LAMBORN LONE STATE NO VOTE

washington » Conceding defeat on using Obamacare as leverage to negotiate federal government spending and borrowing, all but one of Colorado’s Republicans on Wednesday supported a proposal to fund and reopen the partially shuttered federal government and increase the nation’s borrowing limit.

GOP Reps. Mike Coffman, Cory Gardner and Scott Tipton supported the measure late Wednesday, joining Colorado’s three Democrats. Rep. Doug Lamborn voted against the deal, saying he didn’t like that Obamacare was not significantly reformed or defunded.

“We don’t default on our debt. That’s plain

and simple,” Gardner said. “We are hours away from default and that is unacceptable outcome and an unacceptable consequence.”

Just a few weeks ago, all four Republicans voted for a number of federal government funding bills that dismantled the Affordable Care Act— something rejected by the Democratic-controlled Senate that led to the 16-day partial government shutdown.

Among the Republicans, only Coffman came around to support a “clean” funding resolution unattached to Obamacare.

In January, the Aurora Republican said he would not support a straight-up increase in the debt limit without attaching spending cuts.

He saidThursday he supported the Senate bill only because itwas just a temporary increase to the nation’s borrowing authority.

The measure allows the Treasury Department to borrow money through early February, before itwill probably run low again.

“What I am voting on tonight is a very short-term increase,” Coffman said. “The president said (he is) not going to take conditions until after a short-term increase is approved. Well, once it’s approved, I fully expect ... that there will be negotiations between theHouse and the Senate.”

Tipton saidThursday no one was “exuberant” about the vote, but, “you get to vote on what’s in front of you.”

Asked whether he thought the GOP strategy was a failure, Tipton said no.

“It’s going to get the president to fulfill the promise he made,” he said.

Lamborn called the Senate measure “disappointing” because it didn’t significantly reform Obamacare.

“I’m disappointed that we couldn’t make any progress in limiting Obamacare,” said the Colorado Springs Republican. “We were just not successful on that front.” Colorado’s Democratic Reps. Jared Polis, Ed Perlmutter and Diana DeGette all voted yes.

“I really have to hold my nose and vote for this because it still includes the sequester,” DeGette said. “But I can’t contribute to the destruction of the U.S. credit rating around theworld, and so I’m going to vote yes.”

Polis said: “It reopens the government and averts a financial crisis. What’s not to like?”

Both Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall supported the measure.

Bennet called the last 16 days a “pathetic episode” in Washington. “I think the government should never have been closed, and we should pay our bills,” he said. “That’s the minimum ofwhat we should do. I’m very relieved this is done.”

Bennet, who is amember of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, will probably be a part of this winter’s conversations on entitlement and tax reform.

He said the bipartisan Senate work on a comprehensive immigration-reform bill — which handily passed the Senate this summer with Republican and Democratic support— is amodel of how to move forward.

“None of this is easy,” Bennet said. “But there’s no reason for people not to work across the aisle and for people tomake an effort to see the other person’s point of views. ... I think these are all tough issues, but that’s not a reason not to try and tackle them.”