by Ashe in America | Jul 20, 2023 | Feature Story Bottom Left
OPINION
New Party Leadership Inherits Financial Scandal
In the Colorado Republican leadership elections earlier this year, the establishment faced a reckoning. All over the state, America First patriots won county leadership roles, and the State GOP Chairman race resulted in grassroots favorite Dave Williams taking charge of the state party.
In another timeline, you could expect a peaceful transition of power from one leader of the party to another. We are talking about the leadership of a party, after all, a team with shared values and vision. But in this timeline, the Republican Party is engaged in a civil war.
When former Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown left office, her administration claimed to have a surplus of more than one hundred thousand dollars. But according to Chair Williams, “The prior administration did not leave the Party over $100,000 as they falsely claimed.”
And they didn’t just mislead party members about the surplus. According to the new GOP Leadership Team, they spitefully spent it during the “peaceful transition of power.”
“They spent nearly all that was left in the coffers as the new leadership was transitioning into the role,” Williams said, continuing, “while burdening the party with outstanding debts and unfunded obligations.”
It sounds like sabotage, and the new GOP Chair is citing specifics:
“For example, thousands in bonuses were paid to former staff in December of 2022, after the Party suffered its most historic losses the month prior, and this occurred as the last administration knew they owed over $9,000 to the office landlord.”
Colorado Republicans squawked for more than a decade that the purpose of the party is to get Republicans elected. Under Brown’s leadership, they spent those resources fighting America First in the primary rather than allowing voters to decide. And then, of course and without much effort since they’d done their hard work during the primary, they lost competitive seats in the general. That is, they failed to get Republicans elected.
After failing to achieve their fundraising targets, presiding over hemorrhaging party membership, and delivering abysmal midterm election results, party leadership gave themselves bonuses — instead of paying known debts.
This isn’t just spiteful. It’s scandalous.
The Colorado Republican establishment — the likes of Brown’s administration and Buck’s before her, as well as their donors — are content being the minority party in the state. It is uniparty theater at its finest, half measures and fake compromises that benefit the ruling class at the expense of the people.
The people of Colorado — both those inside and outside of the Republican Party — are sick of all the communism. The people desire change. The party’s new Republican leadership wants to be that change, but they’ve got an uphill battle encumbered by brand and trust problems.
Colorado Republicans have spent so much time finding common ground with communists that they’ve made themselves repulsive to voters. And they don’t care. When they lose elections, they just toss up their hands and blame democrats. Then they pay themselves bonuses.
In February, grassroots Republicans flipped the uniparty’s script by electing America First change makers into party leadership. The financial scandal that the new leadership team inherited is obviously punishment for party members that dared to demand change.
Unfortunately for Colorado Republican Party members, there doesn’t appear to be recourse for the KBB and team looting the party’s resources like a mostly peaceful protest.
But unfortunately for the establishment, the new leadership of the party isn’t focused on fighting a detached and divisive civil war. They’re focused on the future. Chair Williams and his team want to be the change, and they appear unphased by the prior administration’s sabotage.
“The new leadership team is making progress and rebuilding the Party from the ground up,” Williams said. “We are treating the Party as a startup and making certain that any investment from donors is wisely spent instead of continuing to allow failed operators to enrich themselves with Party funds.”
In a startup culture you perform or peace out, a refreshing concept for a failing organization propped up by bureaucracy and mediocrity. But streamlining funding alone won’t rebuild public trust. For that, Williams and team need to prove to voters that the Republican Party is actually committed to a Republican form of government.
Ashe Epp is a writer and activist. You can find all her work at Linktree.com/asheinamerica.
by Ashe in America | Jun 23, 2023 | Feature Story Bottom Left
Do you remember the 2022 Colorado Republican Party’s Assembly and Convention? Do you remember the clickers and the controversy and the last-ditch effort to vote the assembly on paper ballots? Do you remember how those choices impacted the primaries?
If you want a different outcome, you need to start planning now. The convention is where the voting members of the party determine which candidates make the primary ballot. Given that we are rushing towards the 2024 GOP conventions, let’s recap what happened in Colorado in 2022.
Dan Schultz has done a great job of educating Republican Party members around the country about the “precinct strategy,” and the role of Precinct Committeemen in the selection of candidates. Here in Colorado, longtime America First Republicans like Peg Cage were holding coffee shop meet ups in early 2021 to educate party newcomers and fill those positions.
They were successful in taking over the party in several counties and, by the time of the 2022 GOP Assembly and Convention, America First grassroots filled enough of the GOP voting positions to make an impact. Outsider America First candidates had a strong showing.
