As I sat down to write this, my last column of 2025, I reflected back on a year that was, well, interesting from an old political science professor’s perspective, but which contained a lot of pain for a lot of people. And as is pretty much always the case, I found Colorado Politics to be filled with too many interesting stories to allow me to focus on just one. So please forgive my jumping around a bit as we recall the year just past.

Like, frankly, most people in Colorado, I have no affection for our national embarrassment, the carpet bagging U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert. A recent CoPo story was interesting, in that it tried to be inclusive of her recent shift to the more rational side of things, as well as her ongoing far-right (wants to break up the National Center for Atmospheric Research — NCAR) behavior. It noted she appears to now want to be on the right side of history regarding the Jeffrey Epstein files, when she added her name to the discharge petition requiring the release of all the documents. A discharge petition is a rarely used and is even less often an effective way of overcoming the decision of a Speaker of the House. It is literally getting a bill “discharged” from the committee the Speaker is using to keep a bill locked down.

It takes a majority of the whole House, 218 signatures in all, to get a bill released to the House floor. I do admit surprise and pleasure Boebert has seen the light on Epstein, along with, to my utter amazement, the nation’s other profound congressional embarrassment, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has finally said no to President Donald Trump.

An interesting sidebar to this is Trump apparently “summoned” Boebert to meet with him in the Situation Room, in hopes of flipping her on Epstein. Having been in the Situation Room on a number of occasions (and it’s not just one room, but I won’t say anymore about it) and at the Oval Office as well, I can’t imagine what Trump was thinking. There is an old joke when it comes to persuading people, a president has the greatest home field advantage in the Oval Office. Why Trump would think Boebert would be more easily convinced to change her mind in the Sit Room is lost to me. 

But I digress…

As is pretty much always the case, CoPo’s Out West Roundup also caught my eye. I was pleased to learn there has been a jaguar spotted in Arizona, likely spreading up from Mexico. Having top predators returned to our ecosystem is a good thing, though we must, of course, ensure ranchers are properly protected and reimbursed for any livestock losses.

Also in the Roundup was a report out of Wyoming, my home during my first military assignment. To say Wyoming is a red state is a bit like saying the Titanic had an issue with ice. The last Democrat to serve Wyoming in a statewide elected position left office back in 2011. The Roundup reported on the current GOP governor’s budget he recently submitted to the legislature. Having driven around a good bit of Wyoming, I’m not sure how they can spend $11.1 billion, but that’s the plan. What stood out to me is even this deep-red state saw its governor submit a plan to cover the loss of SNAP benefits cut by Trump, as well as increasing funds to people with developmental disabilities and to help more children at risk. Not exactly the current GOP talking points, but a reasonable response by a true conservative to reckless actions taken by the president.

Similarly surprising was the story out of equally deep-red Montana where the Fish and Wildlife Commission is now limiting non-resident hunting licenses for Mule Deer. This is, it appears, the smart wildlife management decision, as deer populations have declined significantly. In previous years, lots of folks from out of state have headed to the Big Sky country to hunt, and those folks’ access will be significantly limited for at least a while.

Both these stories show, I think, how western values and, frankly, western Republicans and Democrats, differ from their more eastern or far-western contemporaries. This is especially true, I believe, of the Republicans. An example is a fellow I taught with at the Air Force Academy, Mike Waters. Mike and I disagreed on just about everything, but Mike always had the same goal as I: a better America. Mike flew combat missions in the B-1 bomber and is a really nice guy, even if misguided on politics, and I suspect he feels the same about me. Not long ago, Mike ran for and won a seat as a county commissioner in Yellowstone County in Montana. Yellowstone County, by the way, is nowhere near Yellowstone National Park, but rather is easterly and contains Billings.

I mention this because when Mike ran, I wrote a note on his Facebook page if I have to have a Republican win an election, I want it to be a GOPer like Mike, who is honest and honorable. He won, of course, and I’m quite sure he is doing what he thinks is right, on issues such as hunting licenses.

I admit, I’m a little surprised to have just written a column that praises Republicans this much. But when the right thing is being done (Epstein!), we must be ready to praise as quickly as we condemn.

We’ll see what lies ahead in 2026, wherein I hope to be able to praise a lot of people and hopefully, we’ll still have NCAR around.

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.