Station:    KNUS, 710 am

Show:       Steffan Tubbs Show

Guests:    Gardner, Cory

Link:        https://omny.fm/shows/steffan-tubbs-show/the-steffan-tubbs-show-august-30th-2019-hour-1

Date:       August 30, 2019

Topics:     Space Command, BLM Headquarters, General Raymond, Western Conservative Summit Speech, Pound the Podium, Campaigning with Trump, The Squad, Socialism, Medicare For All, Public Options, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, Labor Day, Agriculture (Ag) Tour, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Denuclearization, Senator Ed Markey, Governor Polis, Impossible Burger, Cattle Industry, John Hickenlooper, Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senatorial Committee, U.S. Senate Primary, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Transportation, Affordability, Healthcare Costs,

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HOST STEFFAN TUBBS [00:00:01] [It is] my pleasure to welcome in my friend and Colorado senator, Cory Gardner. Happy Friday to you, ahead of Labor Day. Do you actually get to have, say, a few days off with the family?

US SENATOR FROM COLORADO, CORY GARDNER [00:00:14] You know, eventually I hope to have some time, but we’ve got meetings today, meetings tomorrow, so — it’s — and we’ve been all over the state the past several weeks, so it’ll be good.

TUBBS [00:00:24] Yeah. You just wrapped up, and I know — you know, I’ve been communicating, obviously, with Annalise and she’s terrific and I appreciate her work in getting you on. You guys wrapped up — what? was it last week? — your farm tour around the state. And it was just at the same time, there was the controversy — I don’t know if it got its way to you, but — Governor Polis had eaten one of those impossible burgers which was not really meat and then made some comments that had a few in the cattle industry in our state kind of concerned. So, I don’t know if that got back to you, but, I know–.

GARDNER [00:00:53] [laughing] Oh! It certainly did!

TUBBS [00:00:53] –you’re definitely a big supporter of Ag.  .

GARDNER [00:01:01] I was — it came up at my very first meeting of the Ag tour and it was brought up at  every single meeting thereafter. So, that was a big point of conversation.

TUBBS [00:01:10] I’m sure. All right, you know I’ve got to ask it: the last time I talked to you, it was the presidential candidate John Hickenlooper –now he wants your seat. I’m opening this up to take it any way you want, what do you think of Hickenlooper in the Senate race?

GARDNER [00:01:26] I thought you were going to ask me who was going to win the [CU vs. CSU] football game tonight!  I was going to say, “Go, Rams!” but I can answer that one, too. Look, you know, we’ll see what happens. I mean, The Denver Post front page is talking about the division within the Democratic Party and how basically the Hickenlooper camp has told the people in the Democratic primary to sit down and be quiet. So, you know, I think this is a challenge that he’s going to have going forward. And I’m excited about our record. I’m excited about what we’ve done for the people of Colorado and what we’ll continue to do.

TUBBS [00:01:56] Were you surprised — and again, we’re talking with Senator Cory Gardner, kind enough, on a Friday before a long holiday weekend for most of you, to join us. Cory, were you surprised — I guess — at the announcement from John Hickenlooper, where he said –.  Well, if yoiu don’t mind, take a listen to this:  [plays audio of Hickenloopers initial TV ad for his senatorial campaign].

AUDIO SEGMENT OF HICKENLOOPERS FIRST TV AD FOR HIS SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN [00:02:15] “When they play games in Washington D.C., Coloradans take the hit. Trying to knock out protections for pre-existing conditions, that could be devastating for hundreds of thousands of Coloradans. Playing games while prescription drug prices soar, that’s costing people more than they can afford. And don’t get me started on the shots they’re taking at public lands, leaving them to developers instead of sportsmen. I don’t think Cory Gardner understands that the games he’s playing with Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell are hurting the people of Colorado.”.

TUBBS [00:02:48] All right, we’ll stop it there. I was surprised in hearing that — I’ve got to tell you, Senator — very surprised that the first thing out of the box as he runs for Senate is, he evokes your name!  What did you think of that?

GARDNER [00:03:01] Well, look, I mean, he’s going to run his campaign, and it’s clear that he’s going to run a very negative campaign. He’s always talked about not running that kind of campaign. But I guess that’s the past. Look, I mean, we’ll see what he’s running for next week, but he’s got to get through the primary first.

TUBBS [00:03:16] [chuckles] I don’t mean to chuckle but, that was funny, Cory Gardner!  That was funny!

GARDNER [00:03:23] [laughs] Thank you!

TUBBS [00:03:25] Uh, [my] final question on Hickenlooper right now, and that is: do you have to go in as a campaign assuming — or, do you assume that he will be the nominee?

