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June 07, 2024 10:37 AM UTC

Words Matter: Anti-LGBTQ Rhetoric Starts New Call for Resignation of State Party Chairman

  • 23 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Do you hear the words coming out of your mouth?

 

Post by @kyleclark9news
View on Threads

 

—–
The Colorado Republican Party as we know it ended its life on May 21, 2024 when it issued a call to all Republicans to withdraw their children from public schools on account of a bonkers belief that teachers and administrators across the state are trying to “transgender” innocent children. This call was the extension of a years-long conspiracy theory — one that is COMPLETELY UNFOUNDED but promoted extensively by failed 2022 gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl — that children in Colorado schools are being allowed to dress up as “furries” and spend the school day pretending to be cats.

Colorado GOP chairman Dave Williams

It is beyond ridiculous for the Colorado Republican Party to insist that Republicans remove their children from public schools. But just in case that wasn’t enough to convince rational Republicans to abandon the State GOP, the Party this week decided to attack all LGBTQ Coloradans. As 9News reported:

The Colorado GOP’s mass email titled “God Hates Pride,” read, in part, “The month of June has arrived and, once again, the godless groomers in our society want to attack what is decent, holy, and righteous so they can ultimately harm our children.”

The message to Colorado Republicans was headlined with an image reading “God Hates Flags,” a nod to the anti-gay slur on the picket signs of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church.

The party’s message was signed by chairman Dave Williams. A post from the Colorado Republican Party on X, formerly Twitter, read simply, “Burn all the #pride flags this June.”

After what we described as “muffled condemnation” of these recent messages from the State GOP, the backlash is starting to rise.

The Jefferson County Republican Party is today calling on State GOP Chair Dave Williams to resign and suggesting that more such demands are on the way:

Via Kyle Clark of 9News

Clark is rightly suspicious that such a widespread rebuke of Williams will actually happen. After all, Williams has been systematically destroying the State Republican Party for more than a year now — and is now robbing them in front of their eyes — while other Republicans have done little more than grumble. There is reason to believe that we might have reached a tipping point, however.

The GOP’s anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has created national headlines. Aurora City Councilman Curtis Gardner — one of the few Republicans left in office in large municipalities — has publicly left the Republican Party because of the recent hateful messaging. And Republican Party officials, like those in Jeffco, are probably getting nervous because it appears that people might actually be heeding the call to “burn all the #pride flags.” As Fox 31 reports from Arvada:

 

Jeffco “activist” Lindsay Datko was celebrated for her anti-trans rhetoric by the GOP training organization “Leadership Program of the Rockies.”

A widespread Republican revolt against the leadership of Williams would be a nice start, but the GOP needs to do more than just condemn one man. As disgusting as it may be, this anti-LGBTQ and anti-public schools rhetoric serves a purpose: To turn out the far-right base of voters that State Party favorites need in order to succeed in the June 25th Primary Elections. Sadly, this kind of public hate helps candidates like Williams, who is also running for Congress in CO-05, as well as State Party-endorsed candidates such as Ron Hanks (CO-03) and Lauren Boebert (CO-04). It’s not an accident.

For years Republicans have tolerated this sort of hate speech. At best, they ignore it. At worst, they hand out awards to people who parrot the hostility. 

Lindsay Datko, the nutball founder of “Jeffco Kids First,” received the “Defenders of the Declaration” award from the GOP-aligned “Leadership Program of the Rockies” in 2023 for promoting the absurd idea that “furries” were infiltrating Jefferson County schools. “Jeffco Kids First” is now promoting an August fundraising event — with Riley Gaines, the former competitive swimmer turned anti-trans activist — that the group says will help “fund ongoing legal action and advice” as they try to win a doomed libel suit against Colorado Community Media (which reported on Datko’s group and their furry madness). What has the Jefferson County Republican Party said about this? Not a damn thing. 

What about State Representatives Scott “There is No” Bottoms and Ken “Dildo” DeGraff of Colorado Springs, both of whom regularly vomit out hate speech and accuse Democrats of being pedophiles? Is anybody going to ask them to stop?

How about State Rep. Brandi Bradley of Littleton, who is a fervent anti-trans hatemonger and even encourages death threats against Democratic lawmakers? Crickets.

State GOP Chairman Dave Williams is definitely a disaster, but he’s not the problem for the Republican Party. Williams knows that there is an AUDIENCE for messages about abandoning public schools and burning Pride flags; that audience exists because other Republicans either agree with the hate speech or are unwilling to do anything about it.

If you’re not sure about where to stand, look around and see who else is standing next to you. If people like Williams, Bottoms, DeGraaf, Bradley, Ganahl, Datko and many others are on your side of the room and you don’t try to be somewhere else…then you’re part of the problem, too.

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23 thoughts on “Words Matter: Anti-LGBTQ Rhetoric Starts New Call for Resignation of State Party Chairman”

    1. I got the ballots for both parties. Not sure I'm going to waste the time sending either back.

      But I was surprised to see that the GOP is not running a candidate for DA in the First Judicial District.

