I just called Sen. Michael Bennet’s Washington D.C., office and was answered right away.
I called to ask the senator to oppose and support different issues that I care about.
I called Sen. Cory Gardner’s Washington D.C., office, his Denver office and his Durango office, and no one answered at any of the three locations, just an answering machine.
This sequence has happened multiple times, and I find it hard to believe that Gardner’s phone lines are that much busier than Bennet’s.
I think this is clear: Sen. Gardner really doesn’t want to hear from his constituents.
I’ll paraphrase Benjamin Franklin from December 1774: It is a dangerous thing for any state to maintain its power by plugging up the vent of complaints, stifling the voices of the people. When complaining becomes a crime, hope becomes despair.
Senator’s Gardner’s openness to his constituents may not be as bad as the times Franklin was referring to, but in principle, he is walking a thin line.
Bob Kuhnert
Durango