GARDNER [00:03:36] You know, again, I don’t know. I think if you look at the interference from Chuck Schumer and the Washington Democrats who are trying to direct the outcome of Colorado, it’s clear that we know who’s won the Washington primary and the Chuck Schumer primary. That primary is over.  That winner was announced with the Democrat [sic] Senatorial Committee’s endorsement. And now, whether the people of Colorado will agree with that, who knows? So, we’ll see. And right now, we’re planning on running our own campaign based on accomplishments we’ve had for Colorado, like protecting our public lands, like addressing the high cost of drugs, and doing it in a bipartisan fashion with an optimistic message for the people of Colorado.

TUBBS [00:04:16] Would you say right now — are you positive? Look, I mean, at the end of the day the buck stops with you. Would you say that you would prefer or you will stay away from a negative campaign, or do you need to go after him in a negative way, or how he went after you?

GARDNER [00:04:33] Well, there’s no doubt that we will compare and contrast what we think is good for this country. I don’t think universal health care is good for this country. They support universal health care. They support Medicare For All. They support public options, things that are government taking over health care. They support things like the Green New Deal and making it more difficult for our energy economy in Colorado to continue to be about ‘all the above’ energy economy. And, look at the issues that we face in Colorado, whether it’s transportation, whether it’s affordability, I mean, these are issues that have been around for a long time and were never addressed. So, you bet we’re going to talk about those kinds of things.

TUBBS [00:05:10] How is your relationship right now — do you categorize, as we head into September– how is the relationship with Donald Trump?

GARDNER [00:05:19] Oh, — you know what? — the president and I, we speak — gosh, i think just last week we talked about Space Command in Colorado. And if you saw the announcement yesterday, Space Command was officially established. General Raymond is working out of Colorado Springs as the commander of Space Command. And it’s because of the work that we can do together that we’re able to make those things happen in Colorado.

TUBBS [00:05:41] Will he campaign here for you?

GARDNER [00:05:44] We’ve certainly offered that and welcomed that. And I hope that he comes to Colorado. And I hope it comes just as a number of things. Come and look at the new BLM headquarters in Colorado. Come look at the Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs. Look at the work we’re doing to grow our economy. I think that’s — I would hope that everybody in the state would welcome that.

TUBBS [00:06:03] Cory Gardner [is] joining us live on this Friday, here on 710 KNUS. We talked — I don’t know if your ears were burning — but we talked about you a couple of days ago. And I have said –and I hope you agree — I mean, I consider you a friend. I’ve known you a long time. We’ve had many, many laughs off the air. Your wife is terrific. You have a terrific family. You know, we talked a couple of days ago about — you know, I came on the air, I’m gonna tell you, I said, “Cory Gardner is my friend. But I want to know why — why is there this negativity out there, among some of you?” And some people said — and I want to get your — I think it’s only fair to–.

GARDNER [00:06:39] Sure!

TUBBS [00:06:39] –on the same airwaves, to give you a chance to respond.  One thing that is — and none of these are in order of importance, but one thing is you seem to be reluctant on issues, people said. There is no passion there. One guy said, “I want to see Cory Gardner pound the podium if he has to!” Is that something you can try to transform into, or is that — you are who you are?

GARDNER [00:07:07] Well, look, I think there’s times when we have to use every tool we can to pass tax cuts, to confirm somebody like Neil Gorsuch, to make sure that we keep universal health care from taking place. And I’m going to certainly be involved and use every single one of those things to to stop bad ideas from happening or to make sure good people are in place, like our courts and the work we have done. But, you know, I also think that Coloradans deserve respect, and they deserve somebody who is going to provide that respect to the people of the state and try to be civil, try to be somebody who’s providing — I hope — a calm voice in what is a pretty divisive time, right now. And so, that’s why I’m trying to do to make sure that we provide leadership, and not –. There there’s a time for everything, I suppose, but the fact is I think that the time for leadership, and the time for civility, the time for respect for our people is more important than ever.

TUBBS [00:08:02] A lot of people said also, Cory, that, you know, “I just wish he would come out more — if you don’t like what the president does or says, say so, instead of not addressing the issue. What do you say to those — I guess, I mean, there’s no other way to put it, but — to those critics?

GARDNER [00:08:18] Well, look, I mean, I think I’ve made it clear on things that I disagree with the president about. And I don’t think I’ve tried to hide those areas. I am not a fan of tariffs, but we do need to stand up to China. I just think we should find it in a different way, or do it in a different way. So, I mean, there are things that — I guess I am far from a perfect person! [Laughing]  You can ask my wife [about] that, and she’ll be the first to tell you that. But I do work each and every day for the people of this state and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.

