Senatorial Candidate Ken Buck Caught On Tape Calling Tea Party Birthers “Dumbasses”

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by Jon Bershad | 12:10 pm, July 26th, 2010

» 20 comments

Ken Buck, Republican candidate for Senate in Colorado, has enjoyed support from the Tea Party movement in the past, recently telling a attendees of the Independence Institute’s Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms party that the Tea Party is one of the “great things Obamas given us.” However, he may be at risk of losing a chunk of that support after a Democratic Party worker caught him on tape calling Tea Partiers who are also Birthers “dumbasses”in June.

The exchange took place after Buck attended an event in Pueblo on June 11th. While there, the question of President Obama’s citizenship had came up. Buck had ignored that question at the time but the recording shows that he was clearly annoyed by it. Later, he ran into the campaign worker who had been at the earlier event. Not knowing that the worker had a tape recorder in his pocket, Buck initiated the following exchange (the beginning of which seems to reference an earlier conversation between the two):

“Buck: Hey Buddy
Democratic Worker: Is this going to be held inside?
Buck: You said you can’t talk when you’re on camera? What do you mean?
Democratic Worker: I just don’t answer your questions.
Buck: Ok
Democratic Worker: Is this going to be going on inside?
Buck: Will you tell those dumbasses at the Tea Party to stop asking questions about birth certificates while I’m on the camera? God, what am I supposed to do?”

Buck quickly spoke to both the Denver Post and 9News to clarify his comments. From 9News:

Asked about the comments on Sunday at a political rally in Adams County, Buck said he wishes he had used different language and that he had not lumped all Tea Party members into one statement, but that he remains frustrated that some people are focusing on birth certificates rather than the country’s $13 trillion debt and its $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities.

‘The language is inappropriate,’ he told 9NEWS and The Post. ‘After 16 months on the campaign trail, I was tired and frustrated that I can’t get that message through that we are going to go off a cliff if we don’t start dealing with this debt.

‘It is not the Tea Party movement on the whole. The Tea Party movement gets it. It’s the Constitution, it’s the debt, it’s the other issues, but there are a couple people that are frankly frustrating for all candidates. I mean if you talked to other candidates and they’re being honest with you, they’ll say I know that. Now, they may not have used my choice words, but they have the same feelings.’”

While Buck is trying to downplay his comments as just being about Birthers, the phrasing seeks to imply that he thinks of himself as outside of the Tea Party at the very least. It will be interesting to see if the recording affects his standings in the polls. It’s safe to say he’ll probably lose the support of people in Colorado who do still question Obama’s birth certificate, but he better hope the rest of the Tea Party doesn’t follow suit. He is currently in the lead over Republican opponent Jane Norton.

9News has released “>the entire tape (and I mean “entire,” hope you like knowing what radio stations the Democratic worker listened to in the car). We’ve got the edited version featuring just the section in question below.

Birthers, Colorado, Jane Norton, Ken Buck, Tea Party

Azarkhan

“Will you tell those dumbasses at the Tea Party to stop asking questions about birth certificates”

“Birthers” are dumbasses. Let’s focus on how the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda is destroying America and how patriotic Americans can get rid of those a-holes in 2010 and 2012.
Pablo

Azarkhan said:
“Birthers” are dumbasses.

Yup. You can’t blame a man for being right.
kenm

I have no problem with what he said. Whether or not Obama has a valid birth certificate, who cares? That ship has sailed. He won the election and that’s all that matters. Those birther dumbasses should be focusing on Obama’s policies, not a mildly dubious birth certificate. This “scandal” might actually help Ken Buck in the long run since it shows that he isn’t an unreasonable wackjob.
D REX

TEA PARTY BIRTHERS ARE NOT DUMBASSES……RACIST YES…BIRTHERS NO.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Kelly/720731075 Chris Kelly

What’s curious about this is that if Ken Buck were smarter, he could neutralize the “Birther” issue and even turn it to his advantage.

Instead, he alienated some ‘partiers, helped the Dems, and he’s not helping the U.S. by encouraging clear thinking.
Bootleghaircut

Ah yes “Birthers” hehehehehehe…. a key component of the Tea Party heehhehehe…coalition…really
the pickle the GOP is in with the Tea drinkers is HILARIOUS!

The DNC should start a strategy of making the GOP accountable to the tea party!!

After all I’d rather hear TP types ramble on about the constitution anyday as opposed
to odious social conservatives who want to fight a cultue war.

The Tea Party is not fueled by social issues-thanks god for that!!!!
http://apostrophejones.com Apostrophe jones

He may have been Snookied .
stoogedudes

Chris Kelly said:
What’s curious about this is that if Ken Buck were smarter, he could neutralize the “Birther” issue and even turn it to his advantage. Instead, he alienated some ‘partiers, helped the Dems, and he’s not helping the U.S. by encouraging clear thinking.

Gotta disagree with you on this one, Chris.

I think by hitting out against birthers, he’s showing himself a little more to be in the mainstream. Birthers will destroy the Republican party if they gain strength, and denouncing them will help his prospects and gain himself more legitimacy, especially as a tea party candidate. A tea party candidate denouncing birthers only helps the tea party.

So, naturally, I hope Ken Buck embraces birtherism, haha.
DrFunke

He is dead on

The reason most stay away from the Tea Party is b/c of their idiotic conspiracy theories and racist rants

If they want to be taken serioulsy, answer WHY they disappeared during the Bush years when their arguments about big government and deficits was as big an issue as it is today.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Jones/1384303476 Chris Jones

Why would he lose any support? The media talks about so-called “birthers” more than anyone in the Tea Party does. I’m a Tea Partier and I think birthers are dumbasses also. It was a silly argument put forth by a few on the fringe and the media continues to run with it like it’s commonplace.
Nachi

A profound understatement!!
Larkinvos

Remember, in Washington politics, a “gaffe” is
when a politician inadvertently tells the truth.
disgusted

It’s nothing more than a “distraction” – to make YOU not want to vote!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Canaan/666670819 Terry Canaan

You get rid of the “Dumbasses at the Tea Party” and you won’t have any baggers left.
http://none pyrope

Bootleghaircut said:
Ah yes “Birthers” hehehehehehe…. a key component of the Tea Party heehhehehe…coalition…reallythe pickle the GOP is in with the Tea drinkers is HILARIOUS! The DNC should start a strategy of making the GOP accountable to the tea party!! After all I’d rather hear TP types ramble on about the constitution anyday as opposedto odious social conservatives who want to fight a cultue war. The Tea Party is not fueled by social issues-thanks god for that!!!!

Ah yes, “Communists” hehehehehehe…a key component to the -0bama regime.
http://none pyrope

Terry Canaan said:
You get rid of the “Dumbasses at the Tea Party” and you won’t have any baggers left.

You get rid of the dumbasses, socialist, communists, progressives, marxists, fascists, the entitlement class parasites, and illegal aliens and you won’t have any Democraps left.
http://none pyrope

Chris Jones said:
Why would he lose any support? The media talks about so-called “birthers” more than anyone in the Tea Party does. I’m a Tea Partier and I think birthers are dumbasses also. It was a silly argument put forth by a few on the fringe and the media continues to run with it like it’s commonplace.

Hear, hear!

It’s kind of like people claiming there are racists in the Tea Party (of which I am not a member). Hell, there are racists everywhere. Some are white, some are black, some are brown, some are yellow, but they’re racists just the same.
http://none pyrope

DrFunke said:
He is dead on The reason most stay away from the Tea Party is b/c of their idiotic conspiracy theories and racist rants If they want to be taken serioulsy, answer WHY they disappeared during the Bush years when their arguments about big government and deficits was as big an issue as it is today.

Uh, could it be that they weren’t all that organized then? Do you recall hearing about the Tea Party before 2007?
http://none pyrope

stoogedudes said:
Gotta disagree with you on this one, Chris. I think by hitting out against birthers, he’s showing himself a little more to be in the mainstream. Birthers will destroy the Republican party if they gain strength, and denouncing them will help his prospects and gain himself more legitimacy, especially as a tea party candidate. A tea party candidate denouncing birthers only helps the tea party. So, naturally, I hope Ken Buck embraces birtherism, haha.

Good analogy but I respectfully disagree with your last sentence.
Averreauxii

Ken Buck should be given a medal!