April 20, 2017 10:37 AM UTC

Video: Mariachi Band Serenades Cory Gardner

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• by: Colorado Pols

Via Politico, Sen. Cory Gardner’s invite-only event yesterday held by the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce featured an unexpected musical interlude:

A mariachi band interrupted @SenCoryGardner during his remarks at a chamber of commerce event in Colorado Springs pic.twitter.com/tRAohtePQQ

— POLITICO (@politico) April 20, 2017

The Colorado Springs Gazette’s Peter Marcus reports:

Three organizations – including two focusing on Latino issues – were behind the musical interruption. Tuesday night, they paid $250 to register as Chamber members and brought six members of a mariachi band from Mexico City to play a “love song” and demand Gardner hold a public forum, said Hilda Nucete, a program director of Denver-based Conservation Colorado.

“It was a gift,” Nucete said, referring to the Spanish song “Where Are You, My Heart?” The song, she said, is about “when the guy really messes up and you’re trying to get back the girl, so we’re trying to get (Gardner) to fall in love with us again.”

As you can see in the video, it was a brief interruption–but long enough to generate another round of unwanted press coverage for Gardner, focusing on his ongoing lack of public engagement during the latest congressional recess. The nonpublic events Gardner has held this recess are not conducive to candid interaction–and are much more literally “paid” attendees than the protesters he demeans by claiming they’re paid.

Which reminds us, has anybody gotten Gardner and Mike Coffman in the same room to talk paid protesters?

Folks, if Gardner is anything, he’s media savvy. The growing bedevilment of Gardner’s every move back home is a serious problem, even if he chooses not to do anything meaningful to address it. Gardner obviously hopes to ride out the discontent, but each one of these negative press events takes a chunk out of Gardner’s beatific public image. And we think he knows it.

In Gardner’s head, the band plays on.