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January 24, 2024 09:51 AM UTC

BREAKING: Mike Lynch Bows Out As House Minority Leader

  • 13 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul:

House Republicans are scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. Thursday to pick a new minority leader.

Assistant House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, is the obvious choice, though others may pursue the job. Bottoms has said he doesn’t want to be minority leader…

The job of Colorado House Minority Leader has not historically been much of a springboard for higher office, especially picking up the ball after a PR disaster like this one. Rep. Rose Pugliese should think hard about what the consequences of having to answer for Scott Bottoms and his immoderate friends to her long-term political aspirations may be.

Much like Speaker of today’s U.S. House, it’s not a job we would relish.

—–

That’s the breaking news from the floor of the Colorado House of Representatives this morning, embattled Minority Leader Mike Lynch will resign from his post as Minority Leader, though not from his House seat, a week after Lynch’s 2022 arrest and conviction and DUI and carrying a gun while three sheets to the wind was made public by someone who doesn’t want Lynch to win the upcoming CD-4 congressional primary.

In his statement on the House floor this morning, a defiant Lynch blamed ex-Rep. and Colorado GOP chairman Dave “Let’s Go Brandon” Williams for his meddling in the process yesterday:

I want it to be clear that I’m not stepping down because I won a close vote of no confidence. I’m not stepping down because a failed state party chair decided to try and influence the actions of this House. I am stepping down because it’s the right thing to do becasue I have become a distraction for my caucus and that is getting in the way of the hard work we have to do in this building.

Rep. Mike Lynch somehow not getting shot by Colorado State Patrol.
Rep. Mike Lynch somehow not getting shot by Colorado State Patrol.

Lynch is referring to Williams showing up yesterday at the Capitol to openly push for Lynch’s ouster–FOX 31 reports:

Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams attended Tuesday’s caucus meeting. Supporters of Lynch have accused Williams of orchestrating the move to oust the minority leader.

Williams denied those allegations and said he was just at the Capitol by happenstance Tuesday but said the state party wants Lynch out of that position…

“We support these efforts to hold Representative Lynch accountable and he should do the decent thing and resign,” Williams continued. “It’s not just his DUI that’s the problem, it’s the fact that he tried to not have it go public, he engaged in a cover-up. The fact that it came out over a year later, I think is reprehensible.”

It’s unknown as of this writing which rival it was specifically who leaked Lynch’s case to the media, but that’s less important since the records were readily available and their exposure was always inevitable. In media appearances, Lynch maintained the pretense that he was somehow taking ownership of the scandal after it was exposed, even after the video of his arrest exposed Lynch trying to obtain special treatment due to his position. As recently as yesterday Lynch was calling the resurfacing of this case a “hit job” and boasting that even if a no-confidence voter succeeded it might not be binding to force him from the job of House Minority Leader.

Sometime between then and a few minutes ago, Lynch realized his arrogant bravado was no longer tenable.

And so, much like Republicans in Washington, D.C. although under different circumstances, Colorado House Republicans have defenestrated their own leadership under pressure from the hard right. Dave Williams is more than happy to add Mike Lynch to his growing collection of “RINO” scalps. The question now turns to who will succeed Lynch, and the name mentioned most out of dread or glee depending is Rep. Scott “There Is No” Bottoms of Colorado Springs. Bottoms as Minority Leader would mark the end of any pretense of bipartisan cooperation in the House this session, and most likely plunge the chamber into even deeper chaos than we saw last session. Lynch was never particularly interested in controlling the excesses of his nether-right members anyway.

Going forward, Lynch doesn’t have to. It’s the “Bottoms Up” minority now.

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13 thoughts on “BREAKING: Mike Lynch Bows Out As House Minority Leader”

  1. The question is whether the caucus will annoint Rose Puglise as a figurehead because most of them know that she doesn't make them look as ridiculous as Bottoms- I'm guessing the answer is yes (although the Bottoms Caucus including DeGraaf and Stephanie “MyPillow” Luck will continue to drive the sad small bus to the asylum that is the House Minority).

          1. Wow!  The GOP is a one-party crime wave.

            He is the second state GOP chair to leave abruptly this month after Florida Republicans ousted Chairman Christian Ziegler as police investigate a rape allegation against him.

            Late Tuesday, Lake told reporters at Trump's New Hampshire primary victory party that DeWit must step down.

  2. I actually feel a little sorry for Lynch. He's not the first drunk to serve in the legislature and I'm pretty certain he won't be the last. 

    He was trying to straddle that awkward position on the picket fence between the non-crazy Republicans a/k/a RINOs and the full blown lunatic wing of the party. Much like the former House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy. Eventually, everything and everyone caught up with him.

    Will Rose "Stefanik" Pugliese make a bid for the crown? Isn't the Pro-Life But With Excepts for Himself and his Girlfriend Holtorf next in the line of succession to Lynch? Is this Bottom Boy's opportunity to step up?

    As Andrew Lloyd Webber would say, "Dice are rolling, the knives are out, would be minority leaders are all about …."

    1. Here's the thing, my wife's nephew got killed nearly a year and a half ago by a drunk driver, who had priors for reckless driving.  

      On one hand, people fuck up.  On the other, he didn't own up to it and didn't take accountability and tried to have it covered up by playing the "Do you know who I am?" card.  So, while I can't stand the far right MAGAts here (BottomsFeeder and HoldMyBeer Williams) in particular, and I question their motivations for going after Lynch, the reasoning they are giving for doing so, I agree with.  So, I'm thinking "Tough shit" for him.

  3. Colorado Sun article on Lynch's resignation ends with

    House Republicans are scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. Thursday to pick a new minority leader. 

    Assistant House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, is the obvious choice, though others may pursue the job. Bottoms has said he doesn’t want to be minority leader.

  5. So Lynch is keeping his House seat? Give it a few weeks and he may have his "My Kevin" epiphany and decide it's time to go.

    Then again, he may want to be standing outside the GOP leadership tent pissing in.

  6. the republican party, is no longer a valid political entity…they are a collection of criminals, ideologs, and mutants…look at how these maga mutants have harmed our country…in so many ways…the Colorado republicans really should get the fuck out of Colorado, and ply their garbage agenda some where else…these maga mutants are the domestic enemies we have been warned about…republicans get out of Colorado…Texas is looking for more mutants…

  7. I got to give Lynch credit for extracting himself from the vice of GOP leadership. That's the only thing he's done in years to garner respect. Trump will endorse Boebert shortly. 

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