Darryl Glenn’s no good, very bad week

Darryl Glenn might not be having the kind of week he hoped for.

If you saw his six-minute speech Monday night at the Republican National Convention, you might be one of the few.

The El Paso County commissioner and Republican U.S. Senate candidate scored a prime-time appearance at the Cleveland convention, only for the networks to cut out just as he hit the stage.

C-SPAN, which is broadcasting gavel-to-gavel coverage of the convention, did show Glenn’s speech live. His remarks were panned by some of those attending the convention, like Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post.

Cillizza called Glenn one of the “losers” from the convention’s first night, referring to Glenn’s speech as a “series of hackneyed one-liners and blatant appeals for applause.”  And one line from Glenn put him over the edge: “‘Someone with a nice tan needs to say this. All lives matter.’ Oomph,” said Cillizza.

On Tuesday, Glenn’s Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet, took aim at one of Glenn’s strongest positions: If elected, Glenn says he would refuse to work across the aisle with those from the opposite party.

The Bennet campaign Tuesday released a new ad, “Across the Aisle,” that hammers on Glenn’s views on bipartisanship. Throughout the primary season, Glenn has said repeatedly that Republicans don’t need to work with Democrats and should just lead instead.

The one-minute ad shows Glenn at several appearances, including a debate that aired on Colorado Public TV-12 on June 10, in which he talks about his views about Democrats. “You don’t get it,” Glenn said to moderator Eric Sondermann. “It’s not about reaching across the aisle.”

In other appearances, Glenn said he didn’t know any elected Democrats he could get along with, and that he was “running against Democrats. I’m running against evil.”

“It’s clear from Darryl Glenn’s own words what kind of senator he would be for Colorado: one who refuses to compromise and thinks the problem with Washington is ‘Republicans reaching across the aisle,’”  said Bennet campaign spokesperson Mairead Lynn.

The Bennet campaign has previously touted the senator’s record on working across party lines on a number of issues, most notably a 2014 farm bill signed into law by the President that extends agricultural program funding to 2018. Bennet is a member of the Senate’s agriculture committee and worked on the bill for two years.

“While Michael Bennet has worked across party lines to get things done for Colorado, Darryl Glenn couldn’t even name a single Democrat he would work with if elected to the Senate,” said Lynn. “Glenn is a partisan obstructionist who would add to Washington’s dysfunction.”

The Glenn campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Photo credit: Corey Hutchins

has been a political journalist since 1998. She covered the state capitol for the Silver & Gold Record from 1998 to 2009 and for The Colorado Statesman in 2010-11 and 2013-14. Since 2010 she also has covered the General Assembly for newspapers in northeastern Colorado. She was recognized with awards from the Colorado Press Association for feature writing and informational graphics for her work with the Statesman in 2012.

11 COMMENTS

  1. Darryl Glenn did awesome… and most of the speakers were cut short by the media. Anyone who wants to see Darry’s full speech can find it on You Tube.

    You should really change your name from “The Independent” to “THE REGRESSIVE”.

    And if you think “black lives” matter MORE or less than anyone else’s… you are part of the problem.

  2. And why would I want to read a stupid “transcript” you linked…

    When I can watch Darryl’s inspiring full speech !

    Oh I know you Left wing fascist Libnuts go COMPLETELY BONKERS when a black Republican takes the stage !

  3. Thanks for sharing the video. Let me ask you this, Gabriel: is the audience that Mr. Glenn needed to reach Monday the one in Cleveland, or the national audience? That was how I looked at this – from the perspective of a missed opportunity. It wasn’t his fault – the timing was a decision made by the RNC and perhaps by the national media as well.

  4. PS to Mr. King: I’ve edited the story to put in the YouTube video. Thanks very much for the link.

  5. Whatever the speech, to be an effective campaign element, it would have needed some amplification. People talking about it back here in Colorado. Surrogates pointing to positive reviews and results from the speech. Those sorts of things.

    Check out the limited number of supportive comments in the two leading papers of the state.

    Denver Post coverage: “Darryl Glenn makes national debut at Republican National Convention as delegates steal the spotlight” – content split, comments following DEFINITELY split, not a great deal of positive spin.
    “http://www.denverpost.com/2016/07/19/darryl-glenn-republican-national-convention-speech/

    Colorado Springs Gazette:
    “Darryl Glenn, Colorado Springs candidate for U.S. Senate, takes the stage at Republican National Convention”
    http://gazette.com/darryl-glenn-colorado-springs-candidate-for-u.s.-senate-takes-the-stage-at-republican-national-convention/article/1580660

  6. Very bias reporting. This was a phenomenal, well received speech and any anything to the contrary is dishonest journalism. Lib blogs & news are always good for laugh except blatant lies ate not funny.

  7. Great speech. Great delivery. I was impressed. I would never vote for Bennett, after his vote on the Iran Deal.

  8. Sounds very much like the speech that President Obama gave at the 2004 Democratic Convention. No Black or White America just United States of America. President Obama as Sen.Obama in 2004 convention. President Obama was the trailblazer along with Rev.King
    Jesse Jackson, & Al Sharpton who paved the way for darryl glenn and now that people like him are reaping the fruit from the labors of men like Dr. King, Jesse Jackson and Rev. Sharpton. glenn an others like him are too small to give them credit. If he had lived during the Civil War he probably would have supported the people who fought to keep slavery. Just saying.

  9. Darryl Glenn really? Bah ha ha!
    Used and uses the same words as Obama used in his key note address in 2004, with just a few words swapped. He used it at the RNC and on his creepy ads for senate seat. He probably brainstormed with Miz Trump. Neither as a thought process of their own! Wake up people!

  10. D Glenn is using parts of multiple speeches by others. That tells me tme that he is not ready for the stage he was on. Mr Glenn is living in a dream, he said Jessie Jackson is the new black panthers, meaning he doesn’t know the work Mr Jackson is doing for all in this country and world. He talked about Obama, but Glenn has two daughters under 26, I wonder if he have them under his insurance, Obama care? And a wake call, you are not the only black republican in America, you really reminds me of what we call uncle Tom, wake up, this is 2016.

  11. Hi Darryl,
    Just saw your add where you tell how someone has always been trying to put you down; “too black, too poor….too whatever. You’ve got it all wrong man, you simply too republican. That’s why you will lose. Because you are too mixed up about who you are and who you want to serve.

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