Lauren Boebert, U.S. House Representative for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, has been in the news lately, as she was seen being asked to leave a musical in Denver, as her behavior was deemed inappropriate.
Video has now surfaced confirming that she was vaping, taking pictures, waving her hands and being raucous, and groping her date while the stage production of Beetlegeuse was underway.
Ms. Boebert represents a rural part of Colorado (although it does appear to include the city of Pueblo), and sits on the Oversight and Natural Resources committees.
But what does she do, exactly, for the people of her district, or for the country as a whole?
And, more perplexing to me, how exactly did she get here? She only has a GED, and while she is attractive, surely that’s not a sole determinate of one’s rise to success? Marjorie Taylor Greene came from money, and at least has a college degree. Lauren owned a restaurant, that, as far as I can tell, eventually went under.
My take – Colorado resident but not in her district:
Conservatives used to believe in individual liberties and limited government. Only in the 1960’s … when [wait for it] black people were about to get equal rights … did the Southern Baptist, so-called “social conservatives” FLEE the Democratic party FOR the waiting arms of the Republicans.
That “Southern Strategy” was an amazing deal with the devil, in that the Republicans picked up millions of the least informed, least logical, least thoughtful, most dogmatic and cognitively rigid voters in the country, and went AGAINST the values that Conservatives had held until that point.
Today’s GOP are doubling down on that, using a “bring out the gimp” strategy, and unearthing the kind of people who are reminiscent of “Deliverance” (in tandem with gerrymandering and voter suppression) in order to gain and maintain power. It’s disgusting.
IOW, the RNC doesn’t believe that they have hit the very bottom of the barrel yet. Rather, they believe that if they keep plumbing the fetid depths, there are more votes to be found.
And they have their crew who are ready, willing, and more than able to root around at the bottom.
She’s yet another consequence of the legacy of Covid. She was a restaurant owner who became famous for defying lockdown orders in Colorado in 2020. The incumbent Congressman was in his fifth term and despite being endorsed by Trump, he was a more traditional conservative. She painted him as an “establishment” guy, and sold herself as a more defiant MAGA alternative wanting to fight back against things like lockdowns, masks, and woke culture. It worked and she beat him by 9 points in the primary. After that, Boebert beat her Democratic challenger, a former state representative, by 51% to 45%.
In 2022, she won reelection by an extremely slim margin, close enough that an automatic recount was triggered, but she ultimately won.
But the basic answer is that she beat the anti-lockdown drum in rural Colorado and it resonated with enough people to put her in power.
Two reasons:
A lot of riding on Trump’s coattails in 2020.
Her opponent Scott Tipton decided to save his money for the general and not spend it on the primary against Boebert.
Note that in 2022 she won by less than 600 votes despite being the incumbent in a very red district so that should be a commentary on how her constituents feel about her.
Her campaign manager confirmed Boebert was kicked out but denies she was vaping. Boebert and the other guest left.
“I can confirm the stunning and salacious rumors: in her personal time, congresswoman Lauren Boebert is indeed a supporter of the performing arts (gasp!),” said Drew Sexton, Boebert’s campaign manager, in a text message, adding that Boebert "pleads guilty to singing along, laughing and enjoying herself.
