Woodward Studios
Excercising Your Franchise
Blasting with Boyles
OPINION
By the time you read this you may have already voted by mail-in or you’re waiting for that November magic day to go exercise your franchise. To whom to do we owe this privilege that indeed men have given their lives for, for your right to vote?
Democracy, and we are a republic not a democracy, but democracy means rule by the people. It was a phrase that the Greeks of Athens used to describe their self-rule.
Some Romans carried on part of those policies and also in Venice, in the time of the doges. And after that voting was snuffed out by the powers that be. When this country broke from Britain in 1776, voting rights were based on property ownership, and white men over the age of 21 of the Protestant religion.
In 1830, our country dropped religion and property ownership as stipulations to vote. The first presidential election in 1789, states were given the power to regulate their own voting laws, and in some states Catholics, Jews, and Quakers were barred from voting.
We all know the struggle of women’s suffrage. And the Supreme Court once ruled that Native Americans were not citizens so they couldn’t vote either.
Filipinos were barred as late as 1925, unless they served three years in the Navy. Richard Nixon lowered the voting age to 18 in the 26th Amendment and now here we are.
Which brings me to my first experience voting. It was Lyndon Johnson versus Barry Goldwater in 1964, and at the time I was working in a steel mill and on election day, walking to punch your timecard, in what was the time shack, was my union representative. To man after man, he would snap a sheet of paper and hand it to you and say this is who your union endorses. Of course it was from Johnson to dog catcher, they were Democrats.
I, until recently, believed Republicans had tails, and now this day and age, I’m not sure they don’t. But I went with my dad, walked past all the poll watchers, and the union reps wearing what we used to call sandwich boards with Lyndon Johnson’s name on them. The bars were closed because if you can buy an Irishman drinks you can buy an Irishman’s vote.
So now we come to today.
As I said at the opening, men and women have given their lives for the right that you have beginning in the middle of October through voting day in November.
Now we come to this crossroads. What did we learn by a study of the world’s oldest democracy, but that the right to make this choice can easily be taken away.
But if you look at the complex system that we see in America today, developed in Greece and Rome, there is so much on the line. We have now dropped religion and property ownership, and everyone over the age of 18 that is a true citizen now will have the ability to change the course of this country.
Next month we will know.
— Peter Boyles
At Last! If We Can Pass Prop 131 The Very Rich Can Finally Jettison All Regular Citizens From Politics
Editorial —
Kent Thiry — A pretty face can hide an evil mind.
It is said that money is the mother’s milk of politica. But what if we could make it not only just the most important thing in politics but the “only thing.” Kent Thiry, the former CEO of DaVita, a dialysis provider, who somehow managed to escape two federal charges for labor market collusion, is back with another ballot measure to finally destroy elections in Colorado.
Thiry is well known for pouring millions of dollars into highly effective and unopposed television commercials that push changes to the Colorado electoral system that would benefit “practical politicians” like himself, but what he means is multi-millionaires like himself.
He hates political parties where everyday citizens can have a say and not just the millionaires who fund the parties. His latest scam is Proposition 131 which will abolish partisan primaries and impose rank choice voting for the four top vote getters that go on to the general election.
In Alaska where the system was imposed in 2020 there were over 40 candidates running in the nonpartisan open primary. Four candidates made it to the general election where voters listed their preferences from one to four. As no one got a majority of the number one votes, they dropped off the candidate who got the least number one votes of the four, and saw who those voters’ second choice was and counted them as number one votes. This went on until one candidate received a majority.
This is the system that Thiry wants Colorado voters to adopt under Prop 131. In the nonpartisan primary to make the final four for the general election name recognition is the name of the game. In Alaska one person who named himself “Santa Claus” came in sixth.
To get name recognition, normally candidates must run countless television ads which cost a great deal of money. Either you’re rich or are the candidate of one or more wealthy donors.
Average citizens who participate in politics normally become party precinct committee persons and work their way up the chain. Under Prop 131 all that would become void; only the very rich, like Kent Thiry, will determine who is elected to public office. In back rooms they will also manipulate the final four candidates to see who finally becomes elected to the public office.
Thiry is running endless ads saying that if 131 passes it will get parties out of politics (true) and comically that Prop 131 will even get wealthy donors out of the political process. If he was an honest person (which he is not) Thiry would have said that under Prop 131 only the very rich will have any say in elections.
Alaska was so disgusted by Thiry’s system that voters have placed a proposition to get rid of nonpartisan jungle primaries and rank choice voting on the ballot this year. It is hoped that the latest fool’s gold proposition by Kent Thiry is decisively voted down by the Colorado voters. If not, it may be one of the last votes by Colorado voters that matters.
— Editorial Board
Embarrassing! Eli Bremer’s Failed Coup And ‘Colorado’s Kamala’
ASHE IN AMERICA — OPINION
Dave Williams is the Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, but Eli Bremer claimed the title after a dubious meeting on Saturday, August 24.
Billed as an official gathering of the party’s State Central Committee, a fraction of delegates — and no one from current party leadership — showed up to participate in the ousting of Chairman Dave Williams, Vice Chair Hope Scheppelman, and Secretary Anna Ferguson.
The meeting was contested before it began.
Flip Flopping Court Findings
At the end of July, Arapahoe County District Court Judge Thomas Willard Henderson IV issued a temporary restraining order on the meeting, stating, “the leadership of the Colorado Republican Party would be called into question, leaving the party in disarray roughly 100 days before election day on Nov. 5, 2024.”
Henderson reversed course on August 6, rescinding his TRO. The reversal stated that the Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case and should never have issued the TRO to begin with.
On August 24, the meeting proceeded. It was a who’s who of establishment figures who’ve been repeatedly rejected by Republican voters. Former Chair Kristi Burton Brown reportedly played a facilitation role, along with Senior Advisor to Runbeck Election Services and serial “public servant,” Wayne Williams.
Williams is also the former Colorado Republican Secretary of State that unsuccessfully attempted to mandate Dominion Voting Systems in 2016. “When they do buy new equipment, at least the software must be from Dominion,” said Williams, in a 2016 interview reported by Complete Colorado at the time. He lost that battle in court.
“What’s important to clarify, the court DID NOT rule on the legality of the dispute,” the State Executive Committee stated in a letter to the party.
The dispute is that the official State Central Committee meeting was already scheduled for August 31, in accordance with the GOP bylaws. The bylaws also explicitly and repeatedly give authority to the “CRC Chairman,” which is Dave Williams.
The statement continued, “The Republican National Committee’s own parliamentarian, Al Gage, issued an opinion along with our own parliamentarian, Gregory Carlson, outlining why August 31st is the only legitimate meeting.” The letter linked to the opinions of both Parliamentarians.
When reached for comment after the August 24 meeting, Chairman Williams expanded on the statement, “The court did not give an opinion on who has jurisdiction because the State Central Committee has the jurisdiction.”
A Clear Coup
Republican bylaws state that 30% of delegates need to be present for a quorum and 60% of the entire SCC must be present to oust leadership. During the meeting, those present — roughly, 77 in person delegates and 104 proxies — voted to interpret the 60% rule as 60% of those present, not of the total SCC, so they could continue their illegitimate vote. There are 414 total delegates, so around 19% were actually participating in person.
The result of the vote to oust the three officers was 166.66-12. Once “removed,” those present voted on replacements, and Eli Bremer was “elected” Chairman.
What came next is reminiscent of Joe Biden’s actions in the wake of November 3, 2020. It also recalls Kamala Harris’ conduct since the Sunday afternoon ousting of Joe Biden.
Bremer immediately updated his social media presence, referring to himself as “Chair of the Colorado Republican Party,” and engaged in over-communication about his progress. His feed on X, formerly Twitter, is a masterclass in pretend authority.
Bremer called candidates and NGOs and associations, repeatedly citing the authority of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) – “a political committee devoted to increasing the number of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives” – as though this political committee is somehow an authority over the Republican National Committee (RNC).
It’s not. The NRCC has no official authority in party affairs, at the local, state, or national levels.
One of my favorite moments from Bremer’s post-coup hysteria is his spin on the GOP Headquarters.
