NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado issued a report yesterday exposing the legislative influence in Colorado of two national anti-choice organizations, Americans United for Life (AUL) and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), as well as the state-wide network of “crisis pregnancy centers.”

During the last legislative session, five bills and one resolution were modeled on AUL draft legislation, and AUL staff testified at numerous committee hearings, according to the report, titled “Against Our Will: How National Anti-Choice Groups are Targeting the Pro-Choice Majority in Colorado.”

None of these bills had much chance of becoming law, as pro-choice Democrats control the governor’s office and state house.

But two of the proposed laws generated serious media attention: a measure requiring women to have an ultrasound prior to obtaining an abotion and a “fetal personhood” bill giving legal rights to a fetus, potentially threatening abortion rights, and allowing prosecutors to bring murder charges if a fetus is destroyed during criminal acts.

These two bills  were co-sponsored by key Republicans in the state, including the leading GOP candidate for U.S. Senate, State Sen. Tim Neville, and Westminster State Sen., Laura Woods, whose race next year will likely determine control of the state senate.

The AUL legislation was backed in Colorado by ADF, which frequently dispatched senior consel Mike Norton, husband of failed U.S. Senate candidate Jane Norton, to the state Capitol to testify, according to the report.

AUL and ADF did not retrun my calls seeking comment for a post I wrote on this topic today for RH Reality Check.

One AUL resolution that cleared the Colorado Senate last session indicated support for government assistence to pregnancy resource centers–though such entities currently receive no state funding.

“They are a national network of generally unlicensed, unregulated anti-choice organizations posing as clinics,” the report stated. “Not only do they try to discourage women from getting an abortion with medically-inaccurate information, they use misleading advertising about their intent to get them in the door.”

The 60 CPCs in Colorado outnumber abortion providers in the state by approximately three to one, according to the report.

The largest affiliate of CPCs, Care Net, describes itself welcoming women “facing unplanned pregnancies with life-affirming compassion, hope, and help. Every year about 30,000 people volunteer at these pregnancy centers. And since 2009, there has been a 20 percent growth in the number of Care Net centers providing free ultrasounds to their clients.”

Nate Marshall, a former Republican state house candidate who was found to have ties to white-supremacy groups, has acccepted an offer from Colorado Springs County Commissioner Peggy Littleton to back her possible U.S. Senate run against Democrat Michael Bennet.

In response to Littleton’s Jan. 3 Facebook comment about an article on a “24-Year-Old RINO Hunter on a Mission to Purge the GOP of Moderates,” Marshall wrote to Littleton, “Now run against Bennet!”

Littleton replied with, “Join my team and make a pledge.”

“I’m in!” Marshall responded.

Marshall, an outspoken right-wing conservative, recently referred to the Planned Parenthood terrorist, who killed three people last year, as a “hero.”

Before his aborted 2014 run for Colorado House District 23, Marshall reportedly founded a white supremecist group on the web called “The Aryan Storm.”

Some Colorado Republicans aren’t happy about the state vice chair’s request that fellow Republicans stop publicly dissecting the work of State Chair Steve House “word-by-word, line-by-line in an effort to demonstrate his incompetence (at best) or corruptness (at worst).”

In a sharp response to GOP Vice Chair Derrick Wilburn’s Dec. 28 open letter, longtime Republican activist Marilyn Marks asked Wilburn for specifics about why her scrutiny of House should be curtailed.

“My over-riding question here—Did I write something inaccurate, or untrue?” asked Marks in a letter to Wilburn. “Or are you objecting to my writing true statements that the party does not like seeing published?”

Marks: “I see party officers here acting with irrational emotion because they are criticized for false financial reporting, financial mismanagement, flawed election processes, disparate application/violation of bylaws, and poor personnel decisions. If the criticism is unfounded, then answer it with facts. If the criticism is valid, then remedy the problem—don’t attempt to just shoot the messenger. If I am wrong, tell me where I’m wrong on the facts I allege. I make plenty of mistakes. I’ll correct errors immediately if you point them out.”