Bob Lewis — a completely unknown candidate — was nominated from the floor to primary Ken Buck. Lewis took 62% of the vote. None of the establishment candidates for U.S. Senate at assembly made the primary ballot except for Ron Hanks, who swept. Across the state, America First won the day.
That’s Lesson One from 2022: Fill the empty voting positions in the GOP. Strategically, the GOP has kept these positions empty, but they will fill them with neocons if necessary.
The morning of the assembly, a group of delegates made a motion for paper ballots. Unfortunately, the complexity involved made the entire process confusing to the delegates. Chairwoman Brown refused to allow debate and framed paper ballots as an impossibility. The motion failed on two separate votes, and the clickers were in.
The clickers were a disaster, further eroding trust in elections and even leading to lawsuits. Some of the clickers had serial numbers and some didn’t. Delegates and chairs from multiple counties reported shortages of clickers — reasons for the shortages varied. Fremont was missing one. Adams was missing 10, but then stated that the shortage was related to an issue with their delegate list. The official answer was that the GOP was short three clickers in total, because they just didn’t have any more.
Training delegates on the clickers felt a lot like trying to help your parents with technology, only with 3,770 additional (and confused) elderly parents. Delegates were told it mattered that the screen said “COUNTED,” but throughout the day, delegates reported that their clickers did not read “COUNTED” after voting. There was no recourse. There was no help desk. Delegates with issues were out of luck.
People with guest badges (not delegate badges) were voting with clickers. I found clickers lying around, and overheard a delegate confirm their choices with a person near them before handing them their clicker, hugging goodbye, and leaving the arena. In a system with integrity, none of those actions would be permissible, but there were zero controls in this process.
That is Lesson Two from 2022: Demand paper ballots now. During the party elections earlier this year, America First assumed party leadership roles, including former State Representative Dave Williams becoming the Colorado GOP Chair. Amend the rules now. Demand paper ballots now.
For the most part, candidates that petitioned onto the ballot without facing voters in the assembly won the Republican primaries. These candidates didn’t campaign, but they “won” against the America First candidates with all the enthusiasm, energy, and public Republican support.
That’s Lesson Three from 2022: Close the Primary. Republican candidates should be selected by Republican voters. I am not a Republican, I understand the impact of what I am saying, and I will say it again: Close the Primary. America First will win with Republican voters.
Let’s recap: The precinct strategy should be the top priority for Republicans; Republicans must work now to ensure that the 2024 candidate selections are conducted with integrity; and, finally, close the Primary so Republican voters determine Republican candidates.
Class dismissed.
Ashe Epp is a writer and activist. You can find all her work at Linktree.com/asheinamerica
by Ashe in America | May 19, 2023 | Feature Story Bottom Left
ASHE IN AMERICA — OPINION
“…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
— Benjamin Franklin, 1789
The 2023 legislative session ended on May 8, with a dramatic showing of party unity that hasn’t occurred since 2003.
The conflict centered on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), and the rapid and deceptive manner with which the Senate Bill 23-303 and House Bill 23-1311 passed the General Assembly.
TABOR is not just a law; it’s a constitutional amendment added in 1992 – by Colorado voters. The purpose of TABOR is to limit the growth of government spending and, when government revenues are more than the allowable limits, return the excess to taxpayers.
The Colorado communists hate TABOR. In 2019, Polis and the legislature attempted to mislead voters into approving Proposition CC, a measure to allow the state to keep excess revenues instead of refunding them to taxpayers as constitutionally required.
Voters rejected Proposition CC; but the persistent commies are trying again. In the final two days of the session, the legislature passed two bills that, when combined, represent the death of TABOR.
It Sounds Nice On Paper
SB23-303 is entitled, “Reduce Property Taxes And Voter-approved Revenue Change.” The title is hilarious considering that the proposal will forever end taxpayer refunds under TABOR and, worse, deliver the largest ever property tax increase for Colorado taxpayers. (Spoiler: The largest ever increase is coming regardless, so steel yourself if you own property.)
HB23-1311 is entitled, “Identical Temporary TABOR Refund.” The bill is written in a way that deceives voters into believing its passage strengthens TABOR. Proponents will likely use the bill’s deceptive language to persuade voters when the two measures’ Proposition HH hits the ballot in November.
Proposition HH is well summarized by Independence Institute TV (IITV) in a May 5 YouTube report:
“The proposal manipulates the refund formula over time, causing taxpayers to give up billions of dollars from their refunds. It allows the legislature to continue collecting extra tax revenue without voter approval, potentially accumulating over $400 billion over the next three decades. The plan offers minimal relief by reducing the assessment rate by less than 1%, but it comes at the cost of giving up taxpayer refunds forever.”
