In an upcoming HBO documentary, U.S. Rep. Ken Buck paints a bleak picture not only of Congress but also of his own political party and the conservative movement in this era of President Donald Trump, before suggesting he will retire soon.
The problem with the Republican Party now is that we have such a fresh history of violating the Constitution, of violating fiscal responsibility, of violating personal accountability, that we dont have a high ground to stand (on) and say, You guys are doing the wrong thing, says Buck, a Windsor Republican and chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, in a documentary called The Swamp.
The movie, which debuts 7 p.m. Tuesday, follows three Republican congressmen Buck, Matt Gaetz of Florida and Thomas Massie of Kentucky through 2019 as they reveal their frustrations with the influence of lobbyists, the power of congressional leadership and a lack of legislative progress. In the film, which The Denver Post screened, Buck often appears exasperated and cynical.
As you see from our movie, Ken is sad, said Morgan Pehme, one of the films directors, in an interview. Ken is beaten down by the system. I feel sad for Ken sometimes because you go in there, you think youre going to make a difference, youre a member of Congress, you have the pin on, and then you realize youre just another vote in the pocket of (congressional) leadership.
During one scene late in the film, a camera pans over a framed Post article from Bucks first congressional election victory in 2014, which hangs in Bucks office near the U.S. Capitol. Then he offers a dark assessment of his tenure.
I have to tell you, I think this place has drained me of a certain amount of life. After having been here for five years, I have no illusion that what I say, anybody cares about. I have thought about leaving and I dont know whether this is my last term or whether Ill run for one more term. I do know that a lot of the folks at home will not understand the long-term implications of whats happening here in D.C.
Buck did ultimately decide to run for re-election in 2020 and is favored to win over Democratic challenger Ike McCorkle on Nov. 3 in the safely Republican 4th Congressional District of eastern Colorado. McCorkle said its disingenuous for Buck to distance himself from a corrupt political establishment the congressman is a prominent part of.
He hasnt done anything for Colorado and even admits so himself, McCorkle said of Bucks remarks. Coloradans need real fighters in Congress who will represent their interests. Ill be that fighter, because as a veteran and Purple Heart recipient, I always have been. If Ken Buck isnt up to the job, he needs to step down.
Reached for comment, Bucks spokeswoman, Lindsey Curnutte, said he remains focused on serving his constituents in the 4th District and hasnt discussed any retirement plans with his staff.
If Buck retires before the 2022 election, there will likely be a crowded Republican primary to succeed him. The 4th District currently includes Douglas County, home to several Republican state legislators and ambitious politicians. That may change when congressional districts are redrawn following the 2020 Census, however.
Buck was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, which formed in 2015 to act as an ultra-conservative voice and quickly proved willing to criticize Republican leadership for being insufficiently conservative, especially on fiscal matters. But the caucuss influence has dwindled in recent years and its members have rarely criticized Trump, despite his disinterest in fiscal conservatism.
This president has presented budgets that are huge, Buck says in the film. Typically, the Freedom Caucus would be leading the charge to criticize an executive branch proposal that costs that much money. Now thats just not the case and its not the case because when the Freedom Caucus members look at their political base, they realize that so much of their base are Trump lovers (and) nothing this president does can possibly be wrong, so they cant criticize the president.
The congressman expands on this train of thought in the films closing minutes, telling an interviewer, Taking on President Trump is unwise and President Trump has no problem doing a touchdown dance every time a Republican critic loses, and so he reinforces the idea that it is a bad idea to take him on.
The documentary was partly inspired by Bucks 2017 book Drain the Swamp, according to Pehme and co-director Daniel DiMauro. The directors describe themselves as liberals who were surprised to discover how many government reform ideas they share with a hardline conservative like Buck. The Coloradan was the first member of Congress who agreed to take part in the documentary.
Pehme and DiMauro believe the film is an opportunity to bring Americans of all ideologies together in agreement that Congress has been made impotent by infighting and made corrupt by corporate lobbying and almost constant fundraising.
Although ideologically we disagree with (Buck) on so many things, the fact is we agree with him on two fundamental things that we think are so critical for the future of our country, which is the corruption of the Congress and the issue with never-ending wars around the world, DiMauro said in an interview.
Pehme said Buck, a 61-year-old who has battled cancer and survived a heart attack, wrestled throughout 2019 with whether to run for re-election in 2020 or retire from Congress, before ultimately deciding on the former route.
There was an opportunity with this movie, Pehme said, for Ken to be a Gary Cooper-type figure who just walks out of the town as the sheriff, hangs up the sheriffs badge and walks off into the sunset.
