Regional
(2010-07-26)
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DENVER, CO
(KUNC) -
Republican US Senate hopeful Ken Buck is on the defense after making disparaging remarks about Tea Party members who question whether President Barack Obama is a US citizen. The Weld County District Attorney has gotten a groundswell of support from the local Tea Party in his primary battle with former Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton. And Buck says he isn't concerned that the fallout from the comment will be a factor in what's expected to be a tight race.
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The comment in question was first reported in the Denver Post and in a Channel 9 story where Buck is being taped by a democratic operative trailing him without his permission.
"Will you tell those dumb a---s from the Tea Party to stop asking questions about birth certificates?" he says in the report.
Buck's referring to so-called birthers whose claims have been refuted repeatedly by the state of Hawaii which has verified the President's birth certificate.
"Yeah I think I've made it clear, I was frustrated at the time I made the statement about a few individuals at a few events," Buck tells KUNC.
In that interview, Buck went on to say that he believes the president is a natural born citizen, and he didn't apologize for making the remark about the birthers. He also says he's not worried that he'll lose support from Tea Party activists in light of the controversy.
"No, I have found a lot of support in the last day or two among Tea Party leaders on this issue," Buck says.
Still, the remark about the birthers is the latest in a string of controversial statements Buck has made. He was also recently filmed telling a Republican voter to choose him over rival Jane Norton because he doesn't wear high heels.
For her part, Norton wasted no time in calling a news conference Monday outside the state capitol in which she continued her strategy of calling Buck's demeanor into question.
"Ken Buck's insults, about Tea Partiers, who I admire, once more raise the question, exactly who is Ken Buck? And can we really trust him?" Norton says.
To which Buck responded that Norton is going negative because she's trailing in the polls. Indeed, the two Republicans have been ratcheting up the attacks lately with the August 10th primary just two weeks away.
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