After being challenged on Facebook by Marks and others, Wilburn wrote in another post:

Wilburn: “Steve House is our boy. Whether I like it, you like it, Juan Valdez or Pope Francis likes it or not is moot. He’s carrying the baton on the final lap of this race. Watching closely is fine and good, but for Republicans to be actively sticking our feet out in an effort to trip him, I would argue, is counter-productive. When we show up at his speeches, record them, then post onto the internet with commentary that’s something we’d expect from ColoradoPols – we’re doing COPols’ job for them. The old ‘with friends like this who needs enemies?’ comes to mind. This is not helpful.”

Wilburn’s comments come after years of upheaval within the Colorado Republican Party, as it has slowly lost power in the state, as chronicled not just by liberal ColoradoPols but all media outlets in the Colorado.

Grassroots GOP activists claim that Republican Party mismanagement, in addition to unprincipled candidates, backed by powerful but clueless establishment interests, are the root cause of the GOP’s problems.

Other Republicans argue that GOP activists and GOP base voters in Colorado, who take ardent conservative stands on an array of issues, are out of touch with mainstream Colorado opinion. These so-called liberty activists, they argue, scare off the swing voting bocs, like Hispanics and women, needed to win elections in this state.

After a surreal year of GOP infighting in Colorado, including a failed coup led by Cynthia Coffman, Tom Tancredo and others, the vice chair of the Colorado Republican Party is pleading with fellow Republicans to stop obsessing on state party leader Steve House–and to lay off attacking each other.

Calling the behavior of his fellow Republicans “beyond dysfunctional,” Wilburn bemoaned in a Facebook post that “Chairman House can no longer give a speech, send an email or letter to the ExComm and/or SCC without his words immediately being blared onto social media in full view of the entire political universe, both friendly and ‘other’.”

“His words are then dissected –again, in full view— word-by-word, line-by-line in an effort to demonstrate his incompetence (at best) or corruptness (at worst), by members of our own party,” wrote Wilburn. “When he speaks someone (a Republican) is recording with the intent of using his words against him. When he sends an internal memo, when we file with a compliance agency, when he emails county leadership, it’s all posted to Facebook within minutes and used likewise.”

Wilburn wrote that such scrutiny will not force House to resign, and if he is forced out, the party will suffer.

“Having some nine months of up-close & personal observation I can attest this much – Chairman House is not incompetent,” wrote Wilburn prior to describing House’s activities as state chair.

“Don’t get me wrong, watch dog activity brings with it accountability. Questioning is a good thing,” wrote Wilburn. “But there’s a line. When we (Republicans) are the ones helping HuffPo, Colorado Pols and the rest fill up their libraries with talking points and things they can use against us in the future, it’s time to question whether we’re holding people accountable or doing more damage than good…”

“If you have issues the way to handle them is set an appointment, come into the office for a face-to-face and get your questions satisfactorily answered; not blast them onto social media for two days of point/counter-point that end up as screen captures on ColoradoPols.”

“We have a nation in need,” wrote Wilburn.

Here’s Wilburn’s Dec. 28 Facebook post:

Fellow Republicans,

Imagine you’re head of an organization, be it a corporate, political or other. And further, that every time you communicate to others in the organization your words are immediately ceased, posted to social media and used in an effort to somehow, some way bring you down. These are the conditions the Colorado GOP leadership currently finds itself in and its beyond unhealthy and dysfunctional.

Steve House, Brandi Meek & I were elected in March by our fellow Republicans to guide the state party. We (mostly Chairman House) now find ourselves facing a very serious handicap that’s hurting the party, state, and cause of liberty and could quite possibly cost the entire nation depending how things shake out in the 2016 general election.

Chairman House can no longer give a speech, send an email or letter to the ExComm and/or SCC without his words immediately being blared onto social media in full view of the entire political universe, both friendly and ‘other’. His words are then dissected –again, in full view— word-by-word, line-by-line in an effort to demonstrate his incompetence (at best) or corruptness (at worst), by members of our own party. When he speaks someone (a Republican) is recording with the intent of using his words against him. When he sends an internal memo, when we file with a compliance agency, when he emails county leadership, it’s all posted to Facebook within minutes and used likewise.

