Station:  KFKA, 1310 AM

Show:     Mornings with Gail [Fallon]   

Guests:   Buck, Ken 

Link:      http://www.1310kfka.com/podcasts/gail/10/october-29-hr-3-senator-corey-gardner-and-congressman-ken-buck/

Date:      October 29, 2020      

Topics:   

CLIP-KenBuckGAIL102920.m4a

[00:00:00] But are we headed for a blue wave across the states? That’s one question for Congressman Ken Buck for when he joins us this morning to talk about the future of oil and gas, particularly under the, heaven forbid, the auspices of a Joe Biden administration. Because once again. Well, he has moved from nonsmokers to answers that aren’t exactly music to Weld County’s ears, particularly when it comes to his stance not only on fracking, but during the last presidential debate. For example, when he alluded he alluded to the fact that he plans to transition away from oil and gas. Well, that is just so absolutely short sighted, not to mention terrifying on any number of levels because. Yes. Like it or not, and like him or not, President Trump is entirely accurate when we he says that we are now energy and independent. Well, with presidential nominee Joe Biden’s take on oil and gas, it seems like that would be leading us right down the exact wrong road that we want to go. Why would we want to be dependent on countries that, well, don’t really like us all that much and really don’t want to see this nation succeed? And what about the jobs? What about the jobs? Mr. Biden, when you look at the number of jobs and these numbers just off the top of my head this morning, the number of jobs in fracking alone seems to me I come across a couple of pieces, one of them out of the Wall Street Journal saying that when you just isolate out fracking and you eliminate fracking and Joe has gone back and forth, been rather rather wishy washy about that, that would account for seven million jobs. But when you take a hit at the entire oil and gas industry, we’re talking the loss of ten or eleven million jobs, joined this morning by Congressman Ken Buck. Congressman Barr, welcome to the show. Thank you, Gale. Good to be with you. I certainly appreciate your taking the time. All right. Now, as I said earlier, I’m not going to cite a Denver Post piece to you, because last time I did that, I kind of got, well, a little bit of clap back for you. You asked me, do I believe everything I read in The Denver Post? No, I don’t. It’s simply a source. But I came across another piece talking about the fact that Colorado and I use the word fact in air quotes, talking about the so-called fact that we could see a blue wave in Colorado, the likes of which, well, we’ve practically never seen one to get your take on that. 

[00:03:11] Well, first, Gail, The Denver Post endorsed me, so you can read them all the time now. 

[00:03:15] Okay, what a relief. I see how that works, Congressman. 

[00:03:24] Yeah, it’s gonna be fascinating. You know, I think that when I started this job as the state party chair back a year and a half ago, I had a I really had high hopes for Republican victories because the economy was doing really well. The president was his popularity was gaining as a person, but particularly his policies. When you asked Americans, you know, who they thought which party they thought could manage the economy best. Republicans won overwhelmingly in that number. And I think the tax cuts were popular. I think that his dealing with the trade issues was in large measure, popular. And then Kovik hit. And as a result of covered, the economies have shut down. People have become very frustrated because their social lives have been really dramatically decreased and confined. And so I think that there is a different mood in the country. And I think that people may very well react to that. I still have high hopes for Cory Gardner because he’s such an outstanding U.S. senator. I just don’t think there is a better U.S. senator in this country. And it would be a shame if Coloradans turned their back on that kind of talent. But I understand that oftentimes people vote based on emotion and not necessarily their their rational thoughts. 

[00:04:44] Now, I’ve seen it floated because, yes, I would concede that point and readily agree with you. Voting is by and large, it comes out of our lizard brain. It’s pretty emotional. Does this election, particularly for President Trump, come down to a decision between personality and policy? 

[00:05:04] Well, I think you can’t separate the two in either situation. On the one hand, you know, President Trump has offended some folks with tweets and other actions, and yet he has made, by and large, the policy decisions that are very popular. And so I think people take both of those into account when they look at President Trump. And on the other hand, you look at Vice President Biden. He was part of the Obama administration and he’s been in government for 47 years. And many of the things he’s talking about now. He could have done if he had wanted to. And then there is the corruption piece with with Vice President Biden. And so he has the that issue to overcome also. So I think people look at the pluses and minuses on both candidates when they’re making a decision. 

[00:05:49] Once you get your take on the confirmation of and now Associate Justice Amy CONI Barrett, because it seems as though that well, let’s just say those on the Democrat side of the equation not too happy about that confirmation. Chuck Schumer all but, well, guaranteeing a scorched earth campaign of retribution and retaliation against Republicans. 

[00:06:15] Well, good luck with that. You know, the reality of American politics is the pendulum swings and he may have control the Senate and then who knows what happens in the House or the White House. But if they if the pendulum swings too far one direction, you know, and they make Washington, D.C. a state and get two senators for that and they make Puerto Rico a state and they get two senators for that. Well, all of a sudden, Wyoming is going to become four states and we’ll have, you know, eight senators. And if they stack the court with 13, when Republicans get in control again, you know, the court will be at 17. And so it’s silly to to take a short term retribution attitude on issues like this. I think it’s much better to appeal to a sense of fairness with the American people. And I think in the long run, the court with Amy Courtney Barrett as a Supreme Court justice will continue to be fair. The you know, the the reason that we have same sex marriage in America right now is because the US Supreme Court, dominated by Republican appointees, has been fair and open minded about those issues. While I disagree with some of the issues, they have still moved forward and been able to keep ahead of the public opinion on the law. 

[00:07:37] Before I let you go this morning and certainly do appreciate your time as always, Congressman Ken Buck. Crystal ball. The election both in Colorado and in the nation. 

[00:07:48] Well, a tough one. I know I am in Colorado. And so it’s hard for me to judge exactly how well President Trump is doing. My friends in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan tell me that he is going to win those states. And so I think that President Trump stands a very good chance of winning the presidency. I think that, again, we stand a good chance of keeping the Republicans stand, a good chance of keeping the U.S. Senate and the House. It just depends on how President Trump does in many of these states, whether we retake the House in Colorado. I think that it’s really an uphill battle to retake the Colorado state Senate. The money that is coming in from California is overwhelming, and that’s affected many of the ballot issues as well as the state Senate races. I think Cory Gardner is a great candidate. And until all the votes are cast, I will never count him out. I think he’s just one of those special people that that can win a race like this. But I don’t know that President Trump can win in Colorado at this point. 

[00:08:56] Congressman Ken Buck are so glad to hear The Denver Post is back on the approved reading list. 

[00:09:01] And you certainly, George Smith, thank you so much for your time. 

[00:09:09] Thank you. Good to be with you. 

[00:09:11] Congressman Ken Buck, a 53 now. 13, 10. K. K.