Letter: Candidates for U.S. House of Representatives
Lauren Boebert, the Republican candidate for the U.S. House from Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District has gained a reputation for herself, but it’s not one that should inspire confidence in the job she would do if elected.
Boebert is running against Diane Mitsch Bush, a retired tenured sociology professor, former county commissioner for Routt County and who served as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2013 until 2017. There she fought for family agriculture, multimodal transportation, sustainable water infrastructure, renewable energy, small rural communities, public health, women’s rights, equality opportunity, and the natural resources that sustain us all. She has a reputation for reaching across the aisle when bipartisanship is called for. In 2018, Mitsch Bush ran against Scott Tipton but didn’t prevail. She learned from the experience.
Mark Udall, former senator from Colorado, has endorsed Mitsch Bush. He writes, “Diane is a legislator dedicated to policy based on facts, not ideology. She is tireless in her work representing Coloradans, is always willing to listen to her constituents’ concerns, and is a champion for the environment. I’ve met very few people who read bills as thoroughly as she does and who require such clear evidence to cast her vote. I am happy to endorse her campaign for U.S. Congress.”
Now consider Boebert’s resume: she has no legislative experience whatsoever, she owns a restaurant/bar in Silt called Shooter’s Grill where she encourages her servers to open-carry loaded guns while serving customers, she reopened her business in defiance of Colorado coronavirus public health orders, and she has expressed support for QAnon, a fringe conspiracy theory that posits the existence of a pedophilic “deep state” working against President Donald Trump.
There doesn’t seem to be any public information about Boebert’s education, but she doesn’t seem to understand the difference between a sociologist and a socialist as she recently tweeted out a video saying this: “My far-left opponent that I’m going against here in the Third CD is a socialist: She’s a social worker, a professor, and has her PhD in social work.”
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Mitsch Bush responded by saying, “1. I’m not — nor have I ever been — a social worker. 2. I got my PhD in sociology, not social work. 3. Social workers aren’t socialist!”
If Boebert is serious about wanting to engage in politics, she might want to start by running for a local or state office and learning to legislate. She doesn’t hesitate to express her opinions, but it’s not clear that she’s willing to engage constructively with differing opinions or compromise when necessary. Diane has already proven herself more than capable of these skills. She will hit the ground running as the Representative of Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District and set about improving the lives of her constituents.
Please go to the two candidates’ websites (laurenforcolorado.com and dianeforcolorado.com) and compare for yourself their strengths and weaknesses.
Above all, remember to register to vote, if you haven’t already or if you’ve moved recently, and vote for the stronger candidate on Nov. 3.
Deborah Webster
Edwards
