A political action group that has been described as “well-funded” as well as being “dark money” reportedly reemerged earlier this year to take on Colorado’s firebrand Congresswoman Lauren Boebert in 2024.
It is the first significant group to seek to challenge the Republican congresswoman who was first elected in 2020, and who faced an unexpectedly hard-fought race for the Rocky Mountain State’s 3rd Congressional District in the 2022 midterm election.
Rocky Mountain Values, a nonprofit that doesn’t have to disclose its donors, kicked off its campaign in Durango in April – just as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also announced that it will target Boebert in the 2024 election.
Last week, the group published an open letter that suggested she would gut Medicare and criticized her support of the Republican Study Committee’s budget. Opponents of the budget said it could potentially cut off tens of millions of Americans from health care. At the same time, the organization also targeted Boebert for her voting record on the Inflation Reduction Act and the national debt and further claimed that the congresswoman’s position aligned with major drug companies seeking to drive medication costs up and accused her of using the threat of economic crisis as a bargaining chip.
“Since it was signed into law 58 years ago, Medicare has revolutionized healthcare for America’s seniors. It has cut the number of uninsured older Americans to near zero. It has lowered costs, improved the quality of care, and increased life expectancy,” the letter noted. “Medicare wasn’t, and isn’t perfect.”
Gutting the Program Would be a Disaster
The group said that reforms under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama have continued to strengthen the coverage while lowering costs, and went on to accuse Boebert of gutting the program – calling it a “disaster.”
“It creates more bureaucracy by turning Medicare into a means-tested voucher program, which would make it harder for seniors to access their benefits. The plan also increases the age of eligibility for Medicare, which would put healthcare coverage out of the reach for millions of seniors,” the letter added.
The letter from Rocky Mountain Values also called out the congresswoman for voting against lowering the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare through the Inflation Reduction Act, while it suggested Boebert’s position was “aligned with the biggest drug companies.”
It concluded, “Representative Boebert, you have frittered away your responsibility to protect the healthcare and retirement security that older Coloradans have worked for, earned, and deserve. On the 58th anniversary of Medicare, we call on you to do better for Colorado seniors.”
Lauren Boebert Fired Back
Boebert’s team disputes the contents of the letter, and it stated that several aspects of the letter were not accurate.
“Desperate publicity stunts like the one today won’t change Rep. Lauren Boebert’s unwavering support for our seniors and her track record of substantive results for the 3rd District. Rocky Mountain Values continues to attack Congresswoman Boebert with misleading and desperate claims to try and confuse voters,” said Drew Sexton, campaign manager for Congresswoman Lauren Boebert via a statement.
“This far-left special-interest group is solely dedicated to tearing down the Congresswoman and has no credibility on issues of public policy,” added Sexton, who was named to the campaign in June. “Rep. Boebert has NEVER voted to cut Medicare and has NEVER voted to cut Social Security for that matter. To be clear, she has also never supported any plan to cut these two vital programs that provide important healthcare and retirement benefits that senior citizens in the Third District depend on. Our voters deserve better than smears from left-wing groups.”
Medicare may be one of just several hot button issues that Colorado voters will consider in the run-up to next year’s election. Currently, five Democrats have entered the race to challenge Boebert. Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout officially launched her campaign for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District last Tuesday after filing paperwork to run last month.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
From 19FortyFive
