Colorado GOP chairman/Rep. Ken Buck released an extended-length fundraising video for online consumption yesterday, and there’s no need to expound too much on the 2 minutes and 40 some-odd seconds in which Buck drones on predictably about his love for freedom and hatred of bad Washington, D.C. “others” (allegedly) in both parties–but we wanted to make sure readers see this particular nine seconds, which is, if you’ll allow us to be honest, all you need to see:
That’s Rep. Buck with Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams, and it goes like this:
BUCK: Sheriff, we need a mask around here?
REAMS: Not here.
BUCK: Why not?
REAMS: ‘Cause it’s America. It’s a free country.
BUCK: God bless America.
REAMS: Let’s go shoot.
There’s a lot we could say here, for example a reminder of how severely Weld County in particular was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic’s initial wave in March and April. In a normal world, this kind of contempt for suffering in a disaster like the ongoing global pandemic would be political suicide–but in Donald Trump’s Republican Party, which comprises a healthy plurality of the electorate in Colorado’s CD-4, even areas that have suffered greatly like Weld County are more likely to reward this behavior than punish it at the polls.
Buck’s second job as chair of the statewide Republican Party, however, makes him a liability to every candidate running in Colorado with an (R) after their name. Every Republican in this state needs to decide if this speaks for them–and if they don’t want it to, they’d better say something right away.
When 50,000 Americans were dead of COVID in late April and the virus was tearing through Weld County, Buck’s cavalier opposition to basic steps like mask wearing was unacceptable.
With almost 200,000 dead today, it’s just…sick.
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Think about what they're going to say about this in ten years, or fifty years. Our children's children will laugh at Ken Buck.
Manly men doing manly things with other manly men and without masks.
I watched the longer version … which left me curious about a few items:
why does Buck have an unrestrained dog in the back of a pickup? Why does Buck just leave the dog there as he walks away from the truck?
why does Ken Buck need someone else to charge a rifle and hand it to him??
Why doesn't he shoot the pistol he's wearing?
Why does Buck only have 3 other white males in his fund raising pitch — 1 sheriff and 2 men in black (obviously intended to be "swamp" denizens)? Why were those swamp denizens on the same property with a barrel fire (does Buck really endorse private fire fighting??)
If he got into politics to have the system work for the people ("for us"), and it isn't working after 6 years — why should we think it would work if he's put in office for another two?
Should the state Republican party chairman focus on the idea that he doesn't believe in a party, that he's in search for the truth which may antagonize Republicans or Democrats??
He attemped to commit election fraud. Is that o because Merica is a free country?
Perhaps the alternative title of this "film" should be "Jingo Unchained"?
They are Law and Order supporters who only obey the laws and regulations that they like. Criminals operate on the same assumptions that laws are to be obeyed only if they are compatible with your priorities.
Don’t you enjoy the manly men declaring their freedom from regulations that they feel infringe on their freedom and in the next breath declare that women have no freedom to decide their own destiny. Freedom for me but not for the wenches.
Someone remind Ken Buck his job is to lead the people of CD-4, and not to act like a petulant freedumb loving child.