Why’d They Wait To The Last Minute?
If you require more evidence that Colorado Democrats are pulling a fast one, consider the proposal’s expedited journey under the dome. Rumored for months, the proposal was only introduced in the final week of session. SB23-303 was introduced on May 1, 2023, and HB23-1311 was introduced on May 6. The legislative session ended May 8.
I reached out to Representative Ken DeGraff for comment, who told me, “Time was not afforded to understand it because they don’t want you to understand it.”
SB23-303 passed the Senate along party lines but, in the House, the Democrat bill sponsors sparked outrage with uncommon third reading amendment. Livid Republicans alleged the amendment was an attempt to buy votes and contended that third reading amendments were only afforded to Democrats. They also maintain that the third reading circus was proof that the bill was not ready for a vote.
Instead of voting, all 19 House Republicans walked out of the chamber. The bill passed 43-0. The drama of a legislative walkout hasn’t happened since 2003, when Senate Democrats, who were in the minority, refused to vote on a redistricting bill.
DeGraff explained, “HB23-1311 is a bribe to tempt about 60% of the population into voting to take money from the other 40% via a flat-rate TABOR refund,” which in linking the bill to SB23-303 will ultimately, “make TABOR irrelevant through Proposition HH.”
From IITV, “The property tax plan is not a heroic rescue but rather extortion, offering a bad solution to a problem they created.”
According to House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, the proposal is a “scheme that the governor waited until the last minutes of session to pull.”
DeGraff was more direct, “When deliberation is considered odious to a deliberative legislative system, the system is broken. The Republican caucus chose to no longer participate in the charade, and to make it known that the legislature has become a farce.”
Maddening. But not surprising.
In Colorado, nothing is certain but death, taxes, and the government’s ongoing attempts to exterminate our rights.
Ashe Epp is a writer and election integrity activist. Read her work at asheinamerica.com and follow her on Telegram and other socials @asheinamerica.
by Ashe in America | Apr 21, 2023 | Feature Story Bottom Left
On Monday April 10, former Mesa County Clerk & Recorder Tina Peters appeared in court for sentencing on her Obstruction of Government Operations conviction last month.
Accused of attempting to prevent officials from seizing her iPad, Peters was sentenced to four months of home detention with an ankle monitor, 120 hours of community service, and an almost $800 fine. Peters is appealing the sentence.
“I don’t even have a traffic ticket,” Peters told me. “This is pretty harsh for a first-time offender and Gold Star mom with no prior criminal history.”
Peters made headlines in 2021 when she did a full back up, as required by law, of her county’s electronic voting machines prior to the State’s “Trusted Build” software update.
What followed was a whole-of-government effort to demonize and persecute the duly elected Clerk in an effort to discredit the shocking truth her actions would reveal.
The state took over the Mesa County Clerk’s office, ousted Peters’ loyal staff, and engaged in one of the greatest coverup operations in the history of Colorado.
But the damage to the official election narrative was already done.
A series of reports by cyber and technology experts revealed multiple state and federal violations of election law by the Secretary of State and election vendors.
The first Mesa County Forensic report, delivered September 15, 2021, revealed, “…election records, including data described in the Federal Election Commission’s 2002 Voting System Standards (VSS) mandated by Colorado law as certification requirements for Colorado voting systems, have been destroyed on Mesa County’s voting system, by the system vendor and the Colorado Secretary of State’s office.”
In case you think the local authorities in Mesa County are serious about finding and exposing the truth, within seconds of the report being delivered to the County Commissioners, it was leaked to reporters.
Before the Commissioners read it, they leaked it.
The second forensic analysis, delivered March 1, 2022, revealed that Mesa County’s electronic voting systems contained 36 separate wireless devices, allowing connections to the internet and/or other outside devices that can connect to the internet.
Now remember that, at the time, the standard narrative was that our electronic voting systems “cannot connect to the internet.” Despite that lie being uttered, repeatedly and under oath, across the nation, it was immediately memory-holed.
At once, the narrative shifted to “the systems weren’t connected to the internet,” and the Colorado Secretary of State now issues guidance to local clerks to monitor election systems to ensure they don’t accidentally reconnect to the internet. Notably, no one was monitoring for this during the 2020 election. Back then, the machines “couldn’t” connect to the internet.
The second report also revealed that Mesa’s system was set up to automatically delete audit records and system log files during the “Trusted Build,” despite the legal requirements to retain all records and log files for 22 months federally and 25 months in Colorado.
The third report, delivered March 19, 2022, revealed the creation of shadow databases, in the system back end — as well as illegal software and actual vote swapping — without the knowledge of election officials.
This is the equivalent of keeping a separate set of books in accounting, and this finding was so explosive that District Attorney Dan Rubenstein had to pretend to investigate to explain it away. Rubenstein’s “investigation” was conducted in collaboration with Dominion Voting Systems — yes, really — and he shakily explained away the damning discovery as human error and “time drift.”
Revealing the truth about our elections — and the level to which career elected officials are covering them up — is Tina Peters’ real crime.
Tina Peters will be back in court on May 5 for a “Contempt of Court” charge relating to recording a public, livestreamed hearing. The main trial on Peters’ indictment on seven felonies and three misdemeanors is set for October 17.
Remarkably, Peters remains faithful and unphased. “I am taking some time off to relax, spend time with God, and seek where He wants me to go, and what He wants me to do next.”
As the persecution of Peters has shown, true leadership in the face of overwhelming opposition is both remarkable and rare.
She deserves our gratitude. And she certainly has mine.
Ashe Epp is a writer and activist. You can find all her work at linktr.ee/asheinamerica
by Ashe in America | Mar 21, 2023 | Feature Story Bottom Left
On Wednesday, March 8, 2023, Senator Julie Gonzales (@SenadoraJulie) tweeted:
“Current POV: I am in the Senate State Affairs committee today, where we will be hearing three bills designed to prevent gun violence from harming our communities. It’ll be a long day, but I couldn’t be prouder.”
What a hero! Preventing gun violence in our communities is important.
We must fight to increase firearm education and access, reducing irrational fear and ensuring our armed society can function safely. We must eliminate the “gun-free” zones that make unprotected targets of our most vulnerable populations. We must prosecute criminals that commit gun violence to the fullest extent of the law.
Because the Second Amendment protects our right to self defense, let’s make our American armed society safe, Senator!
Now, let’s look at those bills.
SB23-170: EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER PETITIONS
This bill expands red flag laws.
“The bill expands the list of who can petition for an extreme risk protection order to include licensed medical care providers, licensed mental health-care providers, licensed educators, and district attorneys.”
If SB23-170 passes, the government can declare you at extreme risk via the district attorney and separate you from your firearms. But wait, there’s more!
We’re paying for “a public education campaign regarding the availability of, and the process for requesting, an extreme risk protection order.” But we won’t educate people about firearms.
SB23-168: GUN VIOLENCE VICTIMS’ ACCESS TO JUDICIAL SYSTEM
This bill expands people’s ability to sue “firearm industry members” if their loved ones are killed by firearms. That worked so well with tobacco companies.
“Current law limits product liability actions against manufacturers of firearms and ammunition to situations in which there was a defect in the design or manufacture of a firearm or ammunition. The bill repeals that limitation.”
They declare that “firearm industry members” are those “engaged in the manufacture, distribution, importation, marketing, or wholesale or retail sale” of firearms.
SB23-169: INCREASING MINIMUM AGE TO PURCHASE FIREARMS
The final bill on the agenda for Gonzales’ hearing raises the age to purchase, possess, sell, or transfer a firearm from 18 to 21.
Think about that. My 18-year-old son can die for Ukraine, gun in hand, but he would be prohibited from defending himself or his family at home.
Inexplicably, they also reduce the penalties for selling firearms to minors, from a class 4 Felony to a class 2 Misdemeanor. This is like the formula for the war on drugs.
IS THIS ALL FOR SHOW?
HB23-1230: PROHIBIT ASSAULT WEAPONS IN COLORADO
From my view, these bills are a distraction from the one that makes it a crime to own a firearm.
No big deal. It’s for your safety. Also, the bill does not apply to the military, government, and peace officers because they need to — and totally will — protect you once they take your firearms away. Just look at history. That’s always what happens.
“The bill defines the term “assault weapon” and prohibits a person from manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, offering to sell, or transferring ownership of an assault weapon.”
The definition focuses on firearm features of both long guns and handguns.
“Assault weapons are uniquely lethal due to tactical features that are designed for the battlefield in order to injure or kill large numbers of people quickly and efficiently. These tactical features differentiate assault weapons from other firearms. These features include detachable magazines, barrel shrouds, pistol grips, forward grips, and telescoping stocks, which allow a shooter to either conceal the weapon or make it easier to fire a high volume of ammunition in a short period of time while maintaining accuracy.”
Why do we allow Gonzales and the Colorado Communists to openly infringe upon our inalienable rights?
Why do we tolerate the proud and public collapse of the oath in another unwinnable war?
These bills will likely pass through committee and may even become law. Obviously, then legal challenges will commence all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and ultimately, they will be ruled unconstitutional.
If that doesn’t happen, then the Constitution of the United States is no longer active. May the odds be ever in your favor.
Either way, the lawyers will make a fortune. They always do.
Ashe Epp is a writer and election integrity activist. Read her work at asheinamerica.com and follow her on Telegram and other socials @asheinamerica.
by Ashe in America | Feb 22, 2023 | Feature Story Bottom Left
Senate Bill 23-101, “Candidate Ballot Access For Primary Elections,” is currently making its way through the Colorado General Assembly. The bill is sponsored by Senate Minority Whip Barbara Kirkmeyer (R-SD23) and House Minority Caucus Chair Mary Bradfield (R-HD21).
During the midterms, Kirkmeyer made a run for the newly formed Congressional District 8. The first step in that process is the traditional caucus and assembly, but Kirkmeyer opted out and, instead, paid to gather signatures rather than face her party’s most active and engaged members. The 2022 Colorado Assembly was swept by America First candidates, and CD8 was no exception. Former Representative Lori Saine (R-HD63), the only Colorado legislator to hold a hearing on election integrity in 2020, won the top line on the primary ballot.
The CD8 primary was vicious and, while Kirkmeyer was victorious, she faced allegations of election interference and debate rigging. Like all the other unlikeable Colorado establishment candidates who inexplicably won their primaries, Kirkmeyer lost her midterm election. Democrat Yadira Caraveo is now in Washington, D.C.
Mary Bradfield, on the other hand, did go through assembly. She lost to Karl Dent. She was off the ballot until a judge said that the HD21 assembly result be thrown out — due to a single delegate being improperly credentialed during the vote. Given the procedural and credentialing issues at assembly, as well as clicker malfunctions that led to multiple legal actions, this was highly unusual and shocked the state. When the vote was repeated, Bradfield made the primary ballot and, of course, “won” the primary.
After their humiliating losses in the party process, Kirkmeyer and Bradfield have come together on SB23-101: “Candidate Ballot Access For Primary Elections.”
What is the substance of the bill? To abolish caucus and assembly.
“Section 1 of the bill eliminates the option for a major political party candidate to access a primary election ballot by being nominated through the political party assembly process.” Section 16 does the same for minor parties.
Please understand what is happening here: The primary sponsor of the bill to abolish caucus and assembly did not go through caucus and assembly — likely because she wouldn’t have advanced if required to face actual voters. The co-sponsor of the bill failed at assembly and had to use the courts to subvert the people’s process.
It’s much easier to pay people to circulate petitions for you when you’re unlikeable and your policies are detached from the will of the voters. And that’s the point.
As I have been saying for years, the Colorado Republican party is content being the Minority Party in the state. They have no desire to change. In fact, they are so resistant to change they are attempting to harden the rules to prevent change.
But the people of Colorado want change, and SB23-101 being brought by Republicans should surprise the many voters who’ve only recently engaged with this party (which is now looking to shut them out).
During the 2022 election cycle, the Colorado Republican Party saw the highest levels of enthusiasm and engagement they’ve enjoyed since 2010. You’ll recall that 2010 was the year the GOP nearly became a minor party in Colorado due to voters rejecting them outright. Rather than realize that their party establishment was detached from their voting base, the party doubled down over the next decade to alienate even more Colorado voters and hemorrhage party members. The Democrat Party has also seen a steady decline year-over-year.
Colorado voters have lost faith in the parties. As of February 2, 2023, Colorado has 3,800,543 active and 416,340 inactive voters, for a total registered voting population of 4,216,883. 27% are Democrats, 24% are Republican, and 47% are unaffiliated. Unaffiliated registrations have consistently increased for 11 years, up 1% since last year.
The response of the Colorado Republican Party is to remove the people from the process. Access to the ballot, if Kirkmeyer and Bradfield get their way, will be a matter determined by the candidates and the Secretary of State.
This isn’t a meaningful legislative proposal. It’s the scorn of two unpopular establishmentarians who should have lost their contests.
“Candidate Ballot Access For Primary Elections” was introduced in January and, surprisingly, has not yet been killed in committee.
Ashe Epp is a writer and election integrity activist. Read her work at asheinamerica.com and follow her on Telegram and other socials @asheinamerica.
