Hal Bidlack
As a lifelong moderate Democrat, I wouldn’t hate to see the Colorado Republican Party fall apart.
And as a resident of the 5th Congressional District, it’s an interesting time to watch Republicans attack each other ahead of next week’s primary election. In the course of the usual TV and YouTube viewing time, viewers will encounter dozens of political ads designed not to promote any particular views but to attack others running for the same office.
A refreshing counterexample is Democrat Elliot Hood, running for CU regents. His YouTube ad doesn’t attack anyone and lists his priorities for the state’s flagship university. But it’s a sad reality of politics today that you have to look that far into the ballot to find a forward-thinking, advertising-based candidate.
The most controversial to date, and strange The race is in the 5th Congressional District, where Rep. Doug Lamborn (who beat me handily in 2008) is retiring, leaving few safe open seats (for either party) and a large field of candidates. The only surviving post-convention Republican candidates are Jeff Crank, former Chief of Staff to long-ago Rep. Joel Heffley and more recently a conservative radio talk show host, and Dave Williams, current Chairman of the State Republican Party. Listen to the ads against him and you’ll hear he’s a corrupt pro-China politician.
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Full disclosure: I know Jeff Crank a bit A little. During the 2008 campaign, we often attended the same events. I like Jeff, but, well, I disagree with him on almost everything. But I don’t doubt his sense of honor or his dedication to service. Heck, two years later Jeff and I even agreed to campaign together a few days a week in case I beat Lamborn to prove that we wouldn’t get nasty when we disagreed.
Williams, on the other hand, has a lot of hate in his heart. As chairman of the state Republican Party, he has engaged in many questionable actions, even from the perspective of today’s MAGA-crazed Republican Party. And Williams, like many other Republicans, has an obsession with sex and who may be having sex with him without his permission. I admit that I don’t understand the Republican obsession with sex. During my own campaign, I found that Republicans claim to want small government, but not so small that they can’t peer through their windows to make sure they’re not loving the “wrong” kind of people.
Williams angered a significant number of Republican leaders by taking a stand to attack Pride Month. You don’t need to read the first paragraph of his rant to see his bigotry and ignorance. He said, “The Pride Month agenda is in full swing, with its purpose being to attack parental rights, harm children, and silence those who speak out against it.”
right…
He cites the Bible as “evidence,” which is concerning. For example, a Muslim candidate could cite a verse from the Quran, his Without evidence, Williams would deny the validity of such a reference. And, without a shadow of a doubt, the modern MAGA Republican Party is out to further disenfranchise you.
The Dobbs case set the stage for attacks on contraceptive rights, with Louisiana Gov. need Displaying the Ten Commandments of Christianity in Every Place Public School Classroom This shows how far Christian nationalists will go. Imagine if a state passed a law that required the posting of Satan’s Ten Commandments (if there was such a thing?). These people are happy to enforce state sponsored religion as long as they get to decide which religion to enforce.
Williams also shares the Republican Party’s strange concern that gays are preying on children. No, they’re not. Members of the LGBTQ+ community simply want basic equality, and Republicans see any recognition of such equality as a threat to their power and status, which is nonsense. Add in an element of Christian nationalism and you have the self-righteous, dogmatic Republican Party of today.
We saw a similar argument in the debate over whether to allow gays to serve in the military. I was on active duty at the time, and generals and admirals argued that allowing gays to serve would disrupt good order and discipline. In the end, the junior soldiers who served didn’t care at all about sexual orientation, and the U.S. military remains the strongest and most capable fighting force on earth.
But I digress…
Dave Williams needs It would definitely make voters think gays are after your kids (I repeat, that’s not happening), because, frankly, he has very little to offer other than false braggart about the economy (which has been doing surprisingly well lately). And I’m pleased to see that many in the state Republican Party are standing up against him and his bigotry. Multiple county party organizations have called for Williams to step down as chairman over his bigotry. Now, privately, I suspect that a significant number of Republicans are pretty bigoted against LGBTQ+ people, but have the political savvy to not call it out.
Of course, I am hoping for a dramatic turnaround in the 5th District so that Democrats can actually win the election, but that doesn’t look likely to happen, at least for a while. If we had to choose a Republican representative, Crank would be the best choice.
Thinking of cranks reminds me of the words of Alexander Hamilton after the election of 1800 came to the U.S. House of Representatives: Thomas Jefferson had chosen Aaron Burr as his running mate, but because the 12th Amendment had not yet been enacted, the contest in the House was between Jefferson and Burr. both He was running for president, and while the public knew that voters wanted Jefferson for president and Burr for vice president, Burr realized that if he could get state delegations to vote for him instead of Jefferson, Aaron Burr would become the next president.
After 35 votes, the two remained tied. Hamilton grew impatient and wrote a letter to Connecticut’s delegates urging them to refrain from voting for Burr on the next ballot. Hamilton stated that his longtime rival Jefferson was “a less dangerous man than Burr, and a pretentious personality.” Motivated by this lukewarm support, the delegates refrained from voting for Burr, and Jefferson was elected president on the 36th ballot.
To be honest, that’s how I feel about cranks.
That being said, it’s still fun to watch state Republican Party bigotry ignite infighting.
stay tuned.
Hal Bidlack is a retired political science professor and former Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs for more than 17 years.