          1. Yep — and running unopposed in the primary… So, November will be an election with a face-off between

            District Attorney – 18th Judicial District
            Democratic Party
            Amy Padden
            Y

            District Attorney – 18th Judicial District
            Republican Party
            Carol Chambers
            Y

            George Brauchler wrote about the contestants:

            The 2020 Democrat nominee for the 18th Judicial District (Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties), Amy Padden, received Bernie Sanders’ endorsement and ran on a platform of broad reform, claiming “racism and systemic inequities continue in our criminal justice system.” She pledged not to ever prosecute juvenile offenders as adults. With light experience as a part-time rural prosecutor of low-level state criminal offenses, Padden narrowly lost to uber-experienced Republican John Kellner in Colorado’s most populous jurisdiction….

            She will face Republican and former DA Carol Chambers (2005-2013), a career prosecutor.

            The district has a clear tilt in voters: Arapahoe
            Democrats :  121,467
            Republicans   81,683
            Unaffiliated 197,763
            total 408,938

            1. Chambers is the only one running for the GOP because no one else wants to be the sacraficial lamb to lose to McPadden.

              Oh, and McPadden was never called out by now-Justice Samour for tweeting from counsel table in the middle of a mass murder trial.

              1. If Padden follows the same policies, she may well get kicked out, too.  But like SF and Portland, it will happen in a Democratic primary. 

                Chances seem slim for a Republican DA in a district with 40,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans and elections happening in Presidential years.

                 

              2. I seriously doubt that Amy Padden is another Chesa Boudin. 

                She's actually worked as prosecutor. And she's exerienced violent crime. Her ex-husband was a deputy DA in Adams County and was killed returning home one night.

                The fact that Boy George accuses her of coddling up to Bernie Sanders doesn't make her hard left. From George Brauchler's perspective, I would probably qualify as a member of the Squad.

          2. My jaw dropped when I saw her name on the R ballot.  I don't think she has a snowball's chance, since Padden took Arapahoe by more than 50,000 votes over Kellner.  Carol is a weird, weird person.  Years ago I was involved in a case where we were attempting to strike a plea deal with her.  She said at the meeting that she had to go pray on this one.  She has no business being anywhere near a DA's badge ever again.  She got off easy on her shenanigans that got her a public censure.  She should go join George's team in the new 23rd.  Let her handle the Lincoln County docket. 

        1. Really! Remember how Dave Thomas pulled off the big upset in the 90's by dislodging the incumbent Republican DA because after he was shown the office suite in Taj Mahal set aside for his staff and him, said too, and insisted the county fund a new, separate building for his department?

          Not only did the Dems take the county commissioners' seat but the DA's Office to boot!

  4. So, I've seen people calling on Williams to resign (yeah, like that would be likely to happen). Some County party officials, incumbents in office, and candidates have all spoken.  Apparently, the rule is 60% of those voting at a central committee meeting with the item on the agenda.  Kyle Clark had a Thread saying

    A Jeffco GOP statement says there will be a mass call for Williams' resignation Friday from "numerous Colorado Republican County Chairs, other county party officers, members of the Colorado State Central Committee in all 64 Counties, and many Republican candidates."

    Some candidates say they won't accept the state party's endorsement but are still running under the "Republican" label.

    Aurora Councilman Curtis Gardner.said he was quitting the Colorado GOP in response to what he called the party’s “latest hateful stunt.”  I've not seen other elected officials or party officers resigning from the Williams-led Repugnant-cons. 

  6. Momentum is building to oust Williams as GOP party chair. The people signing on to Jeffco chair Palozzi’s petition to boot Williams reads like a "Who's Who" of Colorado Republicans: current candidates includong Evans, Holtorf, Lynch, Kirkmeyer, other party officials, and others. 

    Williams responds by gay-baiting. But that tactic doesnt work like it used to when Williams would threaten to kill gay people with AR15s back in 2013.  Or break up the EPCo GOP over homophobic comments. 

    1. Like it or not, shit-turd Williams won't be going anywhere unless if he doesn't get elected to Congress. And only maybe then.

      1. Well, isn’t that why he wanted the Chair’s job; so he could use the party’s machinery to run for Congress? Yeah, if he doesn’t make it out of the primary, he’ll probably heed the calls to step down. Electing him Chair was the beginning of the end of the Colorado Republican Party. I wonder if they’ve figured that out yet?

        1. "figured that out yet….." Well, I have yet to see the equivalent of Mitt Romney, Brian Fitzpatrick, or Lisa Murkowski in the Colorado Republican party to help deal them with their angst and foolishness ("foolishness" = Hanks, Boebert, Peters et al). And at my age, I have no interest in digging into the trenches of intra-party disputes. 

  7. The Colorado GOP is running neck-and-neck to Michigan and Arizona for Most Likely to Terminate.  Put 'em on a rocket w Elon Reeve Musk, and ship to Mars, non-stop. 

    1. I think the GOP is snatching its "rattling last breath". (HT to J.Tull)

      The MAGA movement is floundering in many parts of the country. The MAGA movement will never be able to mount a national effort that will avail them any significant growth. There just aren't enough of them. The Orange Horde is made up of idol worshipers and criminals.

      The demise of the GQP is imminent.

    2. Didn't the Michigan GOP already go to auto-destruct?

      They had some election denier as chair but there was an attempt to remove her as chair?  Whatever happened to that?

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