Ken Buck’s campaign responded to Sen. Michael Bennet’s “Who is Ken Buck?” TV ad with an email to Battle ‘10, giving greater context to the quotes culled from the tracker video of the Republican candidate:
1. ‘Buck wants to privatize Social Security.’ ‘And he even questioned whether Social Security should exist at all.’
Ken Buck does not want to privatize Social Security. And he has never said Social Security is ‘horrible policy.’ What he has said is ‘horrible policy’ is the way that Congress uses the Social Security trust fund as its piggy bank to fund its out-of-control spending. Bennet’s ad completely takes the quote out of context to distort what Ken said. (It is interesting to note every time the ‘horrible policy’ statement is re-posted, there is always an ellipses inserted to take it out of context.)
Ken has been consistent in supporting Social Security and protecting the promise we have made to our senior citizens. In fact, Ken recently addressed Social Security on ABC’s Topline here (beginning at 5:50):
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/senate-candidate-ken-buck-top-line-11145337
‘No I don’t support getting rid of Social Security. I think the most important thing we can do is to make sure we keep the promise we have made to seniors. What I was referring to there—I think earlier there was a question about taking the funds out of the Social Security trust fund and putting IOUs in that trust fund so that Members of Congress could vote for and fund pork barrel projects in their districts. And I think that is a horrible policy. I think we’ve made a promise in Social Security. I think we need to make sure the promise is just as viable today as it was 20 years ago. And I think we need to make sure that we have a program that our younger generation of workers believes in and believes that will be in place when they get around to the point where they’re ready to retire.’
2. ‘We don’t need a Department of Education.’
This is flat out false. If you watch the entire video, this is what Ken actually said:
’The federal government is trying to solve every problem. The reality is that the power lies with you and me in our local communities. We don’t need a Department of Education in Washington, D.C. telling us our local issues. Education decisions are best left to a parent and a child, a parent and a teacher, a school board to determine curriculum. A one-size-fits-all system coming out of Washington, D.C. is a disaster and has been a disaster for years.’ [emphasis added]
You can see the video here (beginning at :20):
http://www.youtube.com/user/Extremecandidates#p/a/u/2/g-Eghlpj49U
If you want proof that Ken did not advocate for the elimination of the Department of Education, look no further than the criticism against Ken in the primary for not taking the ‘elimination’ position.
Ken has repeatedly stated he supports giving more education dollars to the states in the form of block grants so that local communities can fit educational funds with their particular needs.
3. ‘Buck wants to end student loans for middle class kids.’
Ken Buck does not support ending student loans. In the video, he was asked a question about how our federal government has grown in size since our founding. He correctly stated that our Founding Fathers would not have imagined the federal government getting involved in many things it does today—both good and bad.
4. ‘Buck wants to ban common forms of birth control.’
This is a lie. It is difficult to understand where this lie comes from. It may come from Ken’s position that life begins at conception. However, the ‘common forms of birth control’—presumably, condoms for men and oral contraceptive pills for women—do not result in killing a fertilized egg. I am not a doctor, but a Google search brought up this hit about how female oral contraceptives work:
http://womenshealth.about.com/od/thepill/f/howpillworks.htm
5. ‘I am pro-life.’ ‘I don’t believe in the exceptions of rape or incest.’
As a father of two, Ken believes in the value of life and is opposed to abortion except to protect the life of the mother. As U.S. Senator, Ken will oppose federal funding of abortion and will fight to protect the life of the unborn.
Flailing/fading Democrats, including Bennet, have chosen to go negative out of the gate rather than reintroduce themselves to the broader voting population in the general election, attempting to adjust to the negative climate:
“Some candidates always prefer to run on their own records of service. That’s just not going to cut it this time around.”