In whatever station of life you occupy imagine trying to operate under such conditions. It’s time for us all to examine our motives.

What is the motive of this constant hounding of Chairman House? If the goal is to force him to resign, it ain’t happen’n. I have personally asked him about this on multiple occasions and the Chairman has made it crystal clear, “I was elected to do a job by a vote of 60% of the electorate and I’m going to do it. I’m not going to be forced out by 5 or 6 people who want me gone and thereby turn my back on the hundreds who placed their confidence in me.”

If the goal (of some individuals) is to force the Chairman out, let’s think about that. What is the the on-the-ground reality?

If House were to resign that’d leave me as the interim Chair until a special election could be held and a new Chair voted in. In an election year that would mean that in the midst of caucuses, state assembly, choosing delegates, RNC, et. al, we’d be attempting to hold a special election to elect our third Chair in ten’ish months. In addition to the obvious issues of staff, getting up to speed on everything, etc., the new Chair would also have to face donors. S/he will somehow have to convince them to continue to support the party and state candidates; that this changing of jockeys mid-race will have no adverse effects and convince them to please continue writing checks. Good luck with that.

Having some nine months of up-close & personal observation I can attest this much – Chairman House is not incompetent. Have there been zero missteps, is our administration 100% error free? Of course not. No one is going to be liked by everyone including you and me, but this isn’t a popularity contest. In the real world of “does this guy know what he’s doing?” I am confident in casting my “yes” vote.

In addition, Chairman House has rescinded the previous Chair’s (rather cushy) salary and for the most part does not submit expense reports. The man is putting in 60, 70, 80-hour weeks on a volunteer basis. Drives all over our quite large state in his own car and mostly covers his own meals, hotel, incidentals. That’s another $150,000+ he’s not sucking up and is therefore available to candidates and infrastructure. Should he go byebye would his replacement do the same?

Don’t get me wrong, watch dog activity brings with it accountability. Questioning is a good thing. But there’s a line. When we (Republicans) are the ones helping HuffPo, Colorado Pols and the rest fill up their libraries with talking points and things they can use against us in the future, it’s time to question whether we’re holding people accountable or doing more damage than good.

The Colorado GOP is currently being handcuffed – by the Colorado GOP. We are not perfect, far from it. But we’re three people more dedicated and committed to victory you’ll never meet. The job in front of us is colossal and will require a massive team effort. We need all in the boat to have an oar and be rowing the same direction. Going out of our way to sabotage the person in front of you slows and misdirects the entire vessel. And to what point? To what end?

If you have issues the way to handle them is set an appointment, come into the office for a face-to-face and get your questions satisfactorily answered; not blast them onto social media for two days of point/counter-point that end up as screen captures on ColoradoPols. Let’s all realize who the true opposition is and cease sabotaging ALL of our opportunities for success though endless rounds of back-biting and passing of notes in study hall. We have a nation in need.

I hope all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying a fantastically blessed holiday season.

Respectfully submitted,

Derrick Wilburn, Vice Chairman

For perspectivce this New Year’s Eve, here are some statistics on tragedies of the past year.

Number of people killed in San Bernardino terrorist attack: 14

Number of prisoners executed in America each year: 28

Number of people killed in Paris terrorist attack: 130

Number of American teens who die in car crashes each year: 2,000

Number of Americans killed in car crashes each year: 35,000

Number of people killed in Planned Parenthood terrorist attack in Colorado Springs: 3

Number of Americans who commit suicide with a gun each year: 21,000

Number of women who die during pregnancy and childbith: 300,000

Number of malaria deaths worldwide, mostly in impoverished countries, yearly: 435,000

Number of children under 5 who die worldwide due to poor nutrition, yearly: 3.1 million

With Hanukkah behind me, and fresh from celebrating the solstice (and looking forward to Christmas), I saw this Facebook post by Derrick Wilburn, Vice Chair of the Colorado Republican Party.

