During a June 4 debate, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser faced Sen. Michael Bennet over policy differences and perceived political gamesmanship. Voters expressed concerns about trust, federal influence, and leadership effectiveness, weighing Weiser's stance against Trump versus Bennet's Senate experience.
'Absolutely Crazy’: Horror as Trump Moves to Dismantle Crucial Ocean Monitoring System Colorado Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Weiser speaks at a debate with opponent Sen.
Michael Bennet on June 4, 2026. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser stood firm on his answers and invited more collaboration. I believe he will make a fine governor for Colorado—for all of us.
On Thursday evening last week, I attended the Colorado Democratic gubernatorial debate at the invitation of Colorado’s attorney general, Phil Weiser. Weiser and US Sen. Michael Bennet are facing off in the upcoming June 30th primary. Colorado’s next governor needs to be aware that not having enough money to retire comfortably is not a moral failing and that we deserve the same protections as those who are more financially set in life.
We supportin large part due to his fight back, intelligence, and decency. Yet what solidified that support following the debate was knowing what wasn’t said and why it wasn’t said—and knowing Weiser didn’t play those games with those partaking in the debate. We do not like being played for fools, and Weiser never seems to do that—though he is aware we are not wealthy donors or wealthy at all.
Listening closely to what was said and not said is a skill I’ve honed after raising six, DC and closer to home. Even as a child, being able to read a room or figure out if I’m in danger has been a necessary survival skill.
As a senior struggling with my share of health issues and as primary caregiver for my husband when he needs care, I know that aging in Colorado in Trump’s America requires me to be more vigilant than ever—and we are in danger, friends. While Weiser and Bennet are not miles apart in their positions on some key policies, and voters might argue the fine points of policy differences, two sections of the debate spoke volumes to me about credibility and being seen as a voter smart enough to see through a ruse.
Phil Weiser seems to want people like me to be part of his political work—his public service—and he believes I am intelligent enough to know when the BS factor is out of control. Michael Bennet is a fine orator. His years in the Senate have allowed him great practice for that skill.
I’ve never found that his diatribes on the Senate floor in DC helped me or even slowed down the relentless American-dream-crushing march of the current federal government’s behavior. I’m afraid to lose myenough from his state position even though Bennet has supported many Trump nominees and even some policies.
He said he did so because of the existential threats Colorado faces in areas those Trump nominees control and areas in which we need federal funds. Really? So, as Bennet proclaimed, the easiest vote in America is one against Trump, I thought to myself—what the hell exactly does that mean?
It tells me that I cannot trust Bennet to do his job right now as the people of this state depend on him to do, and if I cannot trust he will protect thisor my earned benefits of Social Security and Medicare—and that he will do everything in his power to oppose blackmailing bullies—I cannot trust him to be Colorado’s governor. In contrast, Weiser said he would never bow to that sort of Trump-style political gamesmanship with someone threatening our rights and our economic safety as a state.
Perhaps that is Weiser’s personal history as the son of Holocaust survivors, and yet, it must also be the stance of those of us who believe in the Constitution of this nation and this state. Cooperating with an administration that devalues my life and lives of anyone in our human family is unacceptable, and it is not leadership. Appeasing a despot who finds joy and power in his cruelty has never worked and never will.
Trump must be opposed at every turn. No, Sen. Bennet, it isn’t so hard. Do all you can from where you are now—fight in your current position for which you are paid by us.
If young people are angry about the Dems, it’s because they do not see the fight back or even the direct challenges to almost everything we fought to secure on the federal level. Stopping the forward march ofcomes before building new ways to confront our shared futures. Where were you, Sen. Bennet?
Yelling and smooth orating doesn’t save anything or prove your worthiness to lead on the state level. Our erudite rants make for great sound bites, though. My second point of recognizing deception was in Michael Bennet’s assertion that he hasn’t even thought about who he’s going to appoint to fill the rest of his Senate term. It’s silly to expect anyone to believe that.
While he said it would be someone under 50 years old, he wants you and me to believe he really hasn’t thought about it at all. Come on. He went on to say he hasn’t had any conversations at allabout his favored appointee. Did you read that carefully?
