Gov. Hickenlooper to Colorado: 'Piss Off'!

Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) has been on a downward spiral ever since last year's recall election over the strictest gun control in the nation - gun control bills that he signed into law.

Post-recall, his approval ratings fell 15 points and have never recovered.

Since then, a seemingly desperate governor has emerged.

He has been caught on tape dropping the so-called "f-bomb" to a group of Colorado sheriffs - as he apologized for not meeting with sheriffs prior to signing the most stringent gun control bills in state history.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper speaks during a Colorado Democrat's election party at the Sheraton Hotel in Denver on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012. Credit: AP

Now, Hickenlooper - who is up for re-election this year and in a dead heat with his Republican opponent Bob Beauprez - has stepped in it again by suggesting at a recent Rocky Mountain Energy Summit that the reason he won't publicly support the Keystone XL pipeline is that he is afraid to "piss off" the powers-that-be in Washington, D.C..

The Durango Herald reported Hickenlooper's remarks:

“I’ve avoided taking a position [on the Keystone pipeline] because it’s just going to piss off a lot of people in Washington that I don’t need to piss off, and my opinion is not going to change anybody’s opinion there."

Nevermind that the Keystone pipeline would bring down energy costs for Colorado's five million residents.

Nevermind that the leadership of a swing-state governor and the state’s historically independent-minded voters could affect change in the national debate over the pipeline.

Nevermind that Hickenlooper appears not to have learned a thing from last year's election when voters were turned off by out-of-state forces like then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who called the governor's office to try to influence local elections.

An activist dressed as a polar bear participates in a protest vigil in Lafayette Park across from the White House, Monday, Feb. 3, 2014, in Washington, urging President Obama to reject the Keystone XL Pipeline following the release of the State Department’s new environmental assessment. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

No, Hickenlooper seems intent on staying his course, towing his party line on the wrong policies for the state, and stringing expletives together like a woven tapestry of election year fodder that we haven't seen the likes of since President Richard Nixon's Watergate tapes.

Hickenlooper’s behavior will not only affect his own chances of being re-elected; no doubt it will negatively affect the down-ticket races now in dead heats, particularly the Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) vs. incumbent Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) race which will help determine if Republicans nationally take over the U.S. Senate.

Not only are Hickenlooper's words crass and unbecoming for a sitting governor; the sentiment behind them is even worse.

Clearly, the governor cares more about the Democrat party in Washington, D.C. than he cares about the constituents he serves.

Hickenlooper's latest message to the Coloradans he serves? Piss off.

Jennifer Kerns is a branded contributor to TheBlaze and other publications where she writes about the Second Amendment, the future of the GOP, limited government battles, religious liberty and other political hot topics.

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