A Final Interview with Senator Michael Bennet

Article By Karli Kusler

With the final days of the election drawing near, candidates and voters alike are anxious for the outcome, especially after the successful debate between Congressman Mike Coffman and Senator Michael Bennet held on Monday. The candidates are rallying their teams in their final GOTV efforts and making sure their messages are clear to the voters. I sat down with Senator Michael Bennet to talk with him about what is most important to him and his tactics to tackle certain issues if re-elected into office.

Kusler: Senator Bennet, in your opinion, what is the most pressing issue Colorado is facing and how do you propose to address it?

Bennet: I believe the most important issue in Colorado is education. The state, who typically is a major provider, has been in a significant budget crisis the last several years and that has hurt schools and teachers, and therefore affecting students. I believe that innovation in how we structure our educational system is crucial. It is a wildly outdated system, and it restricts many teachers and schools to be able to provide personal support for each student. Education is extremely important since it directly affects our economy. If you were to look at the fast growing economies in the world, many of them rank at the top in terms of education. Since Congressman Coffman’s biggest concern is the economy, perhaps rather than looking at short-term, superficial solutions; we should all focus on building the groundwork for a better economy in the future, and making long term changes.

Kusler: With the ruling on the constitutionality of the Colorado gun restrictions currently being decided, do you believe the gun restrictions on magazine capacity are constitutional?

Bennet: The limitations on magazine capacity are constitutional. Congressman Coffman never directly refuted this fact, he simply attempted to paint me as trying to take guns away, which is simply not true. I believe in private gun ownership and I believe in the 2nd Amendment, but even Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the most conservative justices ever to sit on the Supreme Court, agrees that there are some limitations on the 2nd Amendment. The fact of the matter is that there really is no reason to need and excessive amount of ammunition at once.

Kusler: The national debt is always a pressing issue, how do you propose to work towards fixing/saving the national 17 trillion dollar deficit?

Bennet: I think the first step to getting back to where we need to be, is to look at the problem realistically. $17 trillion is a huge amount of debt, and Americans are justifiably outraged at this problem. We need to understand that Rome was not built in a day. We need to temporarily raise the debt ceiling (which Congressman Coffman voted in favor of) to keep from defaulting and ruining any chance of getting back on track. More than anything, we need to quit playing “chicken” with party politics. I lead a 64 member bipartisan group of senators insisting that the President include deficit reduction tactics specifically discretionary spending cuts, entitlement and tax reform to be included in budget negotiations.

Kusler: What will be the first thing you will do if re-elected to office?

Bennet: If I’m re-elected, I will continue to represent the interests of Coloradans. In our most recent polling, the economy came in as the greatest concern of Coloradans, followed closely by education. I will make the economy my biggest concern. Since it is a multi-faceted issue, I will not simply limit my efforts to bills pertaining to the debt ceiling or the budget etc. but rather make a concerted effort to get bills that will directly affect Colorado’s economy to be the Senate’s main focus. This may mean shifting the conversation to energy and how that will create jobs in Colorado, or incentives for small business, or revamping education.

Kusler: Your closing statement in the debate raised some serious allegations towards Congressman Coffman, one claiming he doesn’t believe women can get pregnant if it is “legitimate rape.” Can you please elaborate on your reasoning behind your statement and explain your opposing ideals?

Bennet: Congressman Coffman co-sponsored a bill written by Republican Representative Todd Akin from Missouri that would “redefine” rape. The Congressman believes in faulty science that women are not able to get pregnant if the rape is “legitimate”. The “science” that the Congressman relied upon when he co-sponsored this bill is a unclear, but states that women’s bodies have a built-in self-defense mechanism that makes the body shut down any pregnancy if it is the result of “legitimate rape”. Let me be clear, there is no such thing as legitimate rape; rape is rape, period.

Kusler: Now that we’re in the final days of the election, there is a lot to be said and done. In no more than three sentences, what do you want to say to the voters of Colorado?

Bennet: I am the best fit for Coloradans. I don’t represent a very polarized group as the Congressman does, but rather I am very centrist and rational which is how Colorado votes. I battle for bipartisan solution, and, most importantly, I battle for the great State of Colorado and her people.

Without a doubt this will be a close race, and with that, make sure to vote this Friday to cast your ballot.