DENVER—Colorado’s most endangered Democratic member of Congress, Rep. Betsy Markey, highlighted her independence Thursday in her final televised event before election day next month.
Markey talked up her independent streak in a forum with her Republican challenger, Cory Gardner, and two minor-party candidates.
“I was a first-time candidate two years ago,” she said. “I wasn’t elected to warm a seat. I was elected to make the very tough political decisions that needed to get made to get this country moving again.”
Markey said that she has voted against ruling Democrats in the House, that she voted against President Barack Obama’s first budget and against the health care overhaul the first time it was before the House.
But Markey was a crucial vote for the Democrats last year on the final version of the health care overhaul—a vote that caused the biggest spark of Thursday’s forum.
An independent candidate in the 4th District, Ken “Wasko” Waszkiewicz, criticized Markey for voting for the final version of the health care plan without reading it.
“But I did read it,” Markey fired back. “My kids, when they were in elementary school, read Harry Potter books over a week. I mean, I’m a member of Congress. I can read 2,000 pages in six months.”
Markey also defended her vote for the sweeping stimulus package. She said the $814 billion program was necessary to gird the economy.
“It was like the house was on fire. We had to do something,” Markey said.
Gardner stuck to familiar campaign themes of criticizing Markey and ruling Democrats for spending too much. He didn’t give specifics about how he’d trim federal spending, though Gardner repeated his belief that the health care overhaul is too expensive and should be repealed.
“I am opposed to universal coverage” by health insurance, Gardner said.
Gardner also repeated his support for a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.
“We can’t have a Congress that is bankrupting this country,” Gardner said.
When Markey was elected to the sprawling northern and eastern Colorado district two years ago, she was the first Democrat elected to the seat in more than three decades. She’s considered a vulnerable incumbent because Republicans outnumber Democrats in her district.
The forum airs statewide Friday on Rocky Mountain PBS.