Wilburn: For what its worth, not one of the Democrat candidates in last night’s debate mentioned or invoked “God” at any point, not even closing statements. The Republican candidates, at the very least, would end their closing statements with “God bless America” or similar. As close as any of the three last night came was Hilary who closed with, “And may the force be with you.”

Is it relevant? To some yes, to some no, but this much is inarguable – from removing of “God” from the wording of it’s 2012 platform (then subsequently adding Him back in via a rigged vote resulting in God Himself being boo’d on the convention floor) to last night’s complete snubbing, the Democrat Party is marching toward a wholly secular existence at neck-breaking speed. Some may think that’s a good thing some may not, but neither side can dispute that it is truth.

Obviously religion is important in America, but how long will Republicans promote themselves, even in a veiled manner as Wilburn does, as the party of God and Country? While taking jabs at secularism? It can’t last, with the country going in the opposite direction? Well…

More Facebook viewing turned up this post, by State Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt (R-Colorado Springs), in which he goes further than Wilburn. He tells us who, among the believers, are the heretics and who aren’t .

“This graph separates the non-Christian, heretical, apostate churches from the true Christian churches in our generation,” wrote Klingenschmitt on Facebook, pointing to data showing that members of many Protestant denominations are now more accepting of homosexuality.

You don’t have to say “Thank God” to appreciate that trend, especially around Christmas.

Generations Radio host Kevin Swanson, whose right-wing show originates in Colorado’s Elbert County, is praising Elbert County Clerk Dallas Schroeder for hanging a poster in his government office with a quote from the Bible, “Each man should have his own wife and each woman should have her own husband” — even though Schroeder has apparently removed the poster from his office, after local residents complained.

“If you come anywhere close to a heathen sacrifice, a heathen temple, or a heathen ceremony, much of which is represented by the modern pagan state,  and that is homosexual weddings, you ought to at least make it clear that you are not implicitly or explicitly approving of the idolatrous practice,” Swanson told his listeners during a podcasted show Thursday (at about 15 minutes). “And using a Bible verse would be a good way to do that.”

With his poster, Schroeder apparently wanted to wipe his conscience clean of any responsibility for the same same-sex marriage license issued by his office, according to a report by KMGH-TV in Denver, Denver’s ABC affiliate.

“My thought process is that they have to see the poster,” writes Schroeder in the email obtained by the TV station.  “And if they choose to violate God’s written Word, then that is on their head.”

That’s in line with the beliefs of radio host Swanson, who I’ve called a shock pastor in the past, due to his string of extreme statements, based on his take on the scripture.

“This guy is kind of following through on the principle that I have brought out a number of times on this radio broadcast concerning the question, ‘Should a Christian attend a homosexual wedding?'” Swanson said on air last week. “And I have said ‘yes’ as long as you hold up a Bible verse [opposing same-sex marriage].”

I won’t be holding up a Bible quote at the heathen solstice party I’m attending tonight, fyi. But if Swanson comes, and he wants to peacefully carry around a quotation on a poster or something, that’s fine with me. In fact, he’d fit right in, because people bring strange things to the party. But, please, keep such signs out our government buildings.

Last week, in response to Roll Call reporter Simone Pathe’s question of whether he’d vote for Donald Trump, Rep. Mike Coffman replied, “I’m not going to go there. Thanks.”

Coffman’s dodge came after he didn’t denounce Trump, as other Republicans did, when Trump called for temporarily banning all Muslims from entering the United States.

Something about Trump seems to be holding Coffman back from being too mean to him, and you can actually see it in the following exchange on Radio Luz, a Denver Spanish-language radio station, back in August (translated from Spanish):

Host Gil Guerra [beginning at 16:50 here]: We have arrived at the end of this segment. But I don’t want you to go without my thanks for being here with us. But, Congressman, let’s talk about this item: What possibility is there that you come visit us again, because I want to us to chat about a very controversial figure, that has gone viral in all of this, — the famous Donald Trump.

Coffman, speaking in Spanish: El Donald

Guerra: Yes I was going to say “Donald Duck”

Coffman: The Donald! [laughing] The duck, no! The Donald!