Read this article:
In HBO film, Ken Buck suggests he will leave Congress soon - The Denver Post
- Six freedom reforms to bolster job creation and employability - Mint - January 5th, 2021
- Paying every Indian 5,000 can be the fiscal fix to make 2021 really happy - The Times of India Blog - January 5th, 2021
- Appeal of Conscience Foundation to Honor Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe with 2021 World Statesman Award - PRNewswire - January 5th, 2021
- Current market themes - Times of Malta - January 5th, 2021
- Wed Love to Work With Netflix Again: Cash-Strapped Museums Looking for New Audiences Are Increasingly Doing Exhibits-for-Hire - artnet News - January 5th, 2021
- Top 2 Dividend Stocks to Buy in 2021 - The Motley Fool Canada - January 5th, 2021
- Ohio Legislature in the hands of Cupp, Huffman - sidneydailynews.com - January 5th, 2021
- Only two fines for fly-tipping in six years in Perth and Kinross as cases skyrocket across region - The Courier - January 5th, 2021
- Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox is sworn in as Utah's 18th governor - Salt Lake Tribune - January 5th, 2021
- The Clandestine Efforts to Keep Georgia's Old-School Conservatives in the Fold - OZY - January 5th, 2021
- How will the Tory party cope without Brexit to complain about? - Evening Standard - January 5th, 2021
- The Year of the Coronavirus and its Legacy - Voice of America - January 5th, 2021
- 2021 preview: Big local stories to watch in DC area - WTOP - January 5th, 2021
- Can India spend its way out of its unemployment crisis? - Mint - December 28th, 2020
- House poised to override Trump veto for first time | TheHill - The Hill - December 28th, 2020
- Luxembourg 2021 Budget Law: Overview of the key changes - Lexology - December 28th, 2020
- Here's looking forward to freedom in 2021 - MoneyWeek - December 28th, 2020
- The U.S. asylum system is broken. How could it be reimagined? - The San Diego Union-Tribune - December 28th, 2020
- New museums and Smokey Bear: what's in the $900bn US stimulus package? - The Guardian - December 28th, 2020
- 3 broad aspects of good governance that PM Vajpayee brought in - Economic Times - December 28th, 2020
- Year in Review: A year for the record books in Apple Valley - ECM Publishers - December 28th, 2020
- Op-ed | Not all space capabilities should reside in Space Force - SpaceNews - December 28th, 2020
- The Guardian view on Britain out of the EU: a treasure island for rentiers - The Guardian - December 28th, 2020
- New consumers driven to the RVing lifestyle fuel solid growth for Winnebago - Minneapolis Star Tribune - October 24th, 2020
- Governor Abbott named Best Governor in the Nation by ALEC, conservative economists - KXXV News Channel 25 - October 24th, 2020
- Freedom Healthcare Staffing Wins Denver Business Journal Fast 50 Award - PRNewswire - October 24th, 2020
- Lawmakers need to get federal funding to ease MBTA woes - Boston Herald - October 24th, 2020
- Classes to resume soon for final-years at state universities - University World News - October 24th, 2020
- Last Week in Slovenia: 16-22 October, 2020 - Total Slovenia News - October 24th, 2020
- Where They Stand: John Jacob - Daily Journal - October 24th, 2020
- Rep. Cynthia Lummis Speaks to Voters in Thermopolis | - mybighornbasin - October 24th, 2020
- Letters to the editor - News - The Hutchinson News - October 24th, 2020
- Taxpayer Tricks and Treats for Halloween 2020 - Business Wire - October 24th, 2020
- Parliament body: Freedom Fighters' monthly honorarium to be raised to Tk20,000 from Tk12,000 - Dhaka Tribune - October 24th, 2020
- Corporate Consultants Set Their Targets on American Universities - The Nation - October 24th, 2020
- Boebert incapable of being an independent voice negotiating on our behalf - The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel - October 8th, 2020
- How USAID Translates The Executive Order On Advancing International Religious Freedom Into Action - Forbes - October 8th, 2020
- The Case Against Trump: Donald Trump Is an Enemy of Freedom - Reason - October 8th, 2020
- D.R. Horton, Inc. to Release 2020 Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year-End Earnings on November 10, 2020 - Business Wire - October 8th, 2020
- Inslee, Culp meet in first and only governor's debate - Thehour.com - October 8th, 2020
- Everything We Just Learned About The Navy's Dubious Path To A 500 Ship Fleet - The Drive - October 8th, 2020
- Civil society raises alarm about IMF's continued backing of austerity amidst pandemic - Bretton Woods Observer - October 8th, 2020
