn to navigate their friends and their social structures. Parents want to get their kids back to school. Teachers want to teach those kids. I’ve seen it everywhere I go. They can’t wait to get back in the classroom, but we have to make sure we can do it safely and make sure the schools have the resources they need to open safely.”
Let’s keep up the momentum to flip Colorado Blue. Click below to donate and get involved with Hickenlooper, Biden and their fellow Colorado Democrats campaigns:
