Renee Parsons
The partisan conflict within the Republican Party in Colorado most likely began with an attempt by the Establishment RINOs to use the Fourteenth Amendment to keep Donald Trump off the state’s presidential ballot in 2024. That effort failed with a unanimous Supreme Court decision that the Fourteenth did not apply to a Presidential election which did not endear its advocates to the America First movement. From there, the dye was cast.
It is regrettable that some Republicans fail to understand the distinction between establishment Republican rhetoric denouncing America First as ‘extremists’ amid the treachery of their own long standing donor globalist connections.
Many Uniparty sponsors don’t care about losing 2024 to the Dems, some are never Trumpers, others are former elected Republican office holders all united to never relinquish the GOP political reins.
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The current Colorado GOP kerfuffle can be traced to the election of former State Rep Dave Williams (2017-2023), Latino on his mother’s side, to State Chair of the Colorado Republican party. Elected in January, 2023, by the State Central Committee’s approximately 400 members to a two year term, Williams defeated six other candidates. His election as an America First candidate was quickly followed by establishment Republicans, by the drove, threatening to leave the party.
As the effort to remove Williams as Chair of the GOP’s State Central Committee continues, the dispute is little more than an old fashioned internecine political struggle between the America First Trump movement versus the uniparty RINO establishment fighting to retain control of the party apparatus.
Williams quickly became targeted by a mental block narrative of being ‘divisive’ as he opposed unaffiliated voters from participating in Republican primaries, unqualified support for Donald Trump, opposed to mailed voter ballots and dared to question the 2020 election results.
Upon his election, Williams said that “Everyone’s welcome in our party. We’re not going to shift our party to the left thinking that somehow we’re going to win over folks who don’t prefer to vote for us anyway. Democrats don’t compromise who they are.”
Known as ‘far right’ in March, 2023 Williams announced as a Congressional candidate in the 5th District currently held by Rep. Doug Lamborn. Running as a Trump endorsed candidate, Williams lost the CD primary to Jeff Crank who was endorsed and funded by Speaker Johnson’s Congressional Leadership Fund.
As establishment Republicans legally challenged Williams and the election of Hope Scheppelman as Vice Chair, a District Court Judge lifted a temporary restraining order on August 7th enabling Williams’ opponents to remove he and Scheppelman from their positions with the State’s GOP. The Colorado Republican group will gather on August 24th if they have sufficient quorum to vote on whether to retain Williams. Williams responded with a message that the GOP Executive Committee will meet on August 31st when the State Central Committee will reiterate its position that its elections are still legal and relevant.
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In 2004, Colorado GOP were 35% of all registered voters. Since then, under control of its uniparty wing, Republicans lost its edge to currently 24% of registered voters with 47% registered as Independents. Currently, there are no Republicans elected to statewide office. Nevertheless, establishment Republicans are harshly critical of the America First movement and openly criticize Williams et al for being ‘right wing conservatives’ amid accusations of conspiracy mongers, petty bigotry and the ‘lunatic fringe is ascendant”.
Former Colorado GOP Chair Dick Wadhams (2007 – 2011) worries that under Williams and America First, the “party will have no credibility.”
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Hidden away in the southwest corner of Colorado, La Plata County Republicans are no strangers to controversy or disruptive party meetings as they continue to lose elections by a substantial proportion. With an unruly County GOP Executive Committee unable to find stability, their latest endeavor was to forcibly remove its second Executive Committee member within eight months.
Prior to the upcoming county meeting, the GOP Executive Committee met, during which each member vented their objections to Scheppelman’s continued role as County Secretary. Scheppelman also serves as Colorado’s State GOP Vice Chair, second only to Williams.
At conclusion of the meeting, County Chair Dave Peters (200 lb.+), made assaultive behavior toward Scheppelman, lunging across the table, slamming his fist and pointing at her face, screaming “I am telling you, get the hell out of here, you’re gone.” This scene was confirmed by another witness I spoke with.
At its most recent monthly meeting, the La Plata rank n file gathered on August 6th to rubber stamp its latest ouster attempt via a Bylaws revision that would authorize removal of Scheppelman as a ‘far right’ conservative. However, as the agenda item approached, Peters announced that the Bylaws would not be addressed and, without regard for any Open Meetings Act violation, introduced a new Resolution and Motion to be considered.
That Resolution asserted that the proposed Bylaw revisions were not being considered, if anyone can follow this convoluted reasoning, since ‘the Secretary so widely distributed without permission.” Scheppelman had, in fact, circulated the proposed Bylaws to precinct captains and others who were expected to attend and vote on the Bylaws at the upcoming scheduled meeting. Her emailing of those revisions is not a violation of any party rules.
Accusations contained in the Resolution against Scheppelman included “interfered with the Bylaws Committee authority”, “usurped power of the Chair by executing and publishing a decision,” “disrespected organization by claiming wrong action taken”, and “exhausted members with communication;” all of which, frankly, question the mental acuity of its author.
In conclusion, the Resolution proposed:
“MOTION: Based on information outlined in this resolution which was also distributed to the membership in hard copy for this meeting. I, Darrell Shockley, as a voting member of the LPCRCC and member of the Bylaws committee make a MOTION to request the Executive Committee of the LPCRCC to formally censure Secretary Hope Scheppelman.”
As the meeting continued, discussion ranged from why this dismissal was taking place ninety days before a national election, more than one accusation of Scheppelman being a traitor and a Democratic plant, one call for the resignation of Chair Peters, some PCP members spoke with heated rancor as Scheppelman was determined to be ‘part of the radical right” as others exhibited appalling, unprofessional conduct in what surely had been a colossal waste of time and energy.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Chair Peters announced he would be hiring an investigator to scrutinize Scheppelman’s behavior to determine if any illegal conduct had occurred and that he would personally assume responsibility to pay the investigator.
Renee Parsons served on the ACLU’s Florida State Board of Directors and as president of the ACLU Treasure Coast Chapter. She has been an elected public official in Colorado, staff in the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, an environmental lobbyist for Friends of the Earth and a staff member of the US House of Representatives in Washington DC.