By: Ernest Gurulé
In a wide-ranging interview with La Voz Bilingue, Colorado Democratic Senator Michael Bennet did not camouflage his feelings nor mince words when speaking about the current state of politics as he tries, once again, to win over the hearts and minds of state voters and serve one more six-year term.
“We have to find a way to stitch America back together again,” Bennet said in a recent telephone interview from his Washington D.C. office. The veteran Democrat acknowledged the turmoil, acri- mony and public’s lack of respect that is roiling politics. It is real and could worsen. A recent Gallup Poll had the U.S. Senate holding onto a seven percent approval rating.
“The American people deserve a lot more.”
Bennet’s reference was mostly directed at the Republican party, at least those among it who continue to endorse, embrace and try to capitalize on ‘the big lie,’ the widely disproven belief that the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged and that Joe Biden is not the legitimately elected chief executive. The first steps toward cur- tailing that mindset, he said, begins by defeating people who support Donald Trump or continue to apologize for him. “I can’t give up on that.”
Bennet, appointed to the Senate in 2009 by then Colorado Governor Bill Ritter when Senator Ken Salazar accepted a Cabinet position, is currently locked in a tight race with Republican challenger Joe O’Dea. But working in Bennet’s and his party’s favor is a string of recent high profile Democratic legislative wins that could not have come at a better time.
Until mid-summer’s Democratic con- gressional victories, most national polls were predicting a red wave in November with Democrats forecast to lose between 20-35 House seats. Most polls have now been revised but the loss of a Democratic House majority still looms. On the other hand, say election experts, a late summer election in America’s heartland could portend trouble for Republicans.
This summer’s laundry list of Democratic legislative victories includes veterans’ healthcare, the lowering of drug prices, forgiveness of student loans, a bipartisan gun safety bill that also includes provisions for mental health, school safety and crisis intervention programs. Bennet also voted with the Democratic majority in the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation that Democrats say will raise taxes on the wealthy and invest in health care while reducing the deficit.
Democrats also passed the CHIPS and Science Act, a measure they say will provide billions in funding that would boost domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors in the U.S. along with the creation of thousands of new jobs. Each passed with minimal Republican support. Democrats are also counting on Department of Labor numbers that calculate ten million new jobs have been created since Joe Biden’s election. It’s a statistic they plan to tout frequently with election day just 50 days away.
One thing neither party may have seen coming after the Supreme Court’s historic abortion 6-3 ruling is what happened in early August. And it happened right in the geographic middle of America. Kansas U.S.A.
The red state surprise occurred when typically red Kansas voted overwhelmingly to protect abortion rights. A diverse group of Kansas voters, including many new and younger voters, by a 58-41 percent margin, shocked everyone and gave Democrats a new optimism for November. Democrats will no doubt run ads underscoring this victory through Election Day.
At the start of summer most polls were predicting disaster for Democrats in November. Inflation and gas prices were dominating news cycles. But inflation, while still higher than anyone might like, has come down and so too have gas prices. Democrats are taking full advantage of this news to show that America is handling both issues far better than the rest of the world.
“It’s important that we’re working to make things better,” Bennet said. “Most industrial countries—everyone—is facing the same as we’re facing.” The world remains in recovery from COVID, the virus that killed a million Americans and 15 mil- lion people worldwide. It played a major role in the inflation that is blanketing the world and affecting everything from supply chain issues to higher pump prices. Adding to the economic uncertainty, said Bennet, is Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Still, even with things looking up, inflation tamping down, albeit only slightly, and the rising tide of legislative victories, Bennet and other Democrats are locked in tough race against a political newcomer. A recent Public Policy Poll has Bennet holding a 46-35 percent edge over his Republican challenger but there remains a 12 percent bloc of undecided. But Republicans, using their own polling data, are calling the race a tossup at 48 percent favoring Bennet and 47 percent standing with O’Dea with 5 percent undecided.
But O’Dea has branded himself as a different kind of Republican. Perhaps going against the advice of Republican strategists, O’Dea is not running on ‘the big lie,’ and has said repeatedly that Joe Biden legiti- mately won the election. He is also the rare Republican who has bucked the party calling for exceptions in the abortion debate.
O’Dea said he supports a woman’s right to abortion up to 20 weeks of pregnancy along with exceptions for incest, rape and the health of the mother. O’Dea reiterated his position on abortion on Sunday when he appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He is also the country’s only Republican Senate candidate failing to receive the ex- President’s endorsement.
The soft-spoken Bennet, who was in the Capitol when insurrectionists took over the building and later followed with six Republican senators voting to decertify results of the 2020 election, calls the 2022 election crucial. He also does not hold back his criticism of colleagues who still trumpet the ‘big lie.’
“It tells me that some politicians are so ambitious for their own careers they’re will- ing to throw out common sense and demonstrate in pursuit of their own interest,” he said. “They knew better but refused to tell their supporters that it was a big lie.”
