In between voting to end funding for cancer treatment and promoting the racist “white replacement” conspiracy theory, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) found time last week to appear on a fringe conservative podcast, where she said she’s working to “expose” state bills from the Colorado legislature, not the U.S. Congress, where she works.
The Congresswoman made the remark to Joe Oltmann, who is himself an election fraud conspiracy theorist. He leads FEC United, the far-right conservative militia group which works closely with the Colorado Republican Party.
At the time of Boebert’s interview, YouTube had suspended Oltmann’s podcast, Conservative Daily, presumably for its ongoing promotion of the conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of President Biden.
After praising the Senate’s filibuster rule as a means to restrict Democrats’ ability to pass laws, Boebert announced her current priority to Oltmann.
“What I’m working on is to expose to the voters how these policies are coming from the state legislature have negative impacts on the communities and what they are actually doing to our communities,” said Boebert. “No matter what the intention of the bill is–we’ll just go ahead and give them the benefit of the doubt–we’ll say that the state legislature just wants the very best for Colorado, and they have the best of intentions and the love the rural and urban communities equally.”
Oltmann jumped in, saying: “It wouldn’t be true, but…”
“We’ll just say it!” replied Boebert with a laugh. “But when you actually implement these policies they have real-world impacts that are not good for the communities, especially in rural Colorado. So to begin to expose that to the voters and say you may think you’re voting compassionately when you vote for Democrats, but these are the impacts they are having on your family.”
It’s unclear which policies Boebert believes have negative impacts on Colorado communities. She mentions meetings with constituents including “school superintendents and energy workers,” so perhaps she objects to some education or energy bills. Her office did not return an email request for clarification on this issue.
The bill with the largest impact on Colorado communities is the state budget, which passed with overwhelming support in the state Senate, 32-1, including a yes vote from Boebert’s own state Sen. Bob Rankin (R-Carbondale). The House vote was also bipartisan–barely–with only House Minority Leader Hugh McKean joining Democrats in passing the bill that allows the Colorado government to function.
As a member of the United States Congress, Boebert doesn’t have any direct involvement with the state legislature herself. Her communications staff also did not reply to an inquiry as to why she believes campaigning against state bills she has no role in crafting or passing is a worthwhile use of her time.
In addition to being a constituent of Sen. Rankin, Boebert is represented by Rep. Perry Will (R-New Castle) in the House. Both officials are Republicans, as are most of the members of the general assembly representing Coloradans in the Third Congressional District.
