As a life-long moderate Democrat, I don’t hate seeing the Colorado Republican Party implode.

And as a resident of CD-5, it is a fascinating time to watch the GOPers attack each other ahead of next week’s primary. Between regular television and some time spent watching YouTube, a viewer gets dozens of political ads designed, not to promote a point of view, but rather to attack other folks running for the same office.

A refreshing counter example is Democrat Elliott Hood running for CU regent. His ads on YouTube attack no one and he lists his priorities for the state’s flagship university. But it is a sad commentary on today’s politics that one must look that far down the ballot to find a positive ad-based candidate.

By far the most contentious and, well, bizarre race is here in CD-5, where U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (the gent who defeated me easily in 2008) has announced his retirement, and open safe seats (for either party) are rare and attract lots of contenders. The two surviving post-convention candidates for the GOP are Jeff Crank, the former chief of staff to long-ago Congressman Joel Hefley and more recently a conservative radio talk show host, and Dave Williams, currently the chair of the state GOP and, if you listen to the ads against him, a pro-China corrupt political hack.

Stay up to speed: Sign up for daily opinion in your inbox Monday-Friday

Full disclosure: I know Jeff Crank a little bit. During the 2008 campaign, we often found ourselves at the same events. I like Jeff, though I disagree with him on, well, most everything. But I don’t doubt his sense of honor or desire to serve. Heck, we even agreed that, in the unlikely event I defeated Lamborn, two years later Jeff and I would campaign together a couple days a week to prove you can disagree without being disagreeable.

Williams, on the other hand, has a whole lot of hate in his soul. As chair of the state GOP, he has taken a number of questionable actions, even from the point of view of today’s MAGA-crazed Republican party. And Williams is, like so many of the GOP, oddly obsessed with sex and who might be having it without his permission. I admit, I’ve never understood the GOP’s preoccupation with sex. During my own campaign, I noted the Republicans claim to want a smaller government, but not so small they can’t peek in your window to make sure you are not loving the “wrong” type of person.

Williams ticked off quite a few people in the GOP leadership when he took it upon himself to attack Pride Month. You don’t have to read past the first paragraph of his rant to see his bigotry on display, as well as his ignorance. He stated, “The Pride Month agenda is in full swing and its goals are to attack parental rights, harm children, and silence any vocal opposition to it.”

Right…

He goes on to quote the Bible as his “proof,” and that should cause concern. I’m quite sure if, say, a Muslim candidate for an office offered a verse from the Quran as his proof, Williams would deny the legitimacy of such a reference. And let there be no doubt, the modern MAGA GOP is after even more of your rights.

Dobbs set the stage for attacks on contraception rights, and the Louisiana governor’s signing of a state law that requires the Christian Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public-school classroom shows how far these Christian nationalists will go. Imagine if a state passed a law that said Satan’s Ten Commandments (if there is such a thing?) had to be displayed? These folks are OK with enforcing state-sponsored religion, as long as they get to decide which religion to inflict.

Williams also echoes the wacky GOP worry the gays are coming for your kids. No, they are not. Members of the LGBTQ+ community are merely asking for basic equality. And the GOP sees the granting of such equality as a threat to their own power and status, which is nonsense. Stir in a streak of Christian nationalism, and you get today’s self-righteous and dogmatic GOP.

We saw similar arguments during the debate on allowing gays to serve in the military. I was on active duty during that time, and while the generals and admirals claimed letting gays serve would hinder good order and discipline. As it turns out, the junior folks serving just didn’t care about sexual orientation, and the U.S. military remains the most powerful and capable fighting force on Earth.

But I digress…

Dave Williams needs voters to think the gays are coming for your kids (again, they are not) because, frankly, he has little else to offer, other than false bluster about the economy (which is actually doing remarkably well these days). And I’m pleased to see so many in the state GOP have turned against him and his bigotry. Multiple county party organizations have demanded Williams step down as chair due to his prejudice. Now, just between us, I suspect quite a few of those same GOPers are actually quite biased against LGBTQ+ folks but have the political savvy not to shout about it.

Of course I hope for a remarkable turnaround here in CD-5, and that a Democrat might actually be able to win the election, but that remains a long shot, at least for a while. If I must have a Republican representative, I guess Crank would be the least bad choice.

In thinking of Crank, I am reminded of the words of Alexander Hamilton, after the election of 1800 was thrown into the U.S. House. Thomas Jefferson had picked Aaron Burr as his running mate, and because the 12th Amendment was not yet in place, the contest in the House had Jefferson and Burr both seeking the presidency. The nation knew voters intended Jefferson for the presidency and Burr for VP, but Burr realized if he could get a state delegation to switch its vote from Jefferson to Burr, the next president would be Aaron Burr.

After 35 rounds of balloting, the two gents remained tied. Hamilton could take it no more, and he wrote a letter to the representative from Connecticut, urging him to withhold his Burr vote on the next ballot. Hamilton stated his longtime rival, Jefferson was “by far not so dangerous a man (as Burr) and he has pretentions to character.” The delegate was moved by this lukewarm endorsement and withheld his Burr vote, and on the 36th ballot, Jefferson was selected as the next president.

That’s how I feel about Crank, frankly.

That said, it is still almost fun to see the bigotry of the state GOP provide fuel to the infighting.

Stay tuned.

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.