At the recent debate in Colorado Springs, Ken Buck and Jane Norton once again failed to give real solutions to the extreme positions they have been proposing on the campaign trail. The debate served only to underscore their need to pander to only a small fraction of Coloradans.
Both have continued to call for the elimination of the Departments of Education and Energy. Both are against providing affordable health care to Coloradans and providing the most basic care to seniors that have no other access to health care. Norton has referred to Social Security repeatedly as a Ponzi scheme and is now using allusions to 9/11 to ingratiate herself to extreme groups. Buck continues to make more and more outlandish remarks depending on the audience, even calling for Americans to be "weaned" off Federal student loans.
Personally neither my husband nor I would have been able to get college educations without those loans. And we paid every penny back. Oh and guess what, he is a Vietnam veteran, and I am a returned Peace Corps volunteer.
It seems that Buck and Norton are trying to "out-extreme" each other every time they appear publicly. The more they try to curry favor with the people who don't represent the average Coloradan, the farther they get from what Coloradans really need- viable solutions to our current economic downturn.
That's why the Colorado Democratic Party just launched a new website to track the extreme positions both Buck and Norton seem to be so proud of: www.extremecandidates.com. We urge concerned Coloradans to get to know the real Jane Norton and Ken Buck.
We are proposing they answer some real questions:
Question #1: How does eliminating the Department of Education and getting rid of the Federal student loan program help a single Colorado student prepare for the future or afford college?
Question #2: If we were to privatize Social Security, and seniors lost their nest eggs through no fault of their own, how would we provide for the millions of newly impoverished Coloradans?
Question #3: If we don't have a Department of Energy, and we don't set up standards for using alternative fuels, how are we ever going to reduce our dependence on foreign oil?
Question #4: If both candidates are against Medicare, how do they plan on providing basic medical coverage for Colorado seniors?
In the end, its access to quality health care, a dependable retirement, excellent schools and affordable higher education; and an environment where our families can grow and thrive that Coloradans want most. Not the same old jargon that simply points fingers and doesn't offer genuine answers.
We'll see be watching their speeches to see they are able to deliver any viable explanations.