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June 09, 2014 04:07 PM UTC

Gardner's First TV Ad Part of Odd Age-Based Argument for Senate

  • 17 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Mark Udall, Cory Gardner.
Cory Gardner (right) is trying to make age an issue in his bid to unseat Sen. Mark Udall (left)

Congressman Cory Gardner has released his first television ad of his Senate campaign, as Lynn Bartels of the Denver Post reports today, and it is a clear attempt at trying to create a "age controversy" that would benefit Gardner. Via Bartels and the Post, here's the script of the ad (which you can watch after the jump).

Cory: Welcome to Yuma, Colorado. Two hours from the big city.

Alyson: And a long way from anywhere else.

Cory: In a place like this, you learn to get along.

Alyson: That’s how we do it here, Dad.

Cory: It’s too bad Washington doesn’t work that way.

I’m Cory Gardner. I’ll be a senator who solves problems – instead of making ‘em worse, borrowing money and piling up debt. It’s time the Senate had a new generation — one that’s accountable to the next generation.

Alyson: That would be me.

Cory: I’m Cory Gardner and I approved this message. Let’s shake up the Senate.

Wayne Allard
Former Sen. Wayne Allard, Gardner’s first boss, was 65-years-old when he retired in 2009.

The release of Gardner's first Senate ad coincides nicely with a story being pushed by the right-wing blog The Colorado Observer. Written by Mark Stricherz, the story is ostensibly about how Sen. Mark Udall is trying to present a youthful image to voters even though he's, like, really old. The Observer even goes so far as to compare the 63-year-old Udall with Sen. John Freakin' McCain. who has been around considerably longer — for 77 years, in fact.

We're certainly surprised to see Team Gardner taking this approach, since Udall certainly doesn't look like a Senior Citizen and isn't old enough for anyone to seriously worry about how his age might affect his leadership. The comparison is stark when you look at the numbers in isolation — Gardner is 39 and Udall is 63 — but in the context of the U.S. Senate, those numbers are fairly meaningless. Of the current class of 100 U.S. Senators, Udall is about average in terms of age. The median age of the U.S. Senate is just shy of 63 years old on the button, which makes Udall the 44th oldest Senator (out of 100). More Senators are in their 60s (36, to be precise) than in any other age group. As for whether age makes a difference in terms of actual leadership, consider this: 3 of the youngest Senators are Cory Booker, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio.

But here's the real kicker…Gardner's first job after law school was with then-Republican Sen. Wayne Allard; Gardner served as Allard's General Counsel and Legislative Director during Sen. Allard's second (and final) term in office. When Allard retired after two terms in 2009, he had just turned 65.

Perhaps we'd better get ready for Gardner's new campaign slogan: Vote Gardner. He's Not That Old.

 

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17 thoughts on “Gardner’s First TV Ad Part of Odd Age-Based Argument for Senate”

  1. There's no difference between a 39 year old and a 63 year old? Thank goodness! We can raise the eligibility age for Social Security!

    🙂

        2. Is that what you said when Obama ran against McCain?

          Why would we? That was a case of young and wise trumping old and stupid. A totally different scenario.

    4. There is a difference, Moddy:  Millennials say they are more focused on the environment than their parents’ generation, 76% to 24%, according to the poll.  The same poll found that 66% of millennials say there is “solid evidence” the earth is getting warmer, and 75% of those respondents say human activity is responsible for it.  They're generally uninterested in things like KeystoneXL and offshore drilling.  They know our future prosperity won't be found at the tip of a drill bit, miles below the Earth's surface, drowning in fracking fluid.  It will be found in an "all of the above"…which is "all of those resources above the Earth's surface": sun, wind and biomass (along with energy efficiency and conservation).

      I'll cede that Millenials in CD4 may be an outlier in that poll – but Cory isn't going to win a statewide race with the rural millenials.

  2. It's bad enough that we have a relative whipper-snapper in Chief Injustice Roberts on the SCOTUS for the next 30 years.  So sending a 39 year old bought and paid for Oil lobbiest to the Senate for potentially 40 years would be almost as bad for our nation.

  3. Accountable to the next generation….that made me laugh.  Climate deniers are not keeping the next generation in mind at all. If Gardner cares so much about the next generation, why is in remarkably silent on the new EPA regulations that address global warming?  Isn't this an issue that he should be concerned about for the welfare of his children and all future generations?  

    As far as Udall's age, anybody climbed or hiked with him lately? He is in the process of completing the last peak of 100 peaks that are just under 14,000 ft in elevation. He climbed all the 14'ers and then moved on to the next ones just under 14,000 ft. 

    Gardner's ad is insulting to the folks that are older than his 39 years.  And, is it just me, or is Gardner's dismissing the role of the big cities in his quest to be elected to the Senate? Solving problems in government? How does voting to shutdown the government solve problems?

    Gardner is all about illusions and that won't win him a Senate seat because Coloradans are too smart for tricks.

     

     

     

     

     

  4. Cory Gardner would be eligible to play in the US Tennis Association's Senior League next year (40+ years).  What was his point, again?

    1. The point is that the Gardner campaign is desperate. Gardener should have lots of time on his hands next year to play in that senior tennis league, too. Lobbying won't take that much time. 

  5. the Gardner campaign is desperate.

    Looks that way, doesn't it. They will keep throwing shit on the wall to see if anything will stick. They have no scruples, no shame, and no intention of losing….

  6. Again, perhaps this is because election season is looming and I'm on a minor break from development of some new movies, but….. I can't resist commenting on this one – 

    I know Cory Gardner very well, and I know Mark Udall very well. A youth argument from Cory's camp? Please….

    I've seen about every athletic contraption you can think of, at some point, hanging off of the shoulders of Mark Udall (being that I was a resident of Eagle/Summit) – you can't spot Mark Udall without him holding a kayak/ice-shoe/hiking-boot/moutain-bike/skis/etc – part of what makes Udall such an attractive candidate is because you know, deep down, he would rather be scaling 14ers than serving in the Senate, but…. you also know that the man heads to the Senate every month because he truly has an altruistic side that wants to be at the table when issues involving Colorado come up. Now that? That is an inspiring candidate!

    Cory Gardner? I want to be as kind as possible, but honestly… if Cory Gardner truly thinks he represents the youth movement of the US Senate, then I would love to see him drive up to the Dillon Dam, get into a kayak, and paddle from one end of the reservoir to the other….

    And this is exactly why Udall will win. Although I personally miss this trait within Colorado, the days of Colorado being a rural outpost of the Gold Rush, where cowboys ran in and out, and Victorian Inns provided hospitality, those days? Those days are GONE. The new spirit of Colorado is, honestly, very athletic (I know this from the fact that, while I can 'keep up' with my TRX exercising classes here in LA, I never can in Denver). I also once joked to my campaign manager, Kaye Ferry, that I would've won the HD56 election in 2008, if only I had attached a THULE to the top of my car. 

    Overall, you have to be a candidate that emobodies a state. Colorado, more than any other state, prioritizes recreation, and Mark Udall, sincerely, is as athletic and as knowledgable as it gets when it comes to high country recreation. This is exactly why he is the perfect Senator for Colorado, why he will win, and why this 'youth' argument is going to fail horribly. 

    I will say it again…. I would LOVE to see Cory Gardner in a kayak. 

    1. Ali, paddle boats in Lake Yuma (Colorado) is more out speed out east: Their community center (pictured) has a small pond that serves as the public lake for locals (and the town ducks). 

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