Editorial: Ike McCorkle for Congressional District 4

Ike McCorkle, a Democrat launching an improbable bid to become the U. S. representative for Congressional District 4, is an impressive candidate.

What he lacks in political experience ( spoiler alert, he’s a novice), he makes up for with 18 years of service to this country in the U. S. Marine Corps including six deployments and four combat tours. McCorkle retired in 2014 and was awarded a purple heart for wounds he sustained in combat and the Navy and Marine Achievement medal with combat Valor decoration.

McCorkle is running against incumbent Rep. Ken Buck, who is also the chair of the Colorado Republican Party. Buck works hard, represents the conservative leanings of his district, stands behind his votes in an honest and transparent way and is always willing to talk to reporters and editorial boards. The Greeley Tribune endorsed him for just such reasons. However, at the end of the day, the final positions Buck takes, as expressed by his votes in Congress, are diametrically opposed to many of the values this board has espoused and championed over the years: He has voted against public lands bills, even when they are bipartisan; he voted against a bill to create a path to citizenship for those brought to America as children without legal immigration status; and he voted against the tranches of coronavirus relief aid that were signed into law.

For Buck, many of those votes were nuanced “protest” votes. He is not wrong that many of those bills were flawed. It’s the unfortunate nature of Congress that spending bills get laden with unrelated pork. If he is reelected we sincerely wish him well in his effort to restore fiscal responsibility to Congress.

Unfortunately, many voters in CD4 will only see the “D” by McCorkle’s name and they won’t see the thoughtful man who could help bring real change to Congress while representing his more conservative constituents in an honest and straightforward way.

McCorkle’s plan to help reduce gun violence in this nation is nuanced and based in large part on his experience with keeping weapons safe in the military, but also by real- world concerns faced by many parents. McCorkle’s son attended STEM School in Highlands Ranch last year, when two children brought guns that they had broken out of a gun locker and shot and killed Kendrick Castillo.

Residents in rural Colorado who rely on their personal firearms for work on their ranch, recreation or self- defense, need not worry that McCorkle is coming for their guns.

“I also have perspective on how you set the conditions to achieve safety in environments where there is a plethora of firearms, ammunition and ordnances from my time and service in the Marines,” he said. “You can have firearms and ammunition and ordnances and have safe conditions. What we need is those safe conditions implemented in homes.”

He supports universal comprehensive background checks, and he wants a national safe storage act requiring and providing resources for homeowners to have biometric capable safes. If adolescents didn’t have access to firearms and ammunition, he said most school shootings would be prevented.

We must level with voters, however. McCorkle also holds some views that are considered more extreme on the left, and that we are hesitant to endorse.

For example, McCorkle supports the idea of a universal jobs guarantee – more commonly known as a universal basic income. He said he supports it initially as a way to target those who lose their fossil fuel- related jobs as we transition away from carbon- emitting energy sources.

He supports a single- payer health care system, like a Medicaid- or Medicare- forall. He also supports more modest incremental changes like a public option.

These positions conflict with the freemarket, limited government and fiscal responsibility that many conservatives in the 4th Congressional District hold dear, including Ken Buck.

The contrast between the two candidates is clear. We think McCorkle is better aligned with The Denver Post editorial board’s priorities for the next two years in Congress.