As Donald Trump storms into Denver to undoubtedly offend the majority of Coloradans and Americans alongside his buddy Sarah Palin, the very conservative Congressman Mike Coffman tried to preempt the backlash with his own web video (still no evidence of a TV buy, which would make his release yesterday misleading). Unfortunately for Coffman, voters and journalists that have covered his career – and the eye-popping litany of offensive and anti-immigrant things that he has said and done – are not going to be duped into forgetting that Coffman is supporting Donald Trump despite representing a diverse district that twice elected President Obama.
“Congressman Coffman pledged to ‘obviously’ support the Republican nominee. The Republican nominee is Trump. Coffman owns what Donald Trump says and does today in Denver and for the rest of the campaign. Given Coffman’s political double-speak, it appears he is feeling the consequences of lacking the moral conviction to stand up to Trump’s divisive candidacy,” said DCCC spokesman Tyler Law.
Coffman’s press release yesterday was filled with laughable claims.
BACKGROUND
CLAIM:
“In Colorado, Mike Coffman is tearing down barriers, building real and lasting relationships with the many diverse communities he represents.”
THE FACTS:
Coffman Said Obama Was In His Heart “Not An American” And Questioned The President’s Birthplace. “At a May 12 fundraiser at the Elbert County Fairgrounds, Coffman wrapped up a 12-minute speech to donors with an unprompted discussion of President Obama’s citizenship and national identification. ‘I don’t know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don’t know that,’ Coffman said. ‘But I do know this, that in his heart, he’s not an American. He’s just not an American.’” [Denver Post, 5/16/12]
HEADLINE: Colorado Independent: Why Mike Coffman Spoke To The “Nation’s Leading Anti-Muslim Hate Group.” [Colorado Independent, 10/06/15]
“Colorado GOP Critical of Trump Muslim Comments…Except for Mike Coffman.” [ColoradoPols, 12/09/15]
Coffman Failed To Denounce Trump’s Proposal To Ban All Muslims From The US. “Republican leaders in Colorado are reacting to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call to block Muslims from entering the United States, with mixed results … Rep. Mike Coffman released a statement, ‘As a Marine Corps combat veteran, I know what it takes to protect our country and as a member of Congress, I always have and always will represent all of the citizens of my district, regardless of their religious affiliation, and protect their constitutional rights.’” [CBS 4 Denver, 12/08/15]
CLAIM:
“In Washington, Mike’s working hard to…break gridlock on immigration.”
THE FACTS:
Rep. Joe Salazar Compared Coffman’s Offensive Rhetoric To Donald Trump. “Trump & Coffman use hyperbolic and offensive rhetoric towards immigrants to make you believe that all of your troubles are because of somebody else. The real troubles, however, start and stop with the worst Congress in U.S. history wholly controlled by Coffman’s party … Although Mike Coffman believes that learning Spanish would endear him to immigrant communities, his rhetoric and record only demonstrate that he is now effective in offending good, hard-working people in two languages. Let us not forget that he also fought to change the Voting Rights Act to ban multilingual ballots in areas with large populations of non-proficient English speakers (telling people they ought to grab a dictionary).” [Aurora Sentinel, Salazar Op-Ed, 9/03/15]
Sen. Jesse Ulibarri: Mike Coffman Is No Friend To Immigrants. “Coffman, despite a recent change in rhetoric, has not been a supporter of immigrants’ rights or immigration reform. While his talking points have changed, his actions have not. Throughout his 25-year political career, Coffman has espoused radical, anti-immigrant views … Not only did Coffman vote against the DREAM Act, he also said it would be a ‘nightmare for the American people’ in an official press release. And in the last year alone, he has voted twice to dismantle the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program and to restart the deportation of about 800,000 children who are eligible for the DREAM Act. He also led a crusade to purge eligible voters with Hispanic surnames from the voter rolls in 2008 while he was secretary of state. These actions tell us that Coffman has never been and will never be a friend to Colorado’s newest arrivals.” [Denver Post, Ulibarri Op-Ed, 6/05/14]
Coffman DREAM Act Would Be “A Nightmare” For Americans. “The Dream Act will be a nightmare for the American people. No doubt, we need immigration reform but the Dream Act is written far too broadly and it will only encourage more illegal immigration, promote chain migration, and will be a magnet for fraud,” he said. [Coffman Press Release, 12/08/10]
Coffman Said Minority Language Voters Should “Pull Out a Dictionary.” “One thing they ought to do is pull out a dictionary when they are at home, because the ballots have been sent to them a long time in advance. They can seek help from friends who speak English, look up words they do not know; sometimes you have to put a little more effort to assimilate into our culture.” [ColoradoPols, 4/21/14]
Coffman Cosponsored Congressman Steve King’s “Birthright Citizenship Act” To End The Constitutional Guarantee Of Citizenship To Children Born In The U.S. In January 2011, Coffman co-sponsored HR 140, the Birthright Citizenship Act. According to Congressional Quarterly the bill would have prohibited “the automatic granting of citizenship to U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants.” A columnist for the Denver Post wrote, “Two of our congressional representatives, Republicans Doug Lamborn and Mike Coffman, are co-sponsors of the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011, which would run counter to the plain language of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. … The 14th Amendment, passed in 1868, was one of the Republican Party’s major achievements … [but] Tom Tancredo says that it’s a ‘ridiculous and unconstitutional policy that automatically grants citizenship to any child born within the borders of the U.S. regardless of the legal status of that child’s parents.’” [HR 140, 1/07/11; Denver Post, 2/13/11; CQ, 1/24/11]
Coffman Said Former Congressman Tom Tancredo Was His Hero. In 2010, Coffman said Tancredo was his “hero,” while speaking at a Tea Party Express event. “It is a great honor for me to introduce, somebody that is my hero. Somebody that has served this country with honor and integrity and courage. Somebody when the republican establishment in Washington went so and violated the principles that got them elected, who did not stand with them and that is former congressman Tom Tancredo,” Coffman said. [Tea Party Express Denver, 3/31/10]
Would Continue Tom Tancredo’s Fight Against “Amnesty.” “I will continue the fight Congressman Tancredo has lead for many years and vote against any legislation that would grant amnesty to those who entered our country illegally,” Coffman said. [Coffman for Congress, archived 4/20/08]
“Coffman Adopted Much The Same Rhetoric And Policy Stances” As Tancredo. “For years the state’s deep-red Sixth District was represented by anti-illegal immigration crusader Tom Tancredo and, when he replaced Tancredo in 2008, Coffman adopted much the same rhetoric and policy stances.” [Colorado Independent, 6/06/13]
Congressman Coffman Praised Tancredo for Killing Republican Immigration Bill. In 2010, Congressman Coffman praised Tancredo for killing the Republican immigration bill. “When the Republican President of the United States with the Republican leadership with Democrat allies came up with a so-called immigration reform bill that did nothing to secure the borders of the United States and provided amnesty for those who have broken our laws, Tom Tancredo refused to stand with those Republicans. Tom Tancredo is the conservative in this race,” Coffman said. [Rally for Tom Tancredo, 10/17/10]
CLAIM:
“Other Republicans on the national stage could learn a thing or two from Mike’s outreach efforts.”
THE FACTS:
Coffman Does Not Appear To Have Held ANY Public Town Hall Events IN YEARS. A review of Coffman’s official website shows that he has not offered any public town hall events since at least 2013. [U.S. Representative Mike Coffman, accessed 6/30/16]