With Sen. Michael Bennet’s entrance into the Democratic presidential free-for-all, Colorado now has two following in Gary Hart’s footsteps. I suppose we should be proud to be so well represented on the national stage, but I find both candidates unacceptable.
The last thing we need is another oil and gas industry lackey like former Gov. John Hickenlooper in the White House. He’s earned the moniker Gov. Frackenlooper by consistently backing the industry and preventing regulations. You can bet he would’ve vetoed Senate Bill 181, which Gov. Jared Polis recently signed.
Bennet’s support of the climate movement has been lukewarm at best. He’s begun his campaign by naming his top priorities as economic mobility and integrity. Important issues, indeed, but how do they stack up against the threat of becoming the first species in the history of the planet to cause its own extinction. A Trump vs. Bennet debate figures to be just like Trump vs. Clinton when climate change wasn’t even mentioned.
As for integrity, I was very disturbed when Bennet voted against Sen. Bernie Sanders’ bill to allow cheaper Canadian drugs to come into the country. Bennet’s constituents, perhaps more than any other in the country, need less expensive drugs, but Bennet paid homage to Big Pharma who contributed heavily to his campaign. We expect that kinda behavior from Republicans, not Democrats.
Which one can beat Trump? Your family pet should be able to defeat the man who was the worst president in history the day he took office. On the list of those with the best chance, Hickenlooper and Bennet aren’t even in the top half. The polls be damned, when the 3 million millennials who’ll reach voting age next year are counted, Sanders will be the man.
Fred Malo Jr.
Carbondale