- NCC to invite experts to CtiTV News hearing - - October 8th, 2020
- Candidates want to represent district in Statehouse - The Herald - October 8th, 2020
- The Toss-up: Virginia's 7th Congressional District race may be one of the nation's closest - Chesterfield Observer - October 8th, 2020
- Waukon City Council hears restaurant proposal for former JCPenney/Tierney's building, leaves trick-or-treat participation decision this year up to... - October 8th, 2020
- Abbotsford West candidates spar on Highway 1, light rail, housing and snap election - Abbotsford News - October 8th, 2020
- Noem urges legislators to carefully follow US Treasury guidelines while deciding how to spend a portion of the state's Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars... - October 8th, 2020
- The Social Cost Of COVID-19 - The ASEAN Post - September 8th, 2020
- Stalwarts who founded and built the UNP must be turning in their graves - NewsIn.Asia - September 8th, 2020
- 2020 could be the year of 'peak Democrat' in Colorado. This is why. - Colorado Springs Gazette - September 8th, 2020
- Trump and the RNC should remind Cuban voters of Fidel Castro, not their political home - NBC News - August 31st, 2020
- Analysis: Will Uzbekistan's Champion of Reform Stay the Course? - Voice of America - August 31st, 2020
- It's Never Been More Clear: Fare Hikes Won't Save the MBTA - Boston magazine - August 31st, 2020
- Libertarians Took Control of This Small Town. It Didn't End Well. - Washington Monthly - August 31st, 2020
- Point-Counterpoint: Benefits will outweigh the consequences for college football this fall - University of Pittsburgh The Pitt News - August 31st, 2020
- Fact-checking the first night of the 2020 Republican National Convention - Poynter - August 31st, 2020
- Moody's: Coronavirus is accelerating shift to online education - Education Dive - August 31st, 2020
- Corbella: Facts and fairness show public sector workers should have their pay cut - Calgary Herald - August 31st, 2020
- Fred Perpall, CEO of The Beck Group, says Blacks and whites need to be more inclusive - The Dallas Morning News - August 31st, 2020
- Could On-Campus Housing At Local Universities Lead To COVID-19 Outbreaks? - NBC San Diego - August 31st, 2020
- Explained: What to look for in GDP data today - The Indian Express - August 31st, 2020
- 35th District Race Brings Three Options to Clinton, Killingworth, and Westbrook - Zip06.com - August 31st, 2020
- Beware the Chinese Economy Recovery Trap - JAPAN Forward - August 31st, 2020
- At RNC, here's what Trump, Republicans have to say our country and economy if they want to win - Fox Business - August 31st, 2020
- When we went to remote learning I could feel every teacher's eyes on me - Sydney Morning Herald - August 31st, 2020
- Bad bank not only necessary but unavoidable in present situation: Subbarao - THE WEEK - August 31st, 2020
- MORSE denies allegations of INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR State REOPENING is on PAUSE Senate race gets NEGATIVE - Politico - August 10th, 2020
- Austerity: Another officer retires, rehired by Odisha government - The New Indian Express - August 10th, 2020
- Media Training Workshop on Using the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act for Investigative Reports on Campaign Fi - The Nigerian Voice - August 10th, 2020
- Detainees concerned for well-being as COVID-19 cases rise in crowded Hays County Jail - Community Impact Newspaper - August 10th, 2020
- The Endowment is Not the Issue - Harvard Political Review - August 10th, 2020
- DAILY VOICE: Four reasons why IT stocks are hitting 52-week highs - Moneycontrol.com - August 10th, 2020
- Kashmiris Lament the Loss of Their Youth - Foreign Policy - August 10th, 2020
- SLPP has creatively disrupted politics; now it has to do the same to the economy - ft.lk - August 10th, 2020
- More freedom to banks, further rate cut not ruled out: 10 key takeaways from policy meet - Economic Times - August 9th, 2020
- Biden's Climate Plan Would Put Us on the Road to Serfdom - The Heartland Institute - August 9th, 2020
- Krishi Kalyan & Cashew India App: Farmers Breathe Sigh of Relief As Government Aims To Revive Indian Agro Industry - The Indian Wire - August 9th, 2020
- How Attacks on Faith, Family, and Conscience Threaten All Our Freedoms - Daily Signal - August 8th, 2020
- Military Alliances, Partnerships Strengthened Through Defense Strategy Execution - Department of Defense - August 8th, 2020