Reader: If Protesters Pay Them, Will Politicians Listen?

The area outside Senator Cory Gardner's office in downtown Denver has become a frequent rallying ground: for those opposing his support of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (who donated $49,000 to his last campaign), for those urging him not to defund Planned Parenthood, or for those simply challenging his comment two weeks ago that many of the complaining phone calls he'd received were from “paid protesters from other parts of the country.” But plenty of people — including transplants who've brought their phone plans with them to Colorado — are willing to protest for free. Says Laura:

He dared to call us "paid political operatives" because so many Coloradans have out-of-state cell phone numbers.

Adds Hans: 

When a politician says, "These are paid protesters," what they really mean is "if you pay me (a lot) then I might listen."

Adds Samuel: 

Senator Cory Gardner didn't consider any of the phone calls, letters or e-mails he received from constituents pleading with him to do the right thing for our nation's children. He pretended to be "undecided" to give the appearance of reasoned consideration, but his mind was made up the moment her check cleared. He sold us out for the sake of money, and party loyalty. You can bet I'm going to remember this, and actively campaign against him in 2020.

But then there's this from Travis: 

I work in the same building as Cory Gardner and people have taken to protesting outside almost daily. Whether you like Cory or not, it's gotten very old for the people that work here. I can't even go to lunch or go see a customer without walking through this madness. While most of these people are not a problem, there are always quite a few that are rude and obnoxious. They fail to recognize that other people work here and that Cory is never even in this office. They block the sidewalks, stand around in the lobby and yell at people passing by. Even the more liberal people in our office have had enough of it, and it's starting to have the opposite effect.

Here's KUSA's Kyle Clark asking Gardner about those "paid protesters."

What do you think of the protests outside Gardner's office?