600 KCOL Mornings, Cory Gardner, 3/18/2010
Station: KCOL
Show: 600 KCOL Mornings
Guest: Cory Gardner
Link: http://www.600kcol.com/main.html
Date: 3/18/2010
Topics: Healthcare, Obamacare
KCOL: Right now on the hotline joining me is Rep. Cory Gardner from Yuma. Who I’m assuming is down in Denver getting ready to get things underway at the state capital. Hold on, I have to turn him on. You are getting things underway at the state capital Cory, how are you?
GARDNER: I am doing well Brad. You are exactly right, getting ready to start the day at the legislature.
KCOL: And what is on your docket today? Anything major before we start talking about your race? What are they trying to pass over on us today?
GARDNER: In the Senate they are trying to pass through the River Rafting Trespass Bill. I think has gotten a lot of attention over in the House. It looks like they will be doing some regulations on payday lenders, a big debate that is probably going to come down to one vote either way on second reading today.
KCOL: Yea that is a big issue that I know we’ve talked about here previously. Maybe we’ll dig into it a little bit later on. But of course the reason why we have you on today is that there is a major development in your race for the Republican nomination for Congress in the Fourth Congressional District. With the departure of one of your main opponents thus far, Diggs Brown, Fort Collins City Councilman and he has endorsed you moving forward. This is big news for your campaign.
GARDNER: It’s very big news. Diggs Brown ran a great campaign. He is a great statesman and a great leader and I’m humbled and honored to have his support and even more excited that he is agreed to be a co-chair of the campaign.
KCOL: That is very positive news. And this is the way that you want these things to go when you have one candidate departing a primary race. To bring all of that support and all of the grassroots network that that candidate has developed over that time and turn that on for your race. We actually talked to Tom Lucero towards the last part of last hour and he is still the race as well ad Dean Madere. What do you think the major points of contrast are going to be moving forward into May when delegates will vote in their first binding vote in this primary process? How you going to really draw that contrast moving forward now that you have one fewer candidate to contrast with?
GARDNER: It is really telling when we get up and talk about what our vision is for America, what our vision for the Fourth Congressional District, and as we listen to the Fourth Congressional District people a clear distinction emerges. When I talk about standing up for fiscal responsibility, when I talk about limited government, limiting spending, fighting regulations, standing up for businesses, those are not just words that I’m saying, it is a record of accomplishments that I have at the state legislature recognized by people such as the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, the National Rifle Association, people who believe that my fight has been exactly what this country needs. It is not just words, it is an actual record. And my experience and background. Having grown up on the Eastern Plains in a farm equipment dealership, understanding what it is like living under the rules that pass in Washington DC and Denver, Colorado. Knowing what it is like to run a business and signing the front of a paycheck. But also having the experience in Northern Colorado. Being as comfortable being in the boardrooms of Northern Colorado as I am the cornfields of Eastern Colorado. Bringing all aspects and all four corners of the district together in one candidate.
KCOL: Talk to me a little bit about the decision that Betsy Markey has to make on health care this week and how you view that as someone who is looking to challenge her in November.
GARDNER: What is disappointing is that she is going through the decision-making process at all and there’s no doubt that she is because she ought to be a no. This bill is bad for America, is bad for the Fourth Congressional District, and to think that they are going to pass this bill on parliamentary procedures and gimmicks is simply outrageous.
KCOL: Let’s talk about that real briefly because these are the kinds of weird, obscure parliamentary issues that come up in Congress but they have very real consequences. What if this bill, which is basically a copy of the Senate bill, the exact bill that the Senate passed, what if they do pass it out right and have a vote, get enough votes there. There is really nothing Republicans can do to stand in the way at that point.
GARDNER: I still think the bill faces a number of legal challenges. Whether or not it is going to pass constitutional muster, if you can mandate an individual to purchase insurance. And quite frankly whether or not the states are going to opt out. Right now there are several attempts in Colorado to opt Colorado out of health care bill should it pass and become law. Again what we’re facing right now is a bill that will spend trillions of dollars, increasing taxes, and everybody knows the government is going to face tremendous difficulty in implementing an enormous takeover of 20 percent of our economy.
KCOL: I know one issue on the campaign trail even before the caucuses this week, has been your ability to balance your duties down at the state capital with the very rigorous demands of being a candidate in one of the most high-profile congressional races in the country. How have you been able to strike that balance? How do you think you have been able to… what kind of job you think you have been able to be doing at that?
GARDNER: You know, I’ve given up sleep. It’s overrated. So we have been working very hard representing the people of Eastern Colorado. My House District is basically the entire Eastern Plains of Colorado already, which is all within the Fourth Congressional District. With the exception of a portion of Adams County, the rest of it is within the Fourth Congressional District. We are able to work for the people of Colorado, for the people of House District 63, fighting for water, agriculture, rural Colorado at the same time we stand up and fight for this country.
KCOL: Finally, how is fund-raising going?
GARDNER: We have been able to do a great job. We’ve raised a significant amount of funds necessary for the campaign. This is going to take millions of dollars and we know we are going to be outspent. But we’re working hard to bring our message of grassroots message, listening to the people of this country and this district, and understand that this race is not about Washington D.C. That places a swamp, and I mean it. This is about the Fourth Congressional District, is about main streets, and it is about the people who live in this country and are just trying to make themselves a better life. And that is why we are in this race and that is what it has to continue to be.
KCOL: Cory Gardner, State Representative from Yuma. Speaking to us from Denver where he is hard at work sort of midway through the legislative session. Cory, of course, seeking the Republican nomination in the Fourth Congressional District to beat Betsy Markey. Cory, if folks want to get more information about you were should they go?
GARDNER: Go to our website corygardner.com. Join us on Facebook, Twitter. We Ustream a lot of our events live so you can participate in that by signing up to our Twitter account. We would love to have you as part of the team and I would be honored to earn your support.