Guerra: Donald Duck.

Coffman: [laughing] Oh, no, duck. No, no, no!!! El Senor Donald.

Guerra: Donald Trump! It’s okay, that’s fine. You’re going to respect him. But what do you think if we talk about this because I want to differentiate the politics with respect to what is actually that of the Republicans.

Coffman: Donald Trump!

[…]

[commerical break]

Guerra: Alright, then. Now we’re back in our third segment. And we thanked the Congressman. He had to leave. He had a very tight schedule.

Guerra told me today that he subsequently asked Coffman to appear on the show, but his schedule didn’t permit it. Maybe in 2016, he said.

I’ve pointed out a couple times (e.g., here and here and here) that Coffman’s actual factual positions are quite similar to Trump’s, so his hesitancy to denounce Senor Donald isn’t completely surprising, but it’s one of the strangest political blips that’s surfaced of late in Colorado politics, ripe for a reporter to figure out.

For an RH Reality Check post today, I collected the responses of pro-choice activists to last week’s court appearance by the accused Planned Parenthood domestic terrorist, during which he shouted, “I’m a warrior for the babies.”

Were his outbursts further proof that extreme anti-choice rhetoric contributed to the November 27 murders?

“I think Dear’s comments remove any doubt as to what his motive was,” Amy Runyon-Harms, director of ProgressNow Colorado, said in an email to RH Reality Check. “Elected officials who use over-the-top rhetoric in an effort to appease their base need to think twice before doing so and recognize the impact their words have on others.”

Karen Middleton, director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, agreed.

“The attacks have gotten worse, and the fact that the gunman repeated the same rhetoric about ‘baby parts’ we’ve heard from abortion opponents is not a coincidence,” Middleton toldRH Reality Check. “Words have meaning, and people inclined to violence can act on that meaning in awful ways. The result here is that an Iraq war veteran, a mother of two, and a police officer lost their lives, and six children lost their parent….”

“We know that words matter,” Vicki Cowart, director of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, said in the statement. “It is time to put an end to the dangerous rhetoric that has permeated our political conversations. Enough is enough—this violence, whether inflicted with words or with weapons, cannot become our normal.”

You recall that at a December 1 news conference on the west steps of the capitol, activists named three anti-choice politicians, Rep. Mike Coffman, State Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt, and State Sen. Tim Neville, as using rhetoric that contributed to the shooting in Colorado Springs.

Rep. Jon Keyser, the latest Republican considering a run for U.S. Senate, is drawing fire from fellow Republicans, as they jockey to replace top GOP candidates who’ve dropped out of consideration for the Senate race.

In a Facebook post yesterday, Rep. Justin Everett wrote that Keyser is backed by the “usual spinmeisters who tend to lose elections here in Colorado.”

Everett said of Keyser: “He won’t listen, arrogance is a word that comes to mind. We don’t need another arrogant politician in Washington…

Also on Facebook, Everett has been an outspoken supporter of U.S. Senate candidate Tim Neville, whom Everett claims cannot be beaten in Colorado’s GOP primary.

Everett has written that Neville will use the “Ken Buck Model of 2010 when [Buck] beat Jane Norton.”

The jostling is sure to intensify due to, if nothing else, the size of the field.

Already in the race for the GOP nomination to take on Democrat Michael Bennet are: Neville, El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn, former Aurora city counilman Ryan Frazier, former Parker mayor Greg Lopez, El Paso County conservative Charles Ehler, and Jefferson Country Commissioner Donald Rosier.

Three Republicans, including businessman Robert Blaha, Rep. Peggy Littleton, and talk-radio host Dan Caplis are considering the race. (Caplis says he’s “very serious” about a run.) Blaha has promised to get into the race and expects attacks from the “permanent political class.”

State Sen. Ray Scott is rumored to be considering the race.

Arapahoe County DA Charles Brauchler, Rep. Mike Coffman, and State Sen. EllenRoberts all considered running for the GOP nomination, but have withdrawn, at least for now. So did Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith and State Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg.