Fort Morgan Times: Joe O’Dea will stand up for seniors

This article appeared in the Fort Morgan Times.

America is moving in the wrong direction. And no one feels the pain more than seniors. The cost of housing, food and prescriptions is harming the quality of life of our retirees — especially those of us on fixed incomes.

It doesn’t feel like Washington, D.C., is listening to seniors and retirees. We need someone who will.

The good news for seniors in Colorado? There is a candidate for the U.S. Senate who will look out for seniors and working-class people: Joe O’Dea.

60 Plus — the American Association of Senior Citizens — is proud to endorse Joe O’Dea.

O’Dea’s story inspires. He was adopted at birth, and raised by a Denver cop. O’Dea washed dishes to pay his way through school; he dropped out of Colorado State University early to start his construction company. That company has been very successful.

O’Dea isn’t a career politician. We like that a lot. We think Washington, D.C. needs new blood.

On the issues, O’Dea is the real deal. Seniors can trust him to look out for us.

Joe O’Dea is fiscally conservative and will oppose the reckless spending that is causing inflation. Even the top economic minds in the Obama administration have said President Joe Biden is just spending too much. Biden’s $4.5 trillion in new spending in just two years is driving-up the cost of everything we buy. It has to stop. Joe O’Dea is focused on attacking inflation.

But, Joe O’Dea is a working man with a real heart for working people. O’Dea cares about seniors. Joe O’Dea will protect Social Security and Medicare.

O’Dea recently said, “I’ve promised to protect Social Security for seniors and aging Americans, and I will. I’ll oppose any cut to benefits for retirees and aging Americans, I’ll oppose investing Social Security in the Stock Market, and I’ll fight big spending politicians who raid the Social Security Trust Fund to spend on other programs. It’s wrong. I will not break our promise to seniors.”

One example of this is President Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan, where all the rest of us pay back the college loans of people living in households that make up to $250,000 a year. This proposal is truly reckless and any true advocate for seniors is fearful Congress will raid the trust funds.

Joe O’Dea has said he wants to repeal the college loan bailout. Bennet’s opponent, Sen. Michael Bennet, supports a college loan bailout.

That is the thing we like least about Senator Bennet, he always votes the party line. Bennet votes with President Biden 98 percent of the time.

We were disgusted by Bennet’s attacks on O’Dea too. Bennet ran ads saying O’Dea won’t support Medicare and Social Security.

Bennet is lying to seniors to try to scare us. It is wrong. In fact, as CBS Denver reported recently, O’Dea does not support any changes for retirees or those nearing retirement. By contrast, Bennet has advocated for entitlement reform without any guardrails around benefits for those currently using Social Security and Medicare.

And Joe O’Dea will take on the pharmaceutical industry. That’s the great thing about him: he’s an outsider, so no one will control O’Dea. O’Dea has said Biden’s plan on prescription drugs simply won’t work — it won’t make a difference — and a bigger, bolder plan is needed.

As you think about your vote this November, ask yourself: are the people in power helping make your life better?

If you think the country is moving in the wrong direction, if you think we must do something about inflation, if you want a U.S. senator who will protect Social Security and Medicare for seniors and retirees at all costs, then we hope you will join 60 Plus in voting Joe O’Dea for Senate.

Saulius “Saul” Anuzis is president of 60 Plus Association, the American Association of Senior Citizens.