Phil has defended the Affordable Care Act and the rights of 700,000 Coloradans who have pre-existing health conditions, the 400,000 covered through the Medicaid expansion, and those under 26 years old who are on their parents’ plans. When these rights were challenged by the federal government, Phil defended the Affordable Care Act and Coloradans’ healthcare rights.
Benjamin Franklin said “You have a republic, as long as you can keep it.” Today, we face an extraordinary fight to keep our republic alive. Our democracy is under attack from numerous sources, the most sinister of which is dark money. A democracy only works when citizens are educated, and elections are decided by voters who use their voices to elect representatives and make decisions — not when undisclosed special interests groups can influence elections for their own economic gain.
This election serves as a microcosm of what’s happening with dark money nationally. The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) has already invested $500,000 against me in this election1, and has threatened to spend up to five million dollars total in order to secure a Republican victory. RAGA’s money comes from generally undisclosed special interest groups and large corporations— including the NRA, pharmaceutical companies, those who deny climate change, and Koch Industries2. These groups do not represent the voices or interests of Colorado, and we should not allow them to influence our elections. Our government must be “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” not “of the dark money, by the dark money, and for the dark money.”
Voter suppression and unconstitutional gerrymanders also pose a significant threat to democracy. Manipulating our elections and preventing voters–often younger voters or people of color–from accessing the ballot box is unacceptable.