This last weekend, the state legislature held an unusual session, meeting on Saturday and Sunday, in large part to GOP filibustering of a couple of proposed gun laws. Filibustering is about all the GOP can do these days, having not won a statewide election since 2016. The GOP has also watched its representation in the legislature ebb over that same time period, which is a good thing. More on that in a moment…

A Colorado Politics story reported on the busy weekend, and there are several interesting news items that popped out at me.

First, let’s take a peek at a couple of proposed gun laws. Now all I have to say is “gun laws” and lots of people across the political spectrum dig their heels in. The GOPers will likely automatically say a loud and angry “NO” to any gun bill. Heck, I suspect if a proposed law made gun ownership mandatory but was titled the “Gun Ownership Limitation Bill,” there are quite a few from the Republican side who would denounce the bill as un-American without even reading it.

They, all too often, take an absolute view on anything to do with weapons, even though the Founding Fathers were quite clear gun ownership involves a “well-regulated militia.” Heck, even the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia clearly stated that the right to own guns is not, and has never been, absolute. In one opinion, Scalia wrote: “For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the (Second) Amendment (and there is no) doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.” In other words, common sense limits are OK, though we see sharp disagreements on what “common sense” is.

The two bills getting the most attention are Bill 170, which would expand who could ask for a “red flag” petition, and Bill 168, which would allow victims of gun violence to sue gun makers and dealers, just as those injured in car accidents can sue manufacturers. Crazy to expand rights like that, eh? Not surprisingly, the GOPers voted as a block against both bills, but as they are solidly in the minority, the bills passed their most recent test.

So just how is the GOP trying to become, well, relevant once more in modern Colorado? Oddly, it seems they believe becoming more radically right, with more extreme leadership, is the way to go. And I guess if you choose to live in a bubble constructed by a certain former president wherein certain magic happened and facts are fungible, that kind of extremist point of view makes some sense. Recently I wrote about the struggle for the leadership of the Colorado Republican Party, and the CoPo story noted above continues that narrative, and is worth a quick visit.

The article describes the new GOP chair, Dave Williams, as “pugnacious,” which is just a great word and fits him to a tee. He is a fighter, and he leads a GOP that seems to believe fighting from the far right is the best way to win. That’s likely nonsense, of course, but remember the bubble. So much makes sense in the bubble that conflicts with reality on the outside.

One example of Williams’ radical ways is his desire to bring convicted criminal Tina Peters into the GOP leadership. Within the bubble, she is innocent, I guess. Williams wants to “fight” the Dems everywhere he can, from a point of view based on “alternative facts” and outright falsehoods about recent politics. He says the GOP will no longer apologize for (GOP) beliefs and values, and that presumably includes ongoing election denial in spite of dozens of GOP judges, among others, ruling no significant fraud took place. As someone who strongly supports our terrific governor and statewide elected, I’m delighted to hear Mr. Williams take this tack, as it will likely ensure Democratic dominance will continue.

The CoPo article concludes with a review of the efforts of the government of China to gain influence in the U.S., and not just at the national level. In Utah, it appears, the Chinese have spent years making friends and now that hard-right state has seen state lawmakers bending to the will of China, even when they likely don’t realize they are doing so. I’m hoping our Colorado lawmakers are more aware of this ongoing effort to influence legislation. I’m quite sure that in the long run, China is a much greater threat to the U.S. way of life than is Russia. Happily, at a national level our leaders (on both sides of the aisle) seem to understand that key point.

Given that the tile of the regularly appearing article I am citing is “What You Need To Know,” I am guessing most folks will at least give the story a quick review. And I’ll continue to highlight key events and ideas in my twice-weekly rants.

Colorado has a lot going on.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.