August 18, 2014 02:43 PM UTC

Gardner demanded defunding Obamacare to avoid government shutdown

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• by: Jason Salzman

(So much for that – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

The Associated Press' Nicholas Riccardi reported Aug. 15 that senatorial candidate Cory Gardner's spokesman, Alex Siciliano, "noted that, before the shutdown, Gardner had warned against requiring Democrats to defund the Affordable Care Act as a requirement for keeping government open."

Maybe Siciliano doesn't listen to Gardner much on talk radio. Maybe he's too busy talking to reporters on behalf of his boss.

But when I read Riccardi's piece, I recalled hearing Gardner advocate for, as opposed to against, demanding Dems defund Obamacare or face a government shutdown.

On August 1, 2013, two months before the government shutdown, Gardner told KOA’s Mike Rosen:

Rosen: “Perhaps we can talk about some other items on the agenda, such as the current dispute, even with the Republican Party, about whether Republicans, who have a majority in the House, ought to take a stand now, as the continuing resolution question comes up, take a stand on Obamacare, and refuse to fund it, while at the same time, agreeing with a continuing resolution that would allow the rest of the federal government to operate. Have you got a position on that?

Gardner: I want to do anything and everything I can to stop Obamacare from destroying our health care, from driving up increases in costs. Whether that’s through the continuing resolution, I want to defund everything that we can….

Rosen: There’s a political concern that if the Republicans stand their ground on this [repealing Obamacare], they are going to be blamed for shutting down the government.

Gardner: Well, I think if the government gets shut down, it’s going to be the President’s decision to do so. I believe that we don’t need to shut down the government because we ought to just lift this health-care bill out of the way and let America work. [BigMedia emphasis]

If that's a warning "against requiring Democrats to defund the Affordable Care Act as a requirement for keeping government open," then mushrooms aren't popping up in our mountains right now (and they are).

Next time Gardner's Siciliano tells me something, if I'm a reporter, I think I go the extra mile to make sure it's accurate.