TUBBS [00:08:46] Senator Cory Gardner, [is] joining us on the 710 KNUS News Line. I want to go to something that you had mentioned: Space Command. I have done a lot on the American Veterans Show that we do every single week, focusing on primarily Colorado Veterans — and active duty — and issues and so forth. Tell somebody, from your perspective as a senator of the United States, in the United States, what does this mean? And obviously it is important that it is right here in Colorado.

GARDNER [00:09:13] Well, it’s incredibly important. You know, if you look at the way we’ve structured our defense today, we have NorthComm, which is in charge of North American homeland security. That’s headquartered in Colorado Springs at Peterson Air Force Base. We have a Central Command. We have Southern Command. We have these command headquarters around the country and around the globe to manage various parts of our national security infrastructure. And the Space Command, now, is looking at the theater — because it is a wartime domain. And that’s what we have to look out for. And Colorado Springs — and Colorado, in general — has this incredible legacy of Air Force Base commands in the past, and certainly all the space assets of Missile Command, Army Strategic Missile Command, Super Air Force Base with the satellites, G.P.S. systems of the National Space Defense Center and other work that we do, Buckley Air Force Base and the work that takes place there, really is sort of the center of our space operations. And, you know, that’s critical to the safety of this country and our future safety efforts and wartime efforts, but also, I think it’s a great economic opportunity for the state.

TUBBS [00:10:20] Yeah. Let’s switch, because — look, they’re all — they’re not part and parcel, but there is, you know, potentially and hopefully — God forbid those circles ever cross — but, you know, part of the worry or concern has been — for a long time — Kim Jong Un and North Korea. Look, you and I have talked for years about that. We’ve laughed when Kim was making fun of you, and [being] ridiculous, and all of that with that — what was it again? Help me out — “a hairless body,” or something?

GARDNER [00:10:46] [Laughs] Yeah!  Yes, I think he said I was losing my body hair, because I called him a whack job! [laughs]

TUBBS [00:10:52] Right. So now, the ‘whack job’ — that you called him — is apparently got a good relationship with the President the United States. Are you as concerned with relations with North Korea — are you as concerned today as you were, maybe — let’s say — five, six years ago?

GARDNER [00:11:09] Oh, absolutely I am. And the fact remains Kim Jong Un is a tyrant who has a nuclear ambition to destroy the United States, and to use force to reunify the peninsula with a system of governance that enslaves his own people, degrades men, women, and children who don’t agree with him or aren’t related to him. And that’s simply  wrong. And so, he’s done nothing to take a step toward denuclearization. And that’s why I believe we have to ramp up our pressure, increase the efforts of the global community, and completely isolate and starve this regime of any resources they have until they come back to the table with complete denuclearization.

TUBBS [00:11:53] So, with that said, are you miffed — ticked?– that the president seems to present this, you know, “Hey! He’s a letter away,” or, “He’s a phone call away!”  And I mean, making no bones about it, he kind of seems, you know, like, they — “We really get along!”  That’s what he has said before.

GARDNER [00:12:09] Well, I continue to work with Congress to pass additional legislation to clamp down on Kim Jong Un. And that’s what I’m going to continue to urge the administration to do. And you know, it’s — the Lead Act that I have co-sponsored and introduced with Senator Ed Markey, which will basically create an entire economic embargo of North Korea, is the step that I’m hoping that we can take next, that Congress can take next and get it signed into law. Because that, I believe, is the kind of action we need to actually get the denuclearization effort moving again.

TUBBS [00:12:39] In the final few minutes we have again with Senator Cory Gardner, again, you mentioned the Bureau of Land Management, I would say to a vast majority of people listening, to a vast majority of Coloradans, they would say, “Oh, that’s great,” kind of nonplussed. But why is that a big deal? And what — the last time we had you on the announcement had just happened — where are we, timeline-wise? Because I think you had told us a couple months ago that we were shooting for September.

GARDNER [00:13:08] Yeah, I think this is very much something that can happen in the next 30 to 60 days.  In fact, it’s my understanding that the GSA — which is kind of the landlord of the federal government — was out in Grand Junction looking for office space and that they were talking — ‘they’ being the highest ranking officials within the BLM — were talking about getting interviews and positions filled across the new — the West, where these new positions are being relocated and where the positions are moving too. And so I think this is something that will we will see this fall. Now, somebody in Congress can always try to throw a wrench into the works, so to speak, but I don’t I don’t see that happening. And I see this move actually occurring.  And I think that timeframe remains: September, October.