“The historical COGOP HQ has been non-functional for a while. Working to bring it back. In the mean time, if candidates need support for collateral storage and distribution, we have a new temp HQ set up. Working to bring Trump collateral into CO ASAP. @GOP @NRCC,” Bremer posted on X on August 28.
The COGOP HQ is currently occupied by actual COGOP leadership. Bremer’s “new temp HQ” should remind everyone of Joe Biden’s “Office of the President Elect” branding that was ubiquitous in the aftermath of the stolen election.
Some readers might be surprised to learn that a Republican, and a former Olympian, is exhibiting all the classic earmarks of the so-called ruler of the United States, but Bremer revealed himself as an establishment hack in the wake of losing his 2022 Senate run.
In June 2022, Bremer published, “Is It Time Republicans Outsource The Caucus System?” in Campfire Colorado. The article is no longer available – notable and also reminiscent of Democrat tactics – though Bremer’s Facebook Post announcing the piece is still on his page.
You read that right: from his prior positions, Bremer appears to be aligned with Kent Thiry’s radical transformation of ballot access in Colorado elections — Initiative 310 (vote NO). That’s in addition to his rapid and radical moves as the ruling junta of the fake Republican party.
The Actual Official Proceeding
On August 31, the State Central Committee officially gathered with 204 members present in person and by proxy, establishing a quorum to conduct business.
The body moved quickly to pass bylaw amendments, including upholding the State Executive Committee Decision that the August 24 meeting and its outcome were invalid. The decision was amended to add a concurring statement from the State Central Committee.
Party leadership then voluntarily called for a removal vote as a show of good faith to party delegates that may be concerned about the dueling proceedings. From the COGOP official statement:
“Even though the State Executive Committee Decision was upheld, your true State Party Officers voluntarily submitted ourselves to a removal vote.
The Removal Results were as follows:
No (Retain): 191.5
Yes (Remove): 10
The majority has spoken, and your true State Party Leadership team will jealously defend these results against a vocal minority in and out of court.”
Notably, the official August 31 proceeding had a greater number of delegates present, credentialed and voting, and Chairman Williams received a greater share of the total party vote than Mr. Bremer during the prior vote.
As the RNC parliamentarian already issued a statement on which meeting was the official proceeding, Williams, Ferguson, and Scheppelman’s victory appears conclusive.
“There was never any real support to remove any of the officers and today proved it,” Chairman Williams said when reached for comment after the official meeting.
In light of the totality of the circumstances and evidence, what we have here is a failed coup by the former ruling coalition of Colorado Republicans — the same coalition that was rejected by Republican voters in every official party proceeding since 2022.
Voters’ rejection of this coalition is consistent because it is overwhelmingly clear that their goal is raising money, whining about Colorado Democrats, and failing to accomplish ANY Republican platform objectives — including the primary objective of electing Colorado Republicans.
Readers will recall the December 2022 financial scandal where this same ruling coalition paid themselves bonuses out of the party coffers, despite a complete and total failure to achieve the much anticipated “red wave.” Bonuses are generally an award for exemplary performance, and it’s never been established what accomplishment those bonuses awarded.
Perhaps their actual objective was defeating the red wave and draining party resources prior to their ousting. I’m speculating, of course, but their ongoing conduct appears to support my speculation.
Bremer and company cherish their role as the minority party in our state — the pomp and party planning, the promises, and always out of reach progress — and this failed coup was an attempt to get back to that “important,” subversive work.
Chairman Williams blasted the failed coup leaders, asserting that all his opponents have done is “sow chaos and division with less than 65 days left in this election.”
He’s not wrong. Because of Republican infighting, voters are confused and disillusioned with the party, while enemies of the people continue to radically reshape Colorado civic life. (Side note: Again, please vote NO on ballot initiative 310 if you ever want to have a voice in your own self governance again.)
“We hope they stop harming the State Party and, instead, join with everyone else in electing President Trump this November,” Williams told me.
Me too, Mr. Chairman, but don’t count on it. These uniparty coup leaders have a job to do, and that job isn’t electing Republicans.
Eli Bremer did not respond to Chronicle requests for comment. Notably, he’s still calling himself “Chairman” in his social bios.
This saga is likely heading to court.
Ashe in America is a writer and activist. Find all her work at linktree.com/asheinamerica.
