Sen. Mitt Romney made me proud. I supported him bigly in 2012. Utah’s senator delivered an epic capstone speech and verdict to this historic impeachment.
Other Americans demonstrated courage since those fateful October days when we read the whistleblower’s report, the call summary and the written testimony of Ambassador William Taylor.
Cory Gardner has displayed the opposite of courage.
Gardner should be finished now in Colorado. On Feb. 20, the Trump/Gardner team will be together in Colorado Springs. They’re wise to stay away from metro Denver.
Donald Trump remains toxic with most Colorado voters. Only a Democrat collapse (see Iowa) and/or nominating the socialist Bernie Sanders could have Trump win our state.
I’ve long sensed Romney’s a good and moral man. Remember Oct. 3, 2012, when Mitt kicked Barack Obama’s backside at their Denver debate.
I was at a fundraiser for him that night at Shanahan’s. Not the restaurant, but at Mike and Peggy’s mansion to meet rising star and Romney ally, Marco Rubio.
The Florida senator never showed. Figures. It was Trump who labeled Little Marco Senator No Show. That night, I tried to persuade Dean Singleton, former owner of The Denver Post, to endorse Romney. I failed. So did Mitt.
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But we’ve all moved on. Romney may have some more moving to do. According to Prince Donald Trump Jr., Romney must leave the GOP.
Rush Limbaugh reports Romney may now be the Dem nominee. That’s fine by me. Limbaugh’s attacks on Romney have been non-stop for years, but Mitt’s the bigger man as he offered prayers to the cancer-stricken Limbaugh.
Speaking of prayer, Trump despicably began his opposition suppression campaign at the National Prayer breakfast.
A day after his 52-48 acquittal, Trump whined about dishonest and corrupt people bent on his destruction. Next, he attacked Romney and Nancy Pelosi’s religiosity, “I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say, ‘I pray for you,’ when they know that that’s not so. So many people have been hurt, and we can’t let that go on.”
Censorship and authoritarianism await if Trump’s reelected.
Can the religious right not hear the hypocrisy, autocracy and monarchism in Trump’s words? Or do they like it? The Bible is full of commandments and edicts from kings and prophets.
After the prayer breakfast, Trump put on an unhinged display of madness in the White House East Room. Trump claimed his impeachment was “bullshit” and a hoax.
In truth, the president did precisely what the articles of impeachment stated. The Ukrainian Shakedown was real. Adam Schiff and his team fleshed out Trump’s corrupt Ukrainian Shakedown with brilliant lawyering and brave witnesses. House managers did so despite hectoring and total obstruction by the White House.
The Ukrainian Shakedown is not an isolated event. Trump will keep on abusing power and doing Vladimir Putin’s bidding. In 2016, Cory Gardner sized The Donald up as a buffoon and denied Trump his vote, instead writing in Mike Pence. This was Gardner’s chance to stand up, but he sat down and obeyed his masters.
Gardner has sponsored never-to be-implemented legislation to fight Russia and aid Ukraine, but now embraces Putin’s pal. That’s bullshit.
Remember when Gardner promised an impartial Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into what happened in Ukraine? That also was bullshit. No witnesses Sen. Gardner?No willingness to have John Bolton testify? More of the same from our soon-departing senator. Gardner may get that Trump base vote. But not much more.
Trump put on quite a show at the State of the Union, as did Nancy Pelosi. She’s impressed me more than ever standing up to Trump and ripping his deceitful rhetoric and abuses of constitutional power.
What choice did the Dems have when Trump got caught trying to cheat the Dems out of another election? Ignore it? Hold oversight hearings where the White House won’t show up?
No one on Team Trump will truly engage about this Ukrainian Shakedown. The U.S. Senate proved the point as Moscow Mitch and his apparatchiks let the White House dictate everything, including the Potemkin village verdict.
For the first time in American history, an impeachment trial had no witnesses. Thanks to Cory Gardner.
The White House would not allow an actual impeachment trial. Their goal was massive smearing and head-hunting against Americans with courage to speak truth to power.
May good fortune come to American heroes like Ambassador William Taylor, Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, Fiona Hill and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.
Best wishes also to Mitt Romney, who’s the subject of moronic and vicious critiques from MAGA world. Romney detractors question Mitt’s motivation, but not his cogent legal analysis and fact-finding.
Trump can’t compare to Romney when it comes to intellect, integrity and morality. However, President Trump is excellent at dividing Americans. He does so deliberately. So does Putin.
It is profoundly fitting that this Commander in Chief has unleashed a word not normally seen in civilized columns such as mine. The word is just so perfect for Trump.
He is the biggest bullshitter in the history of the American presidency. And Trump’s bullshit must stop come November.
Craig Silverman is a former Denver chief deputy DA who also has worked in the media for decades. Craig is columnist at large for The Colorado Sun. He practices law at the Denver law firm of Springer & Steinberg, P.C.
The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggested writers and more to opinion@coloradosun.com.