Shaming never produces good, constructive outcomes. We know this in raising children, motivating students or workers, or calling out colleagues.
So I’m disheartened to see a digital newsletter, backed by the Colorado GOP, with a Wall of Shame for RINOs, or Republicans in name only.
Republicans nailed to that wall have all worked hard in Colorado for specific causes close to their hearts. And whether or not I personally support their records, no one