In 2010, Rep. Corey Gardner embraced the 'Personhood Amendment'
Republican Congressman Cory Gardner of Colorado is
quite a piece of work:
Congressman Cory Gardner, who has been hammered for his position on social issues ever since he jumped into the U.S. Senate race, dropped a political bombshell Friday with his revelation that he was wrong to have supported previous personhood efforts.
He said that after learning more about the measures, which would have had the impact of outlawing abortion, he realized the proposals also could ban certain forms of contraception, a prohibition he does not support. [...] He did not say when he changed his mind on personhood, but said he began examining it more closely after voters rejected it by a 3-to-1 margin in 2010.
"The fact that it restricts contraception, it was not the right position," Gardner said.
Gardner's spin is pretty much an open and shut case of political bull. He bragged about supporting the personhood amendment on the campaign trail in 2010 while seeking the GOP nomination for his House seat, but now that he's running for U.S. Senate he's claiming that if he'd only understood what the proposal would actually do, he never would have supported it.
The thing is, it was obvious at the time that the personhood amendment was an idea only a conservative neanderthal could embrace. That's why three quarters of Colorado voters rejected it at the ballot box, not once, but twice. Heck, even Mississippi voters shot the idea down.
But now, despite being an outspoken proponent of the losing side each time it came up for a vote, Gardner wants people to believe that if he had understood the implications of the personhood amendment, he never would have supported it? Come on. That'd be like someone saying they never would have supported the death penalty if they realized that the death penalty involved executing people. It just doesn't pass the smell test.
Oh, and if Gardner's lame and unconvincing spin sounds familiar to you, maybe it's because in 2010 he flirted with birtherism, ultimately deciding to announce—through his campaign manager—that he believed President Obama was "most likely" a U.S. citizen.
