We all know there is a pledge drive going on to “nudge” Senator Collins to vote against the Kavanaugh nomination; that is a thick stick and not, in my opinion, a bad idea. It occurs to me, tonight, that we might come up with a different approach to nudge other senators. I suggest that a positive pledge to Senator Cory Gardner, of the blue state Colorado (where I lived from 1973 to 1988 and where my two daughters were born) could be very helpful.
Gardner’s biggest impediment to doing the right thing is that the GOP primary in Colorado is always dominated by right wing nut jobs— all of whom currently wear MAGA hats. Colorado has open primaries! How about Democrats pledging to support Gardner in the primary (but not in November) if he votes against Kavanaugh?! There are a couple of credible accusations of Kavanaugh connected to Colorado.
I have on several occasions supported a Republican candidate (who was far less “evil”) here in Virginia by voting in the Republican primary. In each case it was for a state legislative seat that wasn’t going to be won by a Democrat, regardless. If Gardner has good reason to believe he can win a primary regardless of his vote on Kavanaugh he might do the right thing. Colorado is for sure a #me too listening state and he might be caught between the proverbial rock and hard place.
Kossacks from Colorado, weigh in.