Pick a Lane, Ken Buck | Colorado Pols

Congressman Ken Buck is definitely a Republican. Beyond that, it’s impossible to tell what Buck believes about anything at any given time. Few politicians twist themselves into pretzel shapes as often as the five-term representative from congressional district four, which is how he earned the term “Buckpedaling” (HERE, HERE, and HERE for just a few examples).

As we noted last week, Buck has again been all over the road on the issue of (attempting) to impeach President Biden for crimes that Republicans have yet to figure out. Buck spent most of the August recess appearing as a guest on every national news outlet that would take his calls, where he regularly discussed his belief that it was a terrible idea for Republicans to be trying to impeach Biden when a) Republicans haven’t found any proof of anything despite more than three years of looking, and b) There are much more pressing issues facing Congress (like a looming government shutdown).

True to his namesake phrase, he Buckpedaled as soon as he returned to Washington D.C., telling POLITICO that he was totally on board with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to instruct House Republicans to more forward with their Biden impeachment investigations.

 

That same day, Buck showed up for an interview on MSNBC, in which he explained to Andrea Mitchell that he had changed his mind but maybe hadn’t changed his mind:

MITCHELL: You have said as recently — to my colleague, Jen Psaki — I think on Sunday, that you did not think this was a good idea, that you did not think it was warranted. What do you think today?

BUCK: What I wanted to do was look at the evidence. I said I’ll go where the evidence takes me. And I still want to look at the evidence. I’m going to get a briefing later in the week on what evidence links [Joe Biden] to Hunter Biden’s activities. I haven’t seen that link yet, and so I’m reluctant to agree with Speaker McCarthy.

 

Buck had been saying for weeks that there was no evidence pointing to a potential crime involving Joe Biden, and here he was telling MSNBC that he was reluctant to agree with Speaker McCarthy…even though he had already done just that.

Remember, this was on Sept. 12. Three days later, The Washington Post published an OpEd from Buck that unequivocally denounced Republicans for even considering an impeachment investigation into President Biden:

The House is back in session, and Americans are getting an up-close look at Washington’s dysfunction. We are barreling toward a government shutdown without making progress on cutting our out-of-control spending. Yet Republican leadership has decided to divert attention to an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. [Pols emphasis]

The GOP’s charge against Biden is that he personally benefited from his son’s deplorable business exploits around the globe. Without doubt, Hunter Biden’s shady business deals undermined America’s image and our anti-corruption goals, and his conduct was thoroughly reprehensible. What’s missing, despite years of investigation, is the smoking gun that connects Joe Biden to his ne’er-do-well son’s corruption…

…Republicans in the House who are itching for an impeachment are relying on an imagined history. [Pols emphasis] Their inquiry, formally announced by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday, rests heavily on a fictitious version of [former Ukranian prosector Viktor] Shokin’s career, with the alleged investigation of Burisma at the center. It’s a neat story, and one that performs well in certain media circles. But impeachment is a serious matter and should have a foundation of rock-solid facts.

And what does Buck think this week? Apparently he’s still in the “impeachment is bad” lane:

House Republicans need to be focusing on combatting record inflation, high interest rates, urban crime, and our open border — especially as we craft our budget for the coming year.

Now is not the time for impeachment as the Hunter Biden investigations are still ongoing. pic.twitter.com/1GrS0nYHW8

— Rep. Ken Buck (@RepKenBuck) September 18, 2023

This is beyond ridiculous, but it’s what Buck has been doing in Congress for years.

Colorado Republicans may finally be growing tired of the Buckpedaling. In 2022, remember, Buck nearly failed to make the ballot at the CO-04 Republican Congressional Assembly, losing topline on the Primary Ballot to somebody named Bob Lewis. Buck went on to easily defeat Lewis in June and then cruised to re-election in November, but 2024 might be a different story.

Appearing on George Brauchler’s radio show on KNUS on Monday, State Republican Party Chair Dave Williams said that he expects Buck to have a Primary opponent in 2024 and hinted that State Rep. Richard Holtorf will likely take a shot.

This would be a fascinating Primary battle. You could say that Holtorf is “all hat, no cattle,” while Buck is more along the lines of “no hat, all cattle.” The candidate debates would certainly be entertaining; how do you argue with someone like Buck who literally has multiple public positions on every issue?