If at first you don’t succeed, just ignore Colorado law.

“Comrade Dave” Williams, whose Soviet-inspired scheme to steal votes from members of the Colorado Republican State Central Committee (CRC) was soundly rejected in August, is at it again.   

Comrade Dave tried to change the state party bylaws to say any CRC members who fail to show up for a meeting would still have their votes forcibly counted without their permission. He wants to cancel the 2024 Colorado Republican primary election which, under Colorado election law, requires 75% approval of the “full membership” of the CRC, not just of those who show up for a meeting. Only 55% of those present voted to steal and forcibly cast the votes of absent members, well short of the 75% of the full membership.

But Comrade Dave won’t be deterred by some pesky Colorado election law, which was passed by a majority of Colorado voters in 2016. 

He will try again to cancel the 2024 Colorado Republican primary election during another CRC meeting this coming Saturday. But this time he will attempt to redefine “full membership” by those who show up which is a clear violation of the law.

He got nailed for trying to steal votes in August but now he will just ignore and violate a clearly written law approved by a majority of Colorado voters in 2016. 

For the past three elections, unaffiliated voters have received both parties’ primary ballots in the mail, but they can vote in only one primary. If Comrade Dave succeeds, 1.7 million unaffiliated voters – 48% of the entire Colorado electorate! – would receive only the Democratic primary ballot but not the Republican ballot. What a great message of inclusion to nearly half of Colorado voters.

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Obviously stunned by intense criticism more than 900,000 registered Republicans would also be denied the right to vote in a Republican primary, the ever-creative Comrade Dave has conjured up another half-baked scheme.  Dripping with irony and hypocrisy, the Colorado Republican Party would attempt to conduct its own internal primary with only registered Republicans being eligible to vote through an electronic voting process.

Comrade Dave and his fellow stolen-election conspiracists have passionately contended that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from defeated former President Donald Trump because of rigged electronic voting. They believe the only reliable, accurate method of voting is through paper ballots counted by hand. Since Comrade Dave had trouble accurately hand-counting just 300 ballots at the August meeting, he must have changed his mind.

Rather than voting with vaunted paper ballots counted by hand, the state party will hire a private firm to conduct this electronic voting process. Keep in mind, Colorado elections are conducted by the full-time professional staffs of 64 elected county clerks who constantly refine and improve the administration and integrity of those elections. The cost of the 2022 primary election was more than $9 million.

Comrade Dave’s previous political experience consists of being a state representative elected from a very safe Republican district. He was soundly defeated by Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn in the 2022 5th Congressional District primary. 

So with no experience whatsoever in administering elections, Comrade Dave would attempt to conduct an internal electronic Colorado Republican primary which is only nine months away. 

It is unclear how the state party would pay for this internal primary since it cannot afford any full-time staff, and the headquarters office is empty and dark most of the time.

During a recent radio interview, Comrade Dave said the state party has raised $200,000 this year but Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports indicate the state party has raised $103,000 since he was elected in March. During the month of August he raised only $12,000 while spending $22,000.   

Comrade Dave continues to blame his predecessor, former Colorado Republican State Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown, for his inability to raise money. He claims she financially mismanaged the state party and he has launched an investigation of her alleged abuses. He even suggested during the interview that “criminal” charges might be necessary.

He has been making these allegations since he was elected six months ago. To baselessly allege “criminal” actions is despicable and irresponsible. Comrade Dave should put up or shut up. His inability to raise money is not due to his predecessor. There is virtually no support among major donors for his exclusionary, conspiracy-obsessed “leadership.”

Meanwhile, pursuant to the “agreement” made by Comrade Dave, the Colorado Libertarian Party released its list of positions it would require Republican candidates to endorse in order for them to not field Libertarian candidates in competitive districts. Remember Williams essentially conferred veto power on the Libertarians to dictate which Republican candidates should be nominated.   Many Republicans are refusing to endorse the Libertarian agenda including U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert.

The positions range from abolishing American intelligence and national security agencies to the critical issue of legalizing the sale of raw, unpasteurized milk, a Libertarian favorite.

Maybe Comrade Dave will seek solidarity with his Libertarian overlords by designating “Bossie the Milk Cow” as the new mascot of the Colorado Republican Party.

Dick Wadhams is a former Colorado Republican state chairman who worked for U.S. Sen. Bill Armstrong for nine years before managing campaigns for U.S. Sens. Hank Brown and Wayne Allard, and Gov. Bill Owens.