November 04, 2013 09:23 AM UTC

Is Buck ready to give up the debt ceiling fight, like Gardner is?

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• by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

On KNUS radio last week, Rep. Cory Gardner was pressed on whether he'd try again to block an extension of the debt limit to stop Obamacare. His answer surprised me:

Gardner: "I don’t think threatening with the debt limit is a good idea. I think that has proven to not work."

Afternoon KNUS host Steve Kelley, who was interviewing Gardner, seemed to think Gardner should go down the debt-ceiling-government-shutdown road again, and not blink this time. So I thought Kelley would remind Gardner how fierce an advocate he'd been for using the debt ceiling in the past.

Kelley may not be a regular listener of KFKA's Amy Oliver Show, but I am, and I remember when Oliver asked him (on Jan. 8):

Oliver: I want to ask you Congressman, are you willing to vote no against a raise in the Debt Ceiling if it doesn’t include significant spending cuts? 

Gardner:  Well, “Absolutely,” is the answer to that.

Gardner made similar comments to Kelley himself in January, saying, "We are not going to imperil the future generations of the country.  It is immoral.  It is wrong." And on conservative KFTM, Gardner said that blocking the extension of the debt ceiling was an “opportunity to reduce the size and scope of government, and how we can require opportunities to look for savings, look for cuts, and what we’re going to do to grow the economy through common sense tax reform.  I think there’s great opportunities for us to get back on track.” (Listen here.)

So If I were Kelley, I'd wonder why Gardner's moral outrage about the debt ceiling was so easily undermined by a tactical loss.

Same question would go to U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck, who said on KLZ Grassroots Radio Colorado Aug. 27:

Buck: I'm “absolutely against raising the debt limit, period, end of story”

Is Buck ready to give up the fight on the debt ceiling, like Gardner is? Kelley should consider asking him.