April 19, 2014
The Re-Election Imperative and Cory Gardner’s Behavior It is believed there is a motivation within America’s Congressmen to act in favor of re-election. Congressmen act with the intent of pleasing the citizens within their districts to ensure their re-election the next term. It comes off with a negative connotation however; if congressmen did not act with the intent of re-election, they would completely ignore the citizen’s wants and needs. This would in turn cause a more corrupt system than what we already have in place. One person that is interesting to examine for these traits is Congressman Cory Gardner. Cory Gardner affiliates with the Republican Party. He represents the 4th congressional district in Colorado. This district is part of the Great Plains and is mostly rural. The majority of land is farm land in this district. That being said, 85% of the district’s vote is cast in Larimer and Weld County. The district has been predominantly Republican since 1973 with the exception of 2009-2011 when Betsy Markey was in office. As an individual, Cory Gardner sides with typical Republican ideals on different issues. In regards to jobs and the economy, he believes in small businesses that create wealth and cutting back on red tape to help save money to hire new workers. Another way to increase jobs is to be energy independent and tap into fuel on our own soil. Also to protect American jobs, he believes in increasing border security and ensuring employers only higher people who are legally here. On the topic of fiscal responsibility, Cory co-sponsored the Balanced Budget Amendment to help reduces the nation’s deficit and help pay down the national debt. Cory thinks that with health care, there needs to be reform, but not in the law that was passed; it needs to come from opening up the health insurance market to allow policies to be bought across state lines. This would in turn lower the cost of health insurance making it more affordable and accessible to all citizens. In regards to education, he believes that the federal government needs to get out of the way and hold parents more accountable and get them involved in their children’s education. Cory is a big supporter of agriculture and keeping it strong and thriving; he believes ranchers and farmers need a voice in regards to water policy and law, and that trade and agriculture play a big role in rural communities. He is also a major supporter of the second amendment and being able to protect ourselves; he opposes any efforts to create federal databases of gun owners. Along those lines he also believes in proper funding for the military to protect our country. All of Cory Gardner’s views fit with the majority of the constituents’ views within the district. There is the exception of a couple towns in the district that vote opposite of him. For example, Longmont falls in Boulder County which is known to vote Democratic. Theoretically, Cory Gardner’s views would align with the state views however recently the state has been voting Democratic. Currently our state has four republicans and three democrats as representatives. Our two senators are both democrats. This is most likely why his views do not align with the majority of the state. On Cory Gardner’s website he provides a link to help constituents with case work. This would indeed help with