Miklosi, Coffman turn up heat

As Election Day draws closer, the attacks between Democratic challenger Joe Miklosi and Republican incumbent Mike Coffman have heightened as the two Aurora politicians set their sights on representing the newly redrawn U.S. House District 6.

Emails from Coffman’s camp have continuously highlighted the fact that the incumbent grew up in Aurora, went to school in Aurora and started a business in Aurora, while Miklosi “just recently moved there in order to run for office.”

The incumbent, who came under national criticism for “anti-American” remarks he made about President Obama in Elbert County this spring, recently took to the offensive while discussing the difference between the two candidates.

“Joe Miklosi hates the Tea Party while I respect those who share a belief that government has grown too large and ineffective and think that the greatest threat to the security of the United States is our skyrocketing national debt,” said Coffman, who has a running national debt counter posted to his website. “I strongly support a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution that will strip the power away from Congress to continually spend money that we don’t have and Miklosi opposes that.”

While Coffman fancies himself “a fiscal hawk” on all budget items, including the military, and blasts his opponent for “tax-and-spend policy-making that hurts regular Coloradans,” Miklosi has a different view on how things “really are.”  

The Democrat points to the fact that as a state representative he voted to cut his own salary by 2 percent to help balance the state budget, and stated that he is proud that as an audit committee member he helped find $71 million of savings to help Colorado’s government run more efficiently by eliminating political abuse and fraud.

“I believe that Congress is broken and I want to help fix it,” said Miklosi, who grew up in Michigan. “I’ve governed as a pragmatist my four years in the Legislature and worked with Republicans on bills to streamline the health care billing reimbursement process, to help spawn and create renewable energy private-sector jobs and to make Colorado the third state in the country to allow you to register to vote online at the safe and secure secretary of state website, and 250,000 Coloradans have done that.”

On certain things, Miklosi is a firm believer in investing tax dollars – education, health care for all and job stimulation, for instance. Those are all things he says his opponent has “extreme views on, views that are too extreme for Colorado.”

“My opponent is a Tea Party caucus member. He has stated that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme,” Miklosi added. “He voted for both of the Paul Ryan Medicare destruction bills that would have told our seniors ‘you’re alone’ and made them pay $6,400 more annually apiece, and despite his distinguished military career he doesn’t even think our commander-in-chief is an American or an American in his heart.”

The candidates are currently in the process of working out details with the Highlands Ranch Community Association to schedule an October debate.