Colorado Pols names Ken Buck rape story second biggest story of the year

Political blog site Colorado Pols has named the Ken Buck “Buyer’s Remorse” rape story the second biggest story of 2010 in Colorado.

From the Pols story:

The story of this alleged victim shocked the conscience of almost everyone who heard it. The Independent and Ms. Sherry reported on an audio recording, never before disclosed, of Buck’s presumptuous grilling of the victim regarding her motives, bizarrely veering into speculation about an abortion as a reason for her to make a false accusation–all of this after the alleged perpetrator had been recorded by the Greeley Police Department admitting to the crime. At the time of Buck’s refusal to prosecute the case, the victim went to the Greeley press, after which Buck dismissed her allegations to a reporter as a possible case of “buyer’s remorse.”

What became known as the “buyer’s remorse rape case” stopped Buck’s momentum dead in its tracks. Through a combination of unusually rapid pickup from local to national media, and a swift recognition by the campaign of Democrat Michael Bennet that an opportunity to end the race was really presenting itself, Buck was never again able to make an unscripted press appearance without being confronted by his actions and words. Moreover, Buck never gave a response to this story that came close to absolving him, even repeating the “buyer’s remorse” line unrepentantly on national television. Perhaps the most damaging aspect of Buck’s response is the sense that he never understood what the problem was.

On November 2nd, in a history-making rebuke that political scientists will study for years to come, the women voters of Colorado explained it to him. In fact, women voters can fairly be said to have been more identifiably decisive in this race than…well, do you have a better example? Ever?

The story was originally reported by The Colorado Indpendent on October 11.

Scot Kersgaard has been managing editor of a political newspaper, editor and co-owner of a ski town newspaper, executive editor of eight high-tech magazines (where he worked with current Apple CEO Tim Cook), deputy press secretary to a U.S. Senator, and an outdoors columnist at the Rocky Mountain News. He has an English degree from the University of Washington. He was awarded a fellowship to study internet journalism at the University of Maryland's Knight Center for Specialized Journalism. He was student body president in college. He spends his free time hiking and skiing.

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