I’m sure the conversations he has had haven’t actually been in Colorado. He hasn’t spent that much time here, I don’t think. Access to him is very tightly controlled, and letters from Coloradans are answered with form responses.
His life centers on DC, and his “conversations” about his Senate replacement likely were there withSo, bottom line for me is that Phil Weiser seems to want people like me to be part of his political work—his public service—and he believes I am intelligent enough to know when the BS factor is out of control. I don’t want my governor to appease Trump or anyone else who harms us all in the manner of a mob boss or dictator, and I want to know who Bennet favors appointing to his Senate seat, if it’s vacated.
Those things matter as we face the future together. Phil Weiser stood firm on his answers and invited more collaboration. I believe he will make a fine governor for Colorado—for all of us. And a vote for Phil Weiser doesn’t have any mystery attached.
Strong and unwilling to honey up to bullies, clear about policy, and ready to fight back and move forward—that’s our AG Phil Weiser. This time in our history demands that and more from us all, not just the people we elect. When politicians play us for fools, we can all rise to this moment and make sure history records our courage, our decency, and our sacred honor shown to one another.
It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements.
No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform.
To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed.
When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going.
At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay.
Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Donna Smith is the former executive director of Progressive Democrats of America and currently a Medicare for All campaign surrogate for Sen.
Bernie Sanders. On Thursday evening last week, I attended the Colorado Democratic gubernatorial debate at the invitation of Colorado’s attorney general, Phil Weiser. Weiser and US Sen. Michael Bennet are facing off in the upcoming June 30th primary.
Colorado’s next governor needs to be aware that not having enough money to retire comfortably is not a moral failing and that we deserve the same protections as those who are more financially set in life. We supportin large part due to his fight back, intelligence, and decency. Yet what solidified that support following the debate was knowing what wasn’t said and why it wasn’t said—and knowing Weiser didn’t play those games with those partaking in the debate.
We do not like being played for fools, and Weiser never seems to do that—though he is aware we are not wealthy donors or wealthy at all. Listening closely to what was said and not said is a skill I’ve honed after raising six, DC and closer to home. Even as a child, being able to read a room or figure out if I’m in danger has been a necessary survival skill.
As a senior struggling with my share of health issues and as primary caregiver for my husband when he needs care, I know that aging in Colorado in Trump’s America requires me to be more vigilant than ever—and we are in danger, friends. While Weiser and Bennet are not miles apart in their positions on some key policies, and voters might argue the fine points of policy differences, two sections of the debate spoke volumes to me about credibility and being seen as a voter smart enough to see through a ruse.
Phil Weiser seems to want people like me to be part of his political work—his public service—and he believes I am intelligent enough to know when the BS factor is out of control. Michael Bennet is a fine orator. His years in the Senate have allowed him great practice for that skill.
I’ve never found that his diatribes on the Senate floor in DC helped me or even slowed down the relentless American-dream-crushing march of the current federal government’s behavior. I’m afraid to lose myenough from his state position even though Bennet has supported many Trump nominees and even some policies.
He said he did so because of the existential threats Colorado faces in areas those Trump nominees control and areas in which we need federal funds. Really? So, as Bennet proclaimed, the easiest vote in America is one against Trump, I thought to myself—what the hell exactly does that mean?
It tells me that I cannot trust Bennet to do his job right now as the people of this state depend on him to do, and if I cannot trust he will protect thisor my earned benefits of Social Security and Medicare—and that he will do everything in his power to oppose blackmailing bullies—I cannot trust him to be Colorado’s governor. In contrast, Weiser said he would never bow to that sort of Trump-style political gamesmanship with someone threatening our rights and our economic safety as a state.
Perhaps that is Weiser’s personal history as the son of Holocaust survivors, and yet, it must also be the stance of those of us who believe in the Constitution of this nation and this state. Cooperating with an administration that devalues my life and lives of anyone in our human family is unacceptable, and it is not leadership. Appeasing a despot who finds joy and power in his cruelty has never worked and never will.
Trump must be opposed at every turn. No, Sen. Bennet, it isn’t so hard. Do all you can from where you are now—fight in your current position for which you are paid by us.
If young people are angry about the Dems, it’s because they do not see the fight back or even the direct challenges to almost everything we fought to secure on the federal level. Stopping the forward march ofcomes before building new ways to confront our shared futures. Where were you, Sen. Bennet?
Yelling and smooth orating doesn’t save anything or prove your worthiness to lead on the state level. Our erudite rants make for great sound bites, though. My second point of recognizing deception was in Michael Bennet’s assertion that he hasn’t even thought about who he’s going to appoint to fill the rest of his Senate term. It’s silly to expect anyone to believe that.
While he said it would be someone under 50 years old, he wants you and me to believe he really hasn’t thought about it at all. Come on. He went on to say he hasn’t had any conversations at allabout his favored appointee. Did you read that carefully?
I’m sure the conversations he has had haven’t actually been in Colorado. He hasn’t spent that much time here, I don’t think. Access to him is very tightly controlled, and letters from Coloradans are answered with form responses.
His life centers on DC, and his “conversations” about his Senate replacement likely were there withSo, bottom line for me is that Phil Weiser seems to want people like me to be part of his political work—his public service—and he believes I am intelligent enough to know when the BS factor is out of control. I don’t want my governor to appease Trump or anyone else who harms us all in the manner of a mob boss or dictator, and I want to know who Bennet favors appointing to his Senate seat, if it’s vacated.
Those things matter as we face the future together. Phil Weiser stood firm on his answers and invited more collaboration. I believe he will make a fine governor for Colorado—for all of us. And a vote for Phil Weiser doesn’t have any mystery attached.
Strong and unwilling to honey up to bullies, clear about policy, and ready to fight back and move forward—that’s our AG Phil Weiser. This time in our history demands that and more from us all, not just the people we elect. When politicians play us for fools, we can all rise to this moment and make sure history records our courage, our decency, and our sacred honor shown to one another.
Progressives Fume After Colorado's Democratic Governor Vetoes Historic Affordable Housing Bill › 'Read the Room': Hickenlooper Booed at California Democratic Convention for Decrying Socialism, Calling for Pragmatism ›Donna Smith is the former executive director of Progressive Democrats of America and currently a Medicare for All campaign surrogate for Sen. Bernie Sanders. On Thursday evening last week, I attended the Colorado Democratic gubernatorial debate at the invitation of Colorado’s attorney general, Phil Weiser. Weiser and US Sen.
Michael Bennet are facing off in the upcoming June 30th primary. Colorado’s next governor needs to be aware that not having enough money to retire comfortably is not a moral failing and that we deserve the same protections as those who are more financially set in life. We supportin large part due to his fight back, intelligence, and decency.
Yet what solidified that support following the debate was knowing what wasn’t said and why it wasn’t said—and knowing Weiser didn’t play those games with those partaking in the debate. We do not like being played for fools, and Weiser never seems to do that—though he is aware we are not wealthy donors or wealthy at all. Listening closely to what was said and not said is a skill I’ve honed after raising six, DC and closer to home.
Even as a child, being able to read a room or figure out if I’m in danger has been a necessary survival skill. As a senior struggling with my share of health issues and as primary caregiver for my husband when he needs care, I know that aging in Colorado in Trump’s America requires me to be more vigilant than ever—and we are in danger, friends.
While Weiser and Bennet are not miles apart in their positions on some key policies, and voters might argue the fine points of policy differences, two sections of the debate spoke volumes to me about credibility and being seen as a voter smart enough to see through a ruse. Phil Weiser seems to want people like me to be part of his political work—his public service—and he believes I am intelligent enough to know when the BS factor is out of control.
Michael Bennet is a fine orator. His years in the Senate have allowed him great practice for that skill. I’ve never found that his diatribes on the Senate floor in DC helped me or even slowed down the relentless American-dream-crushing march of the current federal government’s behavior. I’m afraid to lose myenough from his state position even though Bennet has supported many Trump nominees and even some policies.
He said he did so because of the existential threats Colorado faces in areas those Trump nominees control and areas in which we need federal funds. Really? So, as Bennet proclaimed, the easiest vote in America is one against Trump, I thought to myself—what the hell exactly does that mean?
It tells me that I cannot trust Bennet to do his job right now as the people of this state depend on him to do, and if I cannot trust he will protect thisor my earned benefits of Social Security and Medicare—and that he will do everything in his power to oppose blackmailing bullies—I cannot trust him to be Colorado’s governor. In contrast, Weiser said he would never bow to that sort of Trump-style political gamesmanship with someone threatening our rights and our economic safety as a state.
