At Gazette Debate, Hick-pocrisy Defined: "I'm No Big Fan of the Affordable Care Act"

Press Release

Candidate for Governor Bob Beauprez again dominated in a debate with his opponent, incumbent John Hickenlooper. Throughout their sixth debate, the focus repeatedly turned to Hickenlooper's failures on education, energy, statewide economic growth -- as well as the incumbent governor's willingness to hand over the reins to Barack Obama. Meanwhile, Beauprez focused on the issues and laid out his plan for Colorado.

"With each debate, Bob Beauprez shows Colorado voters why he's the clear choice to lead our state," said candidate for Lt. Governor Jill Repella. "It was sad to see John Hickenlooper get so angry when called on the carpet for his indecision, weak leadership, and neglect of critical issues to the state. The shocker of the night were the boos Hickenlooper elicited from his supporters on Obamacare."

Obamacare "Hickpocrisy" Takes Center Stage

Hickenlooper has long been a big fan of Barack Obama and his signature legislation, Obamacare. But with a majority of Coloradans not supporting him in the polls, he is desperately trying to distance himself from past support for Washington, DC policies.

Tonight, Hickenlooper failed to execute an abrupt pivot when he said "I'm no big fan of the Affordable Care Act" then yelled at the audience when they -- primarily his supporters -- booed his obvious hypocrisy.

In fact, Hickenlooper's past support for Obamacare is well-documented. Hickenlooper has been one of the disastrous bill's most vocal backers, so much so that he was described by KDVR as giving a " full-throated defense of Obamacare" at an earlier debate this fall.

Hickenlooper's support for Obamacare is so uncharacteristically strident that he even broke the law, following Barack Obama's lead. By offering plans on the Colorado exchange that were not ACA-compliant, his administration broke a law that he signed.

Beauprez captured Hickenlooper's approach to Obama's policies, "When Barack Obama says jump, John Hickenlooper says how high."

Hickenlooper Agenda Still Yet "To Be Determined"

Caught off guard when asked the most basic leadership question -- "What would your agenda be if re-elected" -- John Hickenlooper did not articulate a single coherent idea for a second term.

Bob Beauprez asked:

"John, staying on the economic point, you called your first term agenda TBD, to be determined... This is our 6th debate. I, and I think a whole lot of people, including some in the media, are still waiting to hear what your second term agenda would be like and I wonder if that's got a name too like, 'We'll get back to you,' or 'Watch your inbox.'"

Hickenlooper responded:

"I think we made it pretty clear that we have, you know, not only have we turned the economy around, tooken a one billion dollar deficit and turned it into a $650 million rainy day fund, but we are very focused on expanding that in certain direct places, we want to expand jobs for the long term unemployed, we want to really reach out and support young people when they're getting their first job. We want to look at people with disabilities, right? And we have a great program out there now that is showing great success at making sure that we have the skills ready for the jobs that are needed. We're going to focus not just on business but creating that culture that really attracts the young entrepreneurs. That's part of what's been the great success of Colorado these last few years, right? We've been the thinnest state but we haven't been the healthiest state, right? Over the last 4 and a half years we've reduced teenage pregnancy by more than 20%, right? We've gone and reduced abortion in the age group 15 to 25 by almost 35 percent. These are remarkable numbers. We've reduced prescription drug abuse by over 20 percent. So, we're going to move Colorado in that second term, and we've gotten closer, we're going to make it the healthiest state in the country, and we're going to continue the education reforms. Again, very important to young entrepreneurs, that come out and are building not just a business but a life, to make sure that we have the most innovative public school system in the country."

Nowhere in that rambling answer did John Hickenlooper offer a clear agenda for the future of Colorado. We are still left wondering what would John Hickenlooper even do in a second term?

John Hickenlooper: The Denver Governor

Beauprez called Hickenlooper out on his singular lack of focus on parts of the state that are located outside the Denver Metro area. Beauprez directly questioned Hickenlooper on this:

"At the 9News debate, governor, when I brought up the economic challenges here in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, the cameras caught you rolling your eyes. Just yesterday, just yesterday, you shrugged off concerns of rural Coloradans, suggesting they can't "appreciate' your complicated energy mandate that raises their electric bills.

"And this comes after you lavished praise on Michael Bloomberg who called Colorado Springs and Pueblo "roadless backwaters.' Of the gun bills you signed, you said rural Colorado would just have to live with the "inconvenience' they created.

"I will ask you the question that so many people around Colorado ask me. Do you realize that you are not just Mayor of Denver anymore and this state is a little bigger than that?"

Hickenlooper only stammered out a response about "being to Colorado Springs 30 times", and making three appointments from Southern Colorado -- without answering for his policies, from guns to energy to the economy, that have been so disastrous for Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and rural Colorado.

Even when answering a question about the arts, Hickenlooper responded with an answer that amounted to "This is how you can make Colorado Springs more like Denver."

A Clear Distinction

When asked about what should be done with a projected TABOR refund, Bob Beauprez captured the central distinction between the two candidates with this summary:

"The first principle that always guides me is that YOU know what to do with your dollars better than government knows what to do with your dollars. Government's problem is not that they don't have enough revenue, it's that they spend too much."

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