Sometimes we vote against a candidate more than for one. This is the case in the 3rd Congressional District race between incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and Democratic challenger Adam Frisch. More important than the theatrics, denial of the 2020 election results and “anger-tainment,” Boebert has not done the first, most basic requirement of her job – the work of legislating.
She has nothing to show for her time in D.C. To make matters worse, she’s claimed credit for legislation that she voted against. It’s time for Boebert to step aside and take her bizarre, tall tales of kitty litter with her. We are endorsing Frisch, who has an actual work ethic.
Frisch is a former Aspen City Council member and a businessman. He’s running as a Democrat but leans “unaffiliated.” He’s a smart guy and qualified.
But we can’t talk about Frisch without mentioning the alternative. Boebert could have been true to herself, her base and produced the work required in CD3. That did not happen. To address her base directly: You can run a candidate who reflects your values and does the work to bring home the goods to our district. Boebert is not this person.
Boebert voted against things that really matter in the Southwest, including funding for wildfire resilience, health care access for veterans, and provisions for water quality and to mitigate the drought. We are overdue for serious conversations about the Colorado River and water in the West. We need a rep who understands the dire need to create good jobs, bring down inflation, decrease the meteoric rise in health care costs. We need a serious person to represent CD3. That is Frisch.
Boebert has continually said, “I had amazing legislative victories for our district; there were nine of them,” including resources for teachers and firefighters, water resiliency projects, helping farmers with wolf reintroduction policies and more.
Those “victories” were part of the $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 15 – legislation Boebert voted against.
“Those nine appropriations were shoved in a bill by (House Speaker California Democrat) Nancy Pelosi, that was 2,700 pages long that I had no time to read,” Boebert said. “I’m grateful for those nine appropriations but I would be representing you poorly by putting a ‘yes’ on a bill I had no time to read.”
Nonsense. Make the time. Boebert must engage on every bill. No excuses.
We do, though, appreciate that she put her name to a companion bill for the Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Act, introducing it in the U.S. House. Boebert came in as a buzzer-beater and didn’t actually work on it. But we’ll take it anyway. It’s important for the Four Corners.
Meanwhile, Frisch has moved within striking distance of winning the CD3 seat, putting both candidates in a veritable statistical tie. Keating Research polled likely voters and found Boebert leading Frisch 47% to 45%, within the poll’s 4.4 percentage point margin of error. (Another 7% were undecided.) This is a 5-point quantum leap for Frisch since July. Our sprawling district leans toward Republican candidates by more than 9 points, according to the state’s independent redistricting commission.
In talking about Boebert, we may be cliché and dating ourselves with Janet Jackson’s 1986 song “What Have You Done for Me Lately?” We’d change the lyric from “lately” to “ever.” The answer: big fat zero. Say “yes” to Frisch for CD3.
