The action by the state Republican Party in November to censure Sen. Larry Liston not only points out how far afield the GOP’s leadership has fallen from the mainstream but also how the use of censure in politics has gone off the rails.  

For those who may not know Larry Liston, he is a Republican state senator from Colorado Springs. He has served 12 years in the General Assembly, first as a state representative and now as a state senator. He is highly regarded by those in both parties as well as various interest groups. He is recognized as a hard worker and one who is committed to his constituents and the best interests of the state. 

In the past, censuring of elected officials was limited to ethics, financial irregularities, criminal acts or violation of the institution’s rules. Displeasure with a particular position, vote or philosophical viewpoint (moderate, liberal or conservative) did not represent grounds for censure. Rather this was left to the voters who through the primary process or general election could take out their displeasure with the elected official.

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The best example of how the view of censure has changed may be Rep. Jeannette Rankin, a Republican from Montana, who in 1941 following the bombing of Pearl Harbor was the sole vote in the House of Representatives against the U.S. entering World War II. She was a lifelong pacifist and though she realized voting against the war was political suicide, she stood alone while 388 of her counterparts voted to declare war. Upon hearing her “no” vote, many representatives from both parties in the House shouted loud boos. Though her party and the vast majority of her constituents were extremely upset, there was no move to censure her.  Even in this case where she cast one of the most unpopular votes ever and one that was absolutely counter to her party’s strong support for the war, party officials did not consider censuring her. She voted her conscience and though it was very unpopular, she had not violated any laws or rules.  

Unfortunately the use of censure has changed as evidenced by the action by the State Republican Party. In the current day, some have begun to employ censure as a modern version of placing people in the “stocks,” such as the Puritans did, where elected officials may be subjected to ridicule and shame in their “party’s town square” for not adhering to party orthodoxy. 

In the case of Liston, his censure was not due to any misuse of campaign funds, cheating on his taxes, seeking to steer lucrative state contracts to friends or lying about his qualifications or experience. For that matter he did not commit any violation of the rules of the General Assembly. So what was Liston’s grievous offense that justified censure by his party? 

Well, Liston filed a criminal complaint against the Republican chairwoman of El Paso County’s husband, Ron Tonkins, related to an altercation at a GOP meeting in December 2021. According to Liston, Tonkins confronted him in an aggressive manner at the end of the meeting which led to Liston filing a complaint with police. The complaint did not sit well with the State GOP’s executive committee, which tilts significantly further to the right than Liston. As a result, in November the group put forward a motion to censure Liston based on the premise he used his political influence to encourage police to file a misdemeanor harassment charge against Tonkins. The committee deemed Liston’s actions as “inappropriate and unwarranted,” and the censure motion passed.  

The misuse of censuring elected officials today isn’t restricted to one party. U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona was censured in 2022 by the Arizona Democratic Party for opposing a change in the filibuster rules of the Senate which would have allowed a voting rights bill to move forward. Party officials portrayed the need for censure “as a result of her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy.” Yet, that same filibuster rule prevented Republicans several years earlier from pushing through legislation Democrats adamantly opposed. Sen. Sinema’s vote against the rule change was not a vote in opposition of the voting rights bill but more a concern that changing the rule would result in whichever party having the advantage in the Senate in the future using this change to push through whatever they wish by a narrow majority.

Rather than use the concept of censure to penalize elected officials for holding different views or positions from party leadership, which appears to be a major factor for Liston’s censure by the State GOP, we need to apply it appropriately to those egregious cases where true crimes or misconduct have occurred  such as  with U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-New York) and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) who inappropriately used their positions in Congress to the financial benefit of themselves. 

Greg Fulton is the president of the Colorado Motor Carriers Association, which represents more than 600 companies directly involved in, and affiliated with, trucking in Colorado.