TUBBS [00:13:48] Yeah, that — which would be good.  And obviously we’ve talked about the pluses for the Colorado economy as well. And as you’ve told us, you know, having this here just seems like it makes a lot of sense. I know they’re in the House, but I’ve never asked you about how you feel about “The Squad.” What are your thoughts?

GARDNER [00:14:06] Oh! [laughs]  Well, look, I think a lot of their ideas are so destructive for this country and who we — what we and our Constitution have stood for, in terms of free market opportunities and individual liberties and opportunities. And that when we talk about this sort of move toward socialism, that it’s real because you have self-identified Socialists who have been elected. And whether it’s AOC who is going to come to Colorado — or maybe she has already come to Colorado — to speak Democratic event, you know, these are ideas that simply — I think — are at odds with what the United States has been so successful and so great with for so many decades now.

TUBBS [00:14:49] Yeah. Let’s see, I want to take you back to what I — and I told you within 10 minutes of you getting off the stage at the Western Conservative Summit last month — I remember I kind of whispered in your ear, “Do you think that was the best speech you ever gave?” And you’re a humble guy, and you laughed. But I want to play you this, because I still think this is one of your finest moments — not that my opinion matters, but one of your finest moments as a politician. Let’s listen:  [plays audio recording of a segment of Cory Gardner’s address to the Western Conservative Summit in Denver, July 2019].

AUDIO OF GARDNER FROM 2O19 WESTERN CONSERVATIVE SUMMIT ADDRESS [00:15:17] “Just last week, the New York Times ran an opinion piece saying America is no longer great. Yes. One of the greatest cities in the world’s newspaper said this country is no longer great. We grew up learning that the United States is the greatest country on earth. Some on the left want our children to believe that we’re just second best. Like many of you, there’s not a lot that I find in common with the New York Times but this one has stuck with me because I love this country. And I know you do, too. We believe in America. We believe in the power of America. We believe that it is morning in America. And we will look up to that great Rocky Mountain horizon for the opportunities that this country has brought to every single one of us, and can bring to every single man, woman, and child of this country for generations to come. And when you tell your friends about what’s at stake in this country, talk about our greatness and the power and might of ideas. The idea of America. Too many people have sacrificed too much for us to give up. Because America, we’re going to be bigger and stronger than ever. We’re moving forward. And to the world I have one simple message:  when it comes to America, you ain’t seen nothing yet! God bless you all, Western Conservative Summit!  Let’s get things done!”.

TUBBS [00:16:54] All right, give yourself a grade. I already gave you an ‘A’!

GARDNER [00:16:58] [chuckling] Well, thank you. Look, I think that was — I don’t think you’ll find that written in my speech. I would have to go back and see it. I mean, that came from the heart. I’m sure parts of it were in speeches I had written. But, you know, it came from the heart because it was so frustrating to see and to hear that there are people who basically think this country is not good!  And that’s not people from — you know, that we’re competing with around the globe.  That’s people who are in Congress now, the group that you just mentioned, who don’t think this country is good. This country is so good with people who are doing nothing but working hard each and every day so their family can have a better way of life tomorrow than they did the day before. And if you want to take this country in a different direction, we lose that! And those people who have worked so hard to give us this great nation, what a disrespect that would be to them. So, you know, that that was passion! That was emotion!  And, you know, that’s what’s at stake in November of 2020.

TUBBS [00:18:02] Passion, emotion, and that’s what a lot of people — two days ago, Senator Gardner — said they want to see from you on the campaign trail. And by the way, just FYI, friend, you did a baby-‘pound the podium’ in that closing remark.

GARDNER [00:18:18] [laughs].

TUBBS [00:18:18] [laughing] You need to take that fire in the belly! You’ve got to do it!

GARDNER [00:18:22] I understand.

TUBBS [00:18:23] All right. Hey, you and the family have a wonderful three day weekend! I greatly and always appreciate your time, and we will talk soon.  And [I] look forward to having our next visit.

GARDNER [00:18:35] Hey, thanks, Steffan! Thanks for having me on! Thanks! Take care!

TUBBS [00:18:35] All right, you bet. [That was] Senator Cory Gardner, there. And [producer] Kirk, we open up the floodgates. [impersonating critical callers responding to the interview:] “That was the worst interview I’ve ever heard. That was a softball after softball!”  Oh, crap!  I forgot to ask him about the Rocky Mountain Showdown! Well,he already said, “Go, Rams!”  Didn’t he? Yeah.  .