The Post Editorial Endorsement of Cory Gardner was a mistake

We endorsed Sen. Cory Gardner in 2014 because we believed he’d be a statesman. We knew he’d be a conservative voice in Congress, to be certain, but we thought his voice would bring “fresh leadership, energy and ideas.”

We see now that was a mistake — consider this our resolution of disapproval.

Gardner has been too busy walking a political tightrope to be a leader. He has become precisely what we said in our endorsement he would not be: “a political timeserver interested only in professional security.”

Gardner was not among the 12 Republicans who joined Democrats in rejecting President Donald Trump’s use of a national emergency declaration to allocate funds to a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

We fully expect to disagree with our lawmakers from time to time — in fact we’ve been critical of Gardner but stuck by him through tough but defensible votes including the attempted repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

But these are extraordinary times.

This is a bogus emergency that takes executive over-reach to an extreme not seen even under President Barack Obama. Trump’s declaration is an abuse of his power, a direct overturning of Congress’ deliberate decision to pass a federal budget without funding for a wall.

Put simply this is a constitutional crisis, and one of Colorado’s two senators has failed the test.

These times call for a courageous bipartisan repudiation like that shown by Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio.

“It’s imperative for the president to honor Congress’ constitutional role. A national emergency declaration is a tool to be used cautiously and sparingly,” Portman said.

To be honest we were surprised by Gardner’s vote. It’s completely inconsistent with every stance he has taken on Trump’s presidency. He told reporters in 2017 that “I believe we have to have border security, but I do think billions of dollars on a wall is not the right way to proceed.”

Gardner said in a statement Thursday posted online: “There is a crisis at the border and Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have prevented a solution. As a result, the president has declared a national immigration emergency, legal authority which he clearly has under the 1976 law, a law invoked 56 times by every previous president since Jimmy Carter. Between October and February, border patrol apprehensions were up nearly 100 percent and since 2012, border patrol methamphetamine seizures are up 280 percent.”

If Gardner truly believes there is a crisis at the border and that a wall would substantially help with the situation, why wasn’t he lobbying his fellow Republicans to pass a budget in December that included Trump’s requested $5.7 billion for a wall?

In Gardner’s defense, he said he voted to open the government because he opposes shutdowns as a matter of principle, a position we lauded him for at the time. But we’re surprised he doesn’t feel the same twinge of principle when it comes to an executive order that is so blatantly a repudiation of Congress’ will.

Gardner still could prove to be a great senator for Colorado, a man who puts his state and his principles above party and politics. It’s a rare person these days who can take that road. In our endorsement this November of former U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, a Republican from Aurora, we stuck by someone who had shown a willingness to oppose that which he found morally reprehensible in his own party.

In contrast, Gardner was a never-Trumper in the primary who in recent months endorsed the president’s re-election campaign even as Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation continues to unveil the worst of this administrations web of lies and deceit. Tuesday’s vote was the last straw.

We no longer know what principles guide the senator and regret giving him our support in a close race against Mark Udall. Members of The Denver Post’s editorial board are Megan Schrader, editor of the editorial pages; Lee Ann Colacioppo, editor; Justin Mock, CFO; Bill Reynolds, vice president of circulation and production; Bob Kinney, vice president of information technology; and TJ Hutchinson, systems editor.