\u201cI\u2019ve never been in favor of those kinds of institutional changes. Now, again, this could be exceptional times,\u201d Hickenlooper said in a brief telephone interview Sunday about any effort by Democrats to expand the Supreme Court to 11 or more justices after the election.<\/p>\n
The former Democratic governor of Colorado is seeking to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, a Republican from Yuma, on Nov. 3.<\/p>\n
The former governor said if voters remove Republican senators like Gardner and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, better policy outcomes benefiting Coloradans will come from Washington.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerally, once we get the right people in Washington \u2013 if you get Cory Gardner and Mitch McConnell out of there, get the right people there \u2013 I think that\u2019ll go a long way towards helping change the way decisions get made and the way we create policy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hickenlooper held out hope that a couple of GOP senators will change their minds and delay the confirmation process of Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump\u2019s pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, until after the Nov. 3 election.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people call me naive,\u201d he said of his belief that Barrett\u2019s confirmation could still be delayed.<\/p>\n
Gardner has said he plans to vote to confirm Barrett.<\/p>\n
Hickenlooper said if Barrett is confirmed and goes on to cast the deciding vote to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Democrats in the U.S. Senate would need to scramble to get it reinstated.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one really knows how she\u2019s going to vote on this health care bill,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if she gets rid of the Affordable Care Act, and we have a Democratic majority in the Senate, we\u2019re going to have our work cut out for us because I\u2019m sure we won\u2019t have 60 votes. So, we\u2019ll have to figure out some way to make sure we put the Affordable Care Act back in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
He estimated if the ACA is repealed by the high court between 20 million to 30 million people would lose health insurance coverage.<\/p>\n
Hickenlooper focused on improving broadband quality when speaking about a rural-urban divide in Colorado.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t gotten the quality of broadband we want to, but we\u2019ve gotten broadband to most of the state, almost every town. I think by the end of this year we\u2019ll be very close,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then once you\u2019ve got the basics, then you can go back to places that are far away, like Durango, and say: \u2018All right, how do we get higher upload and download speeds in there?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He also said Trump\u2019s imposition of tariffs has been particularly hard on Colorado farmers.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump\u2019s tariff wars just demolished the rural economies around the country. And if you\u2019re a corn farmer or a soybean farmer, you\u2019ve had four horrible years under Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the CARES Act, provided \u201chuge gifts to giant corporations\u201d but \u201cleft small farmers high and dry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n