So Lauren Boebert rode a flood of outside money to achieve a 0.16% margin of victory in a heavily Republican district. Hardly a vote of confidence. How will she spend the two more years in office that the voters have granted her?
She can ignore the message that 49.92% of her constituents sent on Election Day and continue as before, tweeting up a storm, making one appearance after another on national right-wing media outlets and, generally, working hard to burnish her personal brand before the MAGA crowd. With the slimmest of margins in the House, the Republicans won't be able to lose many members. That will potentially grant outsized power to fringe players like Boebert, who can leverage must-pass legislation, like raising the debt limit to hold the nation hostage to try and impose their minority views. Or perhaps she'll spend the next two years pursuing Hunter Biden's laptop and Anthony Fauci, participating in endless hearings just like was done on Benghazi and Hillary Clinton’s e-mail server. How productive were those?
Alternatively, she can buckle down, and really try and get something done for this district. But in a divided government that would involve actually trying to work with the other side of the aisle rather than just trying to score cheap symbolic points. In other words, working with the libs rather than trying to own them.
The voters delivered a clear message that they want a different approach. Will she listen?
Lawrence Gross
Durango