The Colorado State Open Thread is dedicated to those with any amount of interest in our great square(ish) state. The natural, cultural, political or other characteristics that make this such a special place on the landscape of North America. Those who have an affinity for our state are welcome to read what has been written, add to it in the comments, write an Open Thread of their own or start a whole new topic of conversation. It IS an open thread, after all.
We have all heard, read and seen countless stories on how freshman Congressional Representative Lauren Boebert has violated norms, break rules, likely violated laws and has just been an ugly embarrassment to our state and especially those of her House District 3 in western Colorado. Many of those issues can be put down to just being an ugly person who was set free to insult, demean and be all-around awful to those she and her worst constituents hate. Maybe it was due to the influence of The Former Guy in the White House who unleashed hate and divisiveness on the country starting in 2015 (at least this time around — he’s been at it for decades but people didn’t pay him much mind before 2015 here in the west). I happen to think, however, she’s been mean and stupid her whole life and I see no reason to temper my opinion on her.
That being said, she has an excuse. She’s still a relative neophyte in politics and those she follows are also relative newbies. A seven-term congressman, on the other hand, has no such excuse. First elected to Congress in 2006 from Colorado’s red 5th district, Doug Lamborn has been in Washington long enough and received enough lessons in what is proper and permissible from a member of Congress that he should know the accusations against him both have some teeth and are violations of various ethics and other standards.
From 9News.com —
On October 25, 2021, the Committee received a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) regarding Representative Doug Lamborn. Pursuant to House Rule XI, clause 3(b)(8)(A), and Committee Rules 17A(b)(1)(A) and 17A(c)(1), the Chairman and Ranking Member jointly decided on December 9, 2021, to extend the Committee’s review of the matter. In order to gather additional information necessary to complete its review, the Committee will review the matter pursuant to Committee Rule 18(a). The Committee notes that the mere fact of conducting further review of a referral, and any mandatory disclosure of such further review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee.
A former staff member of the Colorado Springs Republican leveled those allegations against him in a lawsuit filed in federal court early last year, which also accused him of disregarding COVID-19 safety protocols in the early days of the pandemic. The lawsuit also claimed that Lamborn allowed his son to live in the basement of the U.S. Capitol rent-free.
….
The office found that Lamborn’s wife had access to an official House email account and evidence showed that she held a role in the office “that exceeded what is permissible for spouses.” That role, multiple staffers told investigators, included hiring, firing and promoting employees.
Staffers told investigators they would run personal errands for the Lamborns as well, like picking up mail, feeling as though they were required to comply with her requests. They also told investigators that Dale Anderson, Lamborn’s chief of staff, who has repeatedly ignored interview requests, would underscore Mrs. Lamborn’s requests as a priority.
Many of the same descriptions, but in addition:
Investigators also found evidence that staff spent time helping Lamborn's son prepare for a job interview at the Pentagon, "including but not limited to reviewing his resume, evaluating federal job postings, and assisting with mock interview questions," according to one of the former staffers.
CPR.org also has the Lamborn’s office denials and statements saying it was two disgruntled staffers who filed the complaint and that the ones still working for the Congressman are happy to be running these errands on their lunch and personal time and not work time. They also say they love Jeanie Lamborn and Congressman Doug Lamborn and would never do anything to hurt them or make them have to take time from their busy schedules to learn how to run Zoom sessions or run personal errands for themselves. OK, I made that last bit up. It’s hard to report the Lamborn side of the story when they’re refusing to answer questions by reporters.
There are more articles on the Great Internet Machine, but those are enough to give you a feel for the issue. Nothing unusual to see here. Just another Congressman / businessman taking advantage of the situation they’re in. No punishment upcoming. Move along.
I’d also like to add to this Open Thread a shout-out to a very good diary from user tjlord. The diary is about Charis College, a religious “college” set up by a ministry located in Woodland Park, just west of Colorado Springs. They’ve decided that they have so many people there, they should be running the county as a fundamentalist Christian government (this would be El Paso county, which has both Woodland Park and Colorado Springs).
Charis College is a compound created by Andrew Wommack Ministries — some of you may heard of this one. It is a college that:
here is an emphasis at the college in training students to become political leaders, and the college teaches a version of Young Earth creationism, which is based on a literal interpretation of Genesis, and holds that Earth and all life on it were created in their current forms by the God of Abraham somewhere around 6,000 to 10,000 years ago.
If you have a few minutes, the diary isn’t long. It includes not only information about this story but also about a good online journalism resource, the Colorado Springs Independent, which would be worth time and maybe a subscription to keep apprised of what’s going on in the central part of the state.
That’s enough for me this evening. If you could, please add comments down below on whatever is on your mind. The floor is yours…
