November 17, 2021 11:31 AM UTC

Colorado Republicans Can't Get A Little Bit Militia

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• by: Colorado Pols

Erik Maulbetch of the Colorado Times Recorder reported earlier this week about a presentation by Colorado Republican Party vice-chairwoman Priscilla Rahn to the infamous local far-right organizing group FEC United–founded by election conspiracy theorist Joe Oltmann and featuring its own armed militia wing calling itself the United American Defense Force (UADF). The full story is here and worth reading, but we wanted to take a moment to focus on the response by vice-chair Rahn when questioned about her decision to present on any subject before the state’s leading armed militia group:

“Being new to this position, I’m trying to build relationships with people and groups- I talk to everybody, or at least I try to,” said Rahn. “As a woman of color who’s a full-time teacher, I’ve been asked to talk often about schools and CRT by many different groups. I go where I’m invited. So it hurt me to be associated with something some people consider negative.” [Pols emphasis]

The thing is, if Priscilla Rahn wanted to know why FEC United and UADF are “considered negative” before she decided to speak at their event about the horrors of teaching children that racism is a thing, she didn’t have to go far. Last month, court documents revealed that Rahn’s boss and Colorado Republican Party chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown was herself the President of FEC United during its formative period. Burton issued a nervous statement the next morning to the Colorado Sun stating the “only priorities” she shared with FEC despite serving as president of the organization are “choice in schools and helping Colorado small businesses to reopen.” We assume this means “no” on the question of UADF starting a civil war over the 2020 elections, but KBB was not specific.

In short, the vice-chair of the Colorado Republican Party just re-legitimized an armed militia group the chair of the same party was obliged to disavow a few weeks previously. Either there’s a serious lack of discipline in the Colorado GOP’s senior leadership, or it’s time to accept FEC United/UADF at their current face value: as the beating heart of today’s Republican Party.

If that’s wrong, it’s necessary for all the party’s leadership to say so. Together.