Perhaps that is Weiser’s personal history as the son of Holocaust survivors, and yet, it must also be the stance of those of us who believe in the Constitution of this nation and this state. Cooperating with an administration that devalues my life and lives of anyone in our human family is unacceptable, and it is not leadership. Appeasing a despot who finds joy and power in his cruelty has never worked and never will.
Trump must be opposed at every turn. No, Sen. Bennet, it isn’t so hard. Do all you can from where you are now—fight in your current position for which you are paid by us.
If young people are angry about the Dems, it’s because they do not see the fight back or even the direct challenges to almost everything we fought to secure on the federal level. Stopping the forward march ofcomes before building new ways to confront our shared futures. Where were you, Sen. Bennet?
Yelling and smooth orating doesn’t save anything or prove your worthiness to lead on the state level. Our erudite rants make for great sound bites, though. My second point of recognizing deception was in Michael Bennet’s assertion that he hasn’t even thought about who he’s going to appoint to fill the rest of his Senate term. It’s silly to expect anyone to believe that.
While he said it would be someone under 50 years old, he wants you and me to believe he really hasn’t thought about it at all. Come on. He went on to say he hasn’t had any conversations at allabout his favored appointee. Did you read that carefully?
I’m sure the conversations he has had haven’t actually been in Colorado. He hasn’t spent that much time here, I don’t think. Access to him is very tightly controlled, and letters from Coloradans are answered with form responses.
His life centers on DC, and his “conversations” about his Senate replacement likely were there withSo, bottom line for me is that Phil Weiser seems to want people like me to be part of his political work—his public service—and he believes I am intelligent enough to know when the BS factor is out of control. I don’t want my governor to appease Trump or anyone else who harms us all in the manner of a mob boss or dictator, and I want to know who Bennet favors appointing to his Senate seat, if it’s vacated.
Those things matter as we face the future together. Phil Weiser stood firm on his answers and invited more collaboration. I believe he will make a fine governor for Colorado—for all of us. And a vote for Phil Weiser doesn’t have any mystery attached.
Strong and unwilling to honey up to bullies, clear about policy, and ready to fight back and move forward—that’s our AG Phil Weiser. This time in our history demands that and more from us all, not just the people we elect. When politicians play us for fools, we can all rise to this moment and make sure history records our courage, our decency, and our sacred honor shown to one another.
Progressives Fume After Colorado's Democratic Governor Vetoes Historic Affordable Housing Bill › 'Read the Room': Hickenlooper Booed at California Democratic Convention for Decrying Socialism, Calling for Pragmatism › The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%.
Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported.
Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising.
No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in?
Please follow us on Google to support usColorado Election Phil Weiser Michael Bennet Trump Opposition Voter Trust
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Child drowns at Cherry Creek Reservoir in Colorado state parkThe unidentified child’s drowned body was recovered by Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Marine Evidence Recovery Team at 10:20 p.m. Saturday, according to the agency.
Read more »
Running Back Steven Alexis' Commitment Fuels Colorado's Recruiting Class RankingThe Colorado Buffaloes snatched the recruiting spotlight during the first weekend of June 2026. Colorado and coach Deion Sanders helped land three more commits
Read more »
Los Angeles Mayoral and Gubernatorial Races Remain Unresolved Amid Integrity ConcernsThe Los Angeles mayoral race and California gubernatorial primary remain uncertified as vote counting continues,sparking allegations of manipulation and raising questions about election integrity. Republican candidates in both contests see their leads erode during the extended count, prompting accusations of deliberate delays and unverifiable mail-in ballots. former President Donald Trump and local officials have criticized the process, comparing it to tactics in a thIrd-world land and calling for transparency.
Read more »
Florida Gubernatorial Candidate Jay Collins Criticized for Hypocrisy on AI ExpansionJay Collins, the lieutenant governor of Florida, has been criticized for his stance on artificial intelligence (AI) expansion in the state. Collins has proposed the 'Florida Strong Plan' which would heavily regulate AI data centers, but has a history of supporting AI as a state senator.
Read more »