Date: September 2, 2021 at 1:11:07 AM MDT
Subject: State Party CC Meeting - Jeffco Chair Admonition Response
Response to Jeffco Chair Admonition
Dear Republican State Central Committee Members,
We are astounded by Denise Mund's 8/29/2021 email (see below). Her notion that opting out of the open primary will disenfranchise one million Republicans is pure hyperbole. Every Republican in the State is enfranchised with not only a vote in November but with the opportunity to shape policy and decide which candidate(s) will represent the Republican Party in the general election. As far as socialist, leftist and left leaning Unaffiliated voters are concerned, we do want to disenfranchise them from picking weak Republican candidates.
The true "good old boys club" Ms. Mund refers to are the weak-kneed establishment Republicans and win-or-lose money-making consultants who look down their noses at the grass roots stars that actually have the same conservative values as most of the State's Republican voters. Just look at the voting records of the establishment "good old boy" Republicans to see how they are more interested in getting along with Democrats than standing firm on conservative principles and the Republican Party Platform (check out their Liberty Scorecards at http://rlcco.org - There are many Republican Ds and Fs).
Of course, caucus attendance is down in the last several years. That is what the open primary is designed to do, get rid of grass roots choices, and promote weak "dark money" selected candidates. We know many Republicans who have changed to Unaffiliated because they believe the Republican Party has failed them by promoting this open primary scheme. If we want to win them back, we need to vote September 18 to opt-out of the open primary scheme.
You know what they say about insanity. Here in Jefferson County, we Republicans are hanging by a thread. We have a Republican Sheriff and a Republican Surveyor in county government; all 8 other county elected positions are Democrats. We have no State Senators and one Republican State Representative, who has the lowest "F" Republican liberty score in the Colorado House.
We have seen similar shifts to Democrats elected in other counties and statewide levels. We have been steadily losing elections in Colorado, worse and worse, since the open primary law passed in 2016, so clearly what we have been doing is not working. If we continue down this path, Republicans will win NO elections in Colorado, and the party as we know it will cease to exist.
So, the question is: How is this open primary scheme working out for us Republicans in Jefferson County and statewide Ms. Mund, Mr. Rosier, Mr. DeMott...?
We must return to Republicans choosing Republican candidates. We must vote to opt-out of the failed open primary scheme on September 18, 2021. If you are unable to attend the meeting on September 18, 2021, please get your proxy to an opt-out supporter.
Thank you for your diligence,
JEFFCO LIBERTY COALITION
Mike Donahue (Jeffco Republican, Bonus Member, South Jeffco Tea Party Chair),
Jimi McFarland (Jeffco Republican, Bonus Member, North Jeffco Tea Party Chair),
Mason Lee (Republican, Activist, Jeffco 285 Tea Party Chair)
State Party CC meeting
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Sun 8/29/2021 10:05 AM
To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Dear State Central Committee Members,
I've heard you may have been contacted by someone indicating Jeffco GOP leaders will be supporting the opt-out Bylaws change on September 18th. This is patently false.
Vice Chair Don Rosier and Secretary Dave DeMott and I are all voting against the opt out. Here are some of our reasons:
• If we opt-out, only about 3500 Republicans in the state will decide who runs for office on the Republican ticket. That leaves about one million Republicans disenfranchised. When I became Chair, I was told people were tired of the "good old boys club" running the Party and I pledged to stop it.
• If we don't have a Primary Ballot, that leaves only the Democrats getting name recognition for their candidates. Republican candidates won't have that and will be at a disadvantage going into the General Election.
• Attendance at caucus the last several years has been minimal. Most solid conservatives don't keep up on the Party's processes, yet will vote for Republican candidates every time they cast a ballot. We cannot afford to disenfranchise these important voters.
• Most importantly, we simply cannot win General Elections without a strong showing with Unaffiliated voters. Telling Unaffiliated voters, many of whom are good Republicans who switched to Unaffiliated after the last election, they cannot vote in a Primary pushes them even farther away. We need Unaffiliated voters to learn about our candidates and honor their votes for our candidates.
At our Executive Committee meeting last month, we presented, in detail, our position for opposing the opt-out Bylaws change. One of the things we discussed is that rather having division within our Party, we are choosing to alienate Unaffiliated voters, when we need them now more than ever. Moreover, legal remedies have not been pursued so this approach to opt-out is premature.
We agree the current system is problematic. We think everyone coming up with options to remedy the Primary problem would be far more helpful than dividing the Party at this time when we are already the minority Party.
Our party is well-known for the division within our members. I've worked to stop this and am calling on people to join together and WIN elections rather than squabble with each other.
On September 18th, my vote will be to OPPOSE the request to amend State GOP Bylaws to opt-out of the Primary.
For Liberty,
Denise Mund, Chair
Jeffco Republicans