FROM YOUR 

ARAPAHOE COUNTY REPUBLICANS

Issue V

8/4/2022

Welcome to the 5th Edition of our Newsletter

Here's the fifth issue of our newly formatted Newsletter. We are grateful to you and to our many subscribers including all of our new members who have recently joined us. We welcome all of you to our Big Tent Edition! 

The Democrats and liberal big media relentlessly attempt to negatively define us. Their tired and clichéd narrative is that the Republican party consists only of bigoted, doddering, and phobic white males. We know these portrayals to be as phony and dishonest as are the entities and individuals attempting to defame and malign us. 

Case in point. In this newsletter, we present compelling Arapahoe County voices from the very communities that our opponents claim don't exist within the Republican Party. Here we feature insightful, courageous and beautifully told heartfelt testimonials on being Republican from members of the Black, Gay and Youth communities.

The words enlightening, enthralling and inspiring may perhaps best characterize the commentaries. We hope you appreciate these voices from our Big Republican Tent.

We are the Party that embraces the individual.

Every individual.

The momentum is building.

You can see it. You can feel it.

Thank you for your support and your engagement!

Gary 

Gary Houser, Volunteer Editor

Newsletter & Website

Arapahoe County Republican Party

     IN THIS ISSUE     

• Message from the Vice-Chair 
• Voices from the Republican Big Tent

- The Black Community

- The Gay Community

- The Youth Community

• How our Governor and Lawmakers Betrayed Us
• "Connect - Engage - Strengthen" Our Website Supports You

   IN UPCOMING ISSUES   

• Perspectives on the Upcoming General Election
• The Candidate Connection, Messages Going into the Election
• Voices from the Republican Big Tent - The Hispanic Community
• The Voting Imperative 

 Message from the Vice-Chair

This has been an exciting and busy month filled with get-together's, fund raising events for our candidates and helping candidates in every way we could think of! Here are some of the things we did and are doing.

Arapahoe County Republican Family Picnic

On July 17th we held a county-wide picnic at Centennial Center Park which drew over 250 participants and raised in excess of $5,000 in support of our local party and candidates. Almost every candidate running for an Arapahoe-related office was in attendance and was given time to share their platform with the enthusiastic audience. Energized volunteers handled everything from delivering and setting up tables, chairs and tents, to making pastry goodies that were raffled to the highest bidder. The duo Blue Mesa Band consisting of the talented Dave Miller and Dave Hudson entertained with popular tunes and invited Jimmy Sengenberger, the event's emcee, to sit in on some familiar covers. Jimmy's mad musical skills were on full display as he mesmerized on his bluesy harmonica! Delicious GQue BBQ was served to all the attendees by the candidates. This just goes to show they are servants at heart. I had a great time!

Video Series of Candidates Running for Office

The Party has launched a video series to showcase our talented candidates. We will feature these in weekly emails and on our website. Please consider supporting these candidates. They are working hard for YOU! It's so important that the candidates know they have your support! If you can donate even $5.00 or $10.00 monthly, it goes a long way to show them that we are with them! And they will use every penny to beat their democrat opponents! Visit the Candidates page on our website to view these videos and please consider chipping-in to some campaigns. 

Summer Meet & Greet Events

We have held and will continue to sponsor "Meet & Greet" events at various locations across the county. At these gatherings, voters have an opportunity to meet face-to-face and talk with all the candidates running for Arapahoe-related offices including state and federal positions. These have been very successful and well attended. Please check the events calendar on our Calendar & Connections website page to see upcoming opportunities to meet our candidates. 

Training Videos for Precinct Leaders, District Captains and Officers

A number of very engaging and helpful training videos have been produced and are being used to help new Precinct Leaders, District Leaders and District Officers become experts at doing their jobs. Ron Redden and I are continuing to plan in-person training as well. In addition, an accompanying handbook was professionally designed and developed by AC-GOP volunteers Patrick McBride and John Lamb (who also produced the videos). If you are interested in attending a training session, please contact me via our website Contact Form and we'll get you into one of our training events.  

Booth at Arapahoe County Fair - One Big Meet & Greet

We sponsored a booth at the Arapahoe County Fair held July 27-31. The fair had an estimated 26,000 people in attendance! The large number of folks who visited our booth got to meet and chat with our candidates, grab a bottle of cold water and cool off with a frozen Otter Pop, supplied by Mark Gotto who’s running for Arapahoe County Commissioner. Children loved the miniature American Flags we gave them.

There's hope!

My thanks to all our County Fair AC-GOP Booth Committee volunteers including Bill McCartin, Rick Rome, Suzanne Staiert, Caroline Cornell, Jaylen Mosquiera, Richard Shaw, John Lamb and Mary Pearson. A special thanks to Commissioner Jeff Baker.

Submitted by Carol Baker, AC-GOP Fair Booth Committee Chair

Walking With Our Candidates

We have organized a schedule of opportunities for you to assist our candidates by walking with them around your neighborhood to introduce them to your Republican neighbors.  This is fun and has been very successful. It gives you an opportunity to help us win and also to get to know one or more of your candidates. Please see the Volunteers for Liberty page on our website to learn more. 

Let's Win!

Now is the time to unite behind our candidate slate and win in November. Please don’t lose sight of the real problems - crime, affordability and education. We need these candidates to win so we can meet these challenges head on!

To learn more about our candidates and what you can do to help them, visit our website:

arapahoerepublicans.org/copy-of-gop-2022-candidates 

Thanks everyone!

Anne 

Anne Rowland, Vice-chair

Arapahoe County Republican Party

*Anne is guest authoring the "Message from the Chair" column for this issue since our Chair, Suzanne Staiert, is consumed with and focused on supporting our candidates. 

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters. "

- Benjamin Franklin, Signer of the Declaration of Independence

VOICES FROM THE REPUBLICAN "BIG TENT"

We hope you find these powerful testimonials from three members of "The Republican Community of Solidarity" uplifting, moving and hopeful.

-  Leon Scott  - 

I am a 70 year old black American male that grew up in the deep south in the 50’s and 60’s.  My parents were Democrats as were most of my family. In the black community at that time, our neighborhoods were mostly two parent homes and self-sufficient.  We had our own corner grocery stores, our own doctors, dentists and pharmacies. Most of the men were tradesman and self-employed. Neighborhood schools were segregated and in walking distance and our teachers and principals were our neighbors.  Charity Hospital in New Orleans, my home, was available to us if needed for serious medical needs. There was no social safety net so we relied on ourselves.

When FDR was elected, he instituted the New Deal in the 1930’s which expanded the size, scope and influence of the government. This empowering of centralized government was further reinforced by Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society initiative in the 1960’s.  The social programs Johnson created were designed to make blacks feel obligated and indebted to the Democrat Party. They invented incentives to remove the fathers from their homes.  Women were encouraged to have children which allowed them to collect government benefits when the men – their children’s fathers – abandoned them and consequently didn’t take responsibility for raising their own children.  The Democrats wanted black people to be dependent on the government from cradle to grave and helped ensure this dependency by offering programs such as public housing, food stamps and Medicaid. 

So, what opened my eyes? It was because I personally witnessed the destruction of the intact black family, replaced by single parent households, primarily mothers, with absent fathers and little or no male parental influence.  I realized that black people needed to take responsibility for themselves and feel pride in succeeding on their own, just as everyone should.  This was discouraged as being too uppity or “acting white.”  These behaviors and attitudes were evident in small pockets, not only in the South, but also in most anyplace where low income, less industrious people, lived. 

This was my experience moving from the South, joining the military and eventually becoming a member of the Denver fire service (Fire Department). The firehouse culture was similar to the military in structure and equally as eye opening to say the least.  I began living and working with older white men generally from a farm or a blue-collar trade background. They would leave the firehouse and go to their day-off job or business. During our shifts these men exhibited a work ethic and dedication that served them well throughout their lives. If another fireman had an off-duty project at their home, it only took a bulletin board notice to enlist one of his firehouse brothers with the needed skills to complete the job. These men worked at their firemen’s jobs for 25 years - minimum.  This was an astounding regimen. As these guys retired, they not only received a pension, but also had an additional income stream to supplement their retirement. America!

Our US Constitution says governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.  That is not what we have today. Today we have a top down authoritarian style of government consumed with identity politics which gives the federal government power over the states to pit one citizen against the other.

A favorite quote of mine is, “One of the penalties of not participating in politics is that you will be governed by your inferiors.” - Greek philosopher Plato (429-347 BC)

Our current democrat rulers on the other hand demand; equity instead of equality under the law, income redistribution from one neighbor to another, an educational system that teaches our children to distrust each other, victim-hood and a right to defy and resist lawful orders from a duly authorized police officer. This is why we see the increasing level of lawlessness today that results in the unnecessary deaths of many young black men. This mindset espoused by the duplicitous media - that unarmed means harmless - is specious at best and fallacious at worst. This will not end well.

It was not until Ronald Reagan ran for office that I came to witness the real difference between the two parties, and it was an arduous undertaking for me.  I began to see the light by reading the likes of Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steel, the late Dr. Walter E. Williams, Milton Friedman and other lesser known academics and philosophers.

That’s when I changed my party affiliation to Conservative republican. It took me a while before I understood the difference between Republican and Conservative republican. Now the chasm is great.

Being a black Conservative republican opens you up to continuous suspicion, ridicule, isolation and derision. Seeing the destruction of the black family with the willful assistance of our so-called black leaders, primarily on the Democrat side of the aisle, awakened me to listen to what the candidates say. They are happy to tell you what they “intend” to do, especially if they think you’re not listening or are ignorant to what’s really going on.

Don’t misunderstand. The Republican party is not a panacea. The Party and its leaders bear watching. However, the premise and principles we espouse restrain us with a conscience. The road to conservatism demands much; in education, understanding, and an open honesty and responsibility about one’s actions and the ensuing consequences.

The conservative principles of liberty and freedom allow individuals to prosper and be independent by offering them the opportunity to succeed.

Conservatism is the best avenue for everyone to achieve their God Given Rights and Ideals.

Leon Scott

United States Military Veteran

Retired from Denver Fire Service

Husband and Father

Proud American

-  Clayton Crouch  -

I moved to Arapahoe County (Watkins) in April.  I formerly lived in the Downtown Denver neighborhood of “Five Points”.  In full disclosure, I’ve never been a supporter of left wing politics, but we used to be able to have a reasonable discourse, if not I wouldn’t have chosen Downtown Denver for my home. 

So why would a gay urbanite who loved the city and all that it had to offer move to the country?  I had a great house in what was a great neighborhood, but then the millennials moved in and with them their politics. 

Our state representative, Leslie Herod sponsored a bill to decriminalize fentanyl.  This proliferated the homeless population and with it crime, and did nothing to provide help to the mentally ill and addicted populations. 

Our city councilwoman, Candi CdeBaca informed her constituents that she doesn’t support private ownership.  Communism anyone?  I don’t know about you, but I’m not giving up my car or home anytime soon.  Additionally, our Denver School Board representative, Tay Anderson was actively working to defund and smear the police while simultaneously pursuing sexual relationships with the high school girls (or worse) whom it was his charge to educate and lead. 

The city election in November 2021 was the last straw.  Denver voters decided that they didn’t want to keep homelessness out of our public parks and public spaces, and they elected a Tay Anderson ally to the School Board whose campaign manager shot and wounded a prostitute after enjoying her services.  Denver had changed too much and I had to leave.  

When I “came out” in 2006, I never thought I could live in a rural or suburban neighborhood again.  But the more I paid attention to it, the more I noticed that these people were more accepting of me than were my urban neighbors.  The [new] adage goes, “it’s easier to come out as gay to a group of republicans, than it is to come out as republican to a group of gays”.  What’s more, as left wing politics become more and more bitter, corrosive and hateful, the more I have in common with my new neighbors! 

No one here cares that I have a concealed weapons permit and support self-defense.  No one here is racially divisive and behaves as the self appointed arbiter of “equity”.  And most of all, no one here cares that I moved here with my husband of three years.  We’ve had the greatest welcome from our new neighbors and I’m so happy to be here.  

I would urge all gays and lesbians to consider conservative ideas and candidates.  If you’re asking yourself how can anyone be gay and conservative (or republican) then I’d question how informed you really are?  Donald Trump was the first president who supported same sex marriage at the time of his election.  Donald Trump also was the first to put an openly gay man in his cabinet.  Women, gays and racial minorities were welcome in the Trump administration as long as they are qualified and exceptional. 

Minorities in the Biden administration were appointed to appease his rabid base.  Female Vice President Kamala Harris and gay Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are embarrassing failures.

The Republican Party has moved past the days where gays weren’t welcomed.  It’s also so much easier to disagree with my republican friends and neighbors.  Maybe some of them don’t support gay marriage due to their religious leanings.  So what?  A society with the maximum amount of freedom will allow the religious conservatives to oppose gay marriage within their religion while simultaneously allowing a same sex couple the same government benefits offered to heterosexual couples.  I’ve never had anyone on the right approach me to tell me they thought my lifestyle was sinful.  I can’t count the number of times a leftist has felt the need to question my politics and take it personal to the extent that it destroyed our relationship(s).

We are so lucky to live in this great state and this great country.  I want very much to maintain our American status of economic and military superpower, where our leaders work to unite us despite our differences and give us opportunity.  If democratic leaders like Leslie, Candi, and Tay had their way, they’d divide us and manage our decline. 

Today’s Democratic Party thrives on cynicism and the idea that the only path to contentment is handing the government more power.  The Republican Party is the party of optimism and the idea that our best days are ahead of us. 

I believe the depressing chapter of the Biden presidency is going to be the catalyst for a conservative renaissance that will empower ALL Americans to look towards themselves as the solution to their happiness and success.

Clayton Crouch 

Fundraising Chair

Colorado Chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans 

Log Cabin Republicans is America’s oldest and largest organization for LGBT conservatives and straight allies with members in all 50 states, with 51+ chapters in over 30 states (including the Colorado Chapter) and growing. The name of the organization is a reference to the first Republican President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, who was born in a Log Cabin.

For more information about the National organization visit LogCabin.org  

and to learn more about the Colorado chapter visit logcabincolorado.org.

The thoughts expressed in this piece are personal positions and do not necessarily reflect the policy positions of LCR Colorado.

-  James Reuhmann  - 

My name is James Ruehmann. I currently serve as the Executive Director of the High School Republican National Federation (HSREPS), the President of the Colorado Federation of Teen Republicans (CFTRS), and a board member of our local chapter at Cherry Creek High School.

Despite nearly my entire family being registered democrats, I have leaned or been solidly right wing for as long as I took notice in politics. Why would this be the case in a predominantly liberal family you might ask? Quite simply, because it is fundamentally rooted in truth.

I created, or helped create all the aforementioned political groups, in order to realign the political discourse in classrooms after a year of propaganda that very few saw through. Until this year, there was no national, state, or local framework for conservative teens to get involved in the political world. We saw this as an emergency and quickly organized ourselves into the fastest growing youth political organization in the country. Local chapters act as a social club for conservative teens that allow them to get easily involved and win the culture war at school.

When many discuss the political discourse among today’s youth, the stereotypical themes are prevalent; Today’s youth is chaotic, self-serving, lazy, and ungrateful. In short, their values can be equated to liberalism: “the absolute liberation of oneself from societal constraints.” In contrast to liberalism, conservatism stands as “the recognition of order and fundamental truths in complementation to the hierarchy of God, Family, and Country.”

Unfortunately, this stereotype is all too true for a great many or perhaps even the majority of my peers today. Knowingly or not, today’s generation values liberalism above all else. The good news? This is not true for all of us and is not the inevitable future for our society, our way of life and our nation.

A growing movement of conservatives is being cultivated and nurtured as we speak. Although it cannot be definitively proved by numbers with majority of GenZ’rs identifying as “Apolitical”, it can be easily understood that a cultural tide is shifting. Teens are becoming fed up with the leftist culture of the day. I am among these GenZ’rs who watch the symptoms of a decaying society and know inside themselves that something needs to change. Like an ever-increasing number of my generation, I have come around to the idea of and desire for a conservative United States. I watched as drugs, gangs, crime, Critical Race Theory, Critical Gender Theory, corruption, a lack of transparency with leaders and constituents, and a complete sellout of the American culture and economy for foreign dollars, overtook our nation.

Despite media and educational propaganda, I knew things had become corrupted, and so many others like me are beginning to agree.

The fundamental rift between liberal and conservative GenZ’rs, whether they know it or not, arises from the very existence of The United States and the extraordinary way of life so many of my peers take for granted. However, many young people are growing tired of the country they love both metaphorically, and in some cases literally, being dragged through the mud. For this reason, and the insight of where it will ultimately lead (end), the youth is turning to conservatism.

As a leader of the High School Republicans (HSREPS), this July, I had the opportunity to visit Washington DC for the four-day-long Young Republicans Leadership Conference sponsored by the Young Republicans National Foundation. My fellow HSREPS board members and I met with members of congress on the hill, attended seminars, and learned how to effectively fundraise and grow our fledgling organization. And, we had a little fun along the way.

The Foundation’s board voted to officially recognize our High School Republicans organization as an affiliate, and more importantly, all attendees strongly agreed that the conservative movement has a strong, virtuous and vibrant future evidenced by the growing conservative movement of our nation’s youth.

It was easy to get caught up in the bluster and turmoil that characterizes Washington

DC, with its grand functions and lavish conference centers. However, what I found most

meaningful was my return trip to Colorado. As we flew over Colorado, through my window, observing the little towns and family farms, and even the cities, I remembered that this is the way of life we are attempting to save. The conservation of America is our goal. So many young people are seeing that now, and as such, the future of America may be much brighter after all.

James Ruehmann

Executive Director, High School Republican National Federation

President, Colorado Federation of Teen Republicans

Conservative Organizer and Activist

Couple of Thoughts from your Editor

Here’s your editor, employing a bit of editorial license by offering some of his very own related thoughts that we hope you enjoy. - Editor

A vast many Americans of all ages have performed what I call “self-imposed neuro-amputation” and replaced their inborn thinking abilities with a “cognitive prosthetic” called the smart phone linked to social media. 

When I see people exercising their God-given Unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, I like to refer to these acts as “Neuro-emancipation” and that they are enjoying their individual “Cognitive Liberty” and “Cerebral Sovereignty.”

How our Governor and Lawmakers Betrayed Us 

Thanks to the Democrats – all three branches of Colorado government are controlled by Democrats – our state is less affordable and more dangerous than anytime in the last 75 years. The Dem majority legislature has passed and Governor Polis has signed into law new, reckless, damaging and deceptive statues and regulations that hurt every Coloradan. Additionally, the Dems killed hundreds of Republican proposed bills that would have done just the opposite - helped Coloradans save money, grow business, protected our kids in their schools. and made Colorado a safer, more affordable place to live.

Polis pretends to be helping all Coloradans, when in reality he is only interested in aiding his party and expanding his political future.

The Colorado GOP has assembled a summary listing of 52 of these legislative atrocities on their website. You may view them all here.

Just to give you a taste of Polis's and the Dem's damaging work on your behalf, here's a brief sample.

TAXES, FEES AND HIGHER COSTS

Polis’s state budget has grown over four years by 25% to $30.6 Billion (yes, that's Billion with a "B"). Question. Have you seen a 25% increase in your income over the same period? Big government spending has cost you in both new taxes and “fees” as well as increases in existing taxes and fees.  

Polis is touting that he is sending you a “tax rebate” just before the election. Hmmm… That rebate is required under Tabor every year. Polis isn’t “giving” you anything. It’s your money to begin with and is required under Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights which Polis doesn’t support and the Democrats continually attempt to eliminate through legislation.

Polis’s $900 million “property tax relief for homeowners” is a dodge. It’s sophistry like so much of his and his party’s disingenuous language. Actually, property taxes are increasing by $2 Billion including mill levy increases that he signed into law. In fact, homeowners will face a 20% property tax increase over the next four years. Saying he’s providing tax relief when he is costing you more in taxes is nothing but dishonest political misdirection and misinformation. 

Polis’s administration scores again! It has increased driver license fees to become the 2nd most expensive in the nation! Goal Colorado!!!

Polis wants your choice of transport to be an electric bike. He’ll even give you a grant if you meet all his socio-economic requirements. News flash! Special E-bike convoy leaving for Grand Junction soon. Date to be announced. Contact Polis’s office to reserve your spot in what promises to be an exciting caravan. Fees may apply.

Polis and the Dems killed a huge number of Republican proposed bills that would have significantly reduced taxes and fees of all kinds, made government more accountable and given you a break against inflation. If we elect a majority of Republican legislators and install a new Governor, we can correct this.

HURTING BUSINESSES

He shut down “non-essential” businesses during his Covid-Response-Experiment – it’s been estimated that up to 40% of all Colorado businesses were either severely damaged or went out of business. No state help for them or the families that run or ran them.

Polis has killed the fossil fuels sector and its businesses in Colorado which provided good-paying jobs, tax revenue benefiting schools and the state budget as well as an economic driver for small towns and their businesses. Green New Deal here we come!

FAILING OUR KIDS

Polis and the Dems didn’t support multiple Republican crafted bills which would have made our kids safer in their schools. 

Dems killed the following in addition to many others;

Giving parents option to withdraw $5,000 of their child’s per-pupil funding out of their kid’s failing school and use it to enroll them in a school of their choosing. So much for school choice. Polis and Dems continue their "War on Parents and their Kids" - Dems gotta support BIG Education, i.e., NEA teacher’s union.

Requiring school districts to post curriculum and teaching materials for all parents to see. Don’t want parents to know too much about what their kids are being taught.

Providing $30 million for school security to protect your kids from school shootings. Go figure.

Hope Scholarship Program which would have allowed students to enroll in alternative educational opportunities outside of government schools. Must have that indoctrination.

Scholarship program to support parents and students using “learning pods” that were so effective for so many children during the pandemic. When it comes down to supporting either parents or the teacher's union - guess whose side Polis and the Dems are on?

Parents Bill of Rights. Did you expect otherwise? Enough said.

We MUST elect Heidi Ganahl as our next Governor and Republicans as state legislators to turn Colorado around before we reach the point of no return!

WE CAN AND MUST DO THIS!

Connect - Engage - Strengthen 

Our Arapahoe County Republicans Website Supports You!

We have redesigned our website to support all conservatives and offer resources to help you fulfill the website's motto;

Connect - Engage - Strengthen

The Website includes the following sections:

About Us - Features our mission, beliefs and leadership profiles

Newsletter - Contains all issues of this "We the People" newsletter

GOP 2022 Candidates - Lists all Arapahoe County-related candidates and their websites

Calendar and Connections - Identifies groups to join and their events

Resources for Conservatives - Informs, motivates, and prepares you to engage

Volunteers for Liberty - That's You! We invite you to share your passion for freedom via a multitude of volunteer opportunities 

Contact Us - Please offer your comments and get friends to sign-up for the newsletter

The website is multi-platform friendly, including; mobile phones, tablets and computers. We strive to keep it updated, fresh and helpful. We hope you will visit it and find it useful. Click the button at the bottom of this newsletter to go there. 

Thanks and Stay Tuned!