In 2020, voters in Colorado’s majority white, largely rural Western Slope rocked up to the ballot box and voted for the GOP candidate, Lauren Boebert, a little-known local restaurant owner. Boebert had become the Republican candidate when she knocked off the 5-term incumbent in the GOP primary after embracing Trump. The 2020 presidential loser and MAGA mob boss returned the favor with his endorsement.
Give Boebert credit. She read the room. And conservatives soon considered her a Republican version of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — who in 2018 had knocked off Democratic heavyweight, the 10-term incumbent and #3 Democrat in the House, Joe Crowley. AOC had leveraged her massive social media presence to gain national attention — along with a ton of negative coverage from Fox News, which was ecstatic to find a photogenic “socialist” to be the face of all that was wrong with America.
It is a cheap comparison. The only thing the two have in common is that they are young women. AOC has a double degree, cum laude, in International Relations and Economics from Boston University. Boebert is a high school dropout. AOC does her homework, comes to the job prepared, and is interested in promoting coherent and fleshed-out policies. Boebert sleeps on her desk.
AOC makes Boebert look like a piker on social media, with 13.5 million Twitter followers to Lauren's 1.7 million. Another difference — and I will grant you this has nothing to do with ability — is that AOC represents one of the safest Democratic seats in the country. Boebert, on the other hand, although favored, is no shoo-in this Tuesday. Why?
Things are looking good for Republican incumbents. And that should bode well for Boebert. But redistricting has redrawn the congressional map, which makes history an unreliable guide. And, far more importantly, Boebert has alienated people who voted for her in 2020. How?
Boebert mistook media attention for achievement. She flaunted herself and said some controversial things. And when that got her coverage, she thought the attention meant people were listening to her message when her audience was only enjoying the substance-free levity of her circus act. Her disdain for her constituents exacerbated her lack of accomplishment. Luckily, she dodged the bullet that knocked her fellow traveler, Madison Cawthorn out in his primary.
Which only shows that the base has stood by her. On Tuesday, she has to convince the 44% of voters in her district registered as independents to mark their ballots for her. And they are not showing Boebert love. Her Democratic opponent Adam Frisch has pulled into a statistical tie.
The local newspaper, Routt County’s estimable and charmingly named Steamboat Pilot & Today, asked unaffiliated voters for their opinion on Boebert. The reviews were mixed.
Richard Hirano, 51, a copier technician with libertarian leanings — he supports abortion rights and thinks the Patriot Act was a big government overreach — offers his thoughts on Boebert specifically. And politics, in general,
“I think Boebert is kind of crazy. But I don’t think the other party has any better options. I just think she’s sometimes off the deep end. She sounds like she’s trying to push that we need to be ruled by religious belief.”
“I don’t like anybody now. I think our freedoms are under attack, I don’t like either party. I’m just tired of them attacking each other. I just wish they would do something for our country. I personally think we need to just clean the slate and try to get better candidates that aren’t so partisan.”
Like many self-declared libertarians, Hirano seems like he wants to vote Republican. But unlike the MAGAs, he is a person who would like his Representative to be sane. He also reveals that Coloradan conservatives are less excited by the Christian nationalist theocracy promised by the religious fundamentalists than their Bible Belt comrades.
Joshua Burt 44, a former oil rig driller, said in 2021, Boebert was sometimes “a little too extreme”, but he said she was a good person. In 2022, he no longer sees her as being too extreme. A sentiment he also expressed about the GOP.
“I think the whole Republican Party is not extreme enough. It’s time to say ‘no, enough is enough.’ You can’t indoctrinate our children, you can’t push pornography into our schools.”
On Boebert: “She’s done amazing, I love her stand on our gun rights, And I love the fact that she keeps calling out these (expletive) morons for what they are.”
On the state: “I hope Colorado comes back to the purple where it’s supposed to be.”
I am not sure how the GOP gets more extreme than it already is. But I have been wondering that for six years, and here we are. And I do not know how Burt’s push for extremism can coexist with his desire for a purple Colorado. But it makes sense to him.
Marilyn Morris, 70, voted for Boebert in 2020, saying she was the lesser of two evils. But she has changed her mind. This year, she voted for Frisch — mostly, she said, because he was not Boebert, who she does not view favorably.
“I don’t like the way she behaves in Congress. That is not respectful, and I wouldn’t vote for her for that reason alone. She’s lying all the time. So I just don’t trust her.”
Max Lord, 30, a music producer, has moved in the opposite direction. In 2020, he voted for Boebert as a registered independent. In 2022, he voted for her as a registered Republican. Lord seems like a fair-minded man who supports both 2A and abortion rights. And he likes the Democratic candidate.
However, he has the MAGA belief that Boebert represents American traditions and values. And he has a rural chip on his shoulder about the ‘big city’ folks in Aspen (pop 6,949).
“I actually appreciate a lot of the things she’s doing and I’m happy to have her as our representative. She continues to stand up for Second Amendment rights and keeping American traditions and values at the forefront of her campaign. I don’t agree with everything she’s said publicly, but as a whole, those negative things are outweighed by the good for me.
I think very highly of Adam (Frisch), I think he’s a great guy. But Lauren represents a lot more of what our district as a whole stands for, not just Aspen.”
Stephanie Cooper, 39, is a conservative who is not voting for Boebert in 2022. However, the conservative Democrat Frisch is too liberal for her, so he is out of the running as well. Both major parties can count Cooper out.
“I just feel like she’s more focused on attention than getting stuff done. And rather than take the time to actually come to the table with her constituents or anyone who opposes her” Boebert seems to just want “her voice to be heard.”
“I don’t plan on voting for many Republicans. There are other people out there and other groups out there that I probably align more with. And if I feel stuck on if it’s just between a Democrat and Republican and I don’t agree … I’m not going to vote.”
Anthony Medved, 38, a building inspector, is firmly opposed to Boebert. There is no doubt where he stands. He calls a “terrible right-wing politician” who gives America a “terrible look.” And he rightly identifies the narcissism that underpins so many MAGA politicos
“I think she cares more about her persona than she does actually making a difference in this world. She needs to be removed from her responsibilities and I will be encouraging anyone I talk to to vote against her and her radical thoughts and actions.”
On Tuesday the voters will decide the direction the country will take for the next two years. And possibly for a generation. If Boebert and her fellow MAGAs have a good day, the country is in for stormy weather. And comparisons with the Nazi Reichstag election win in 1933 will surface. These comparisons were once considered histrionic. But that was before we knew that the majority of one of America’s major political parties would tightly embrace a wannabe fascist.
On the other hand, the Democrats might pull the fat out of the fire. And win a few GOP seats in the House, giving them a chance to avoid the catastrophe of theocracy.
God willing.
We can only hope most people will use their heads tomorrow, but I'm worried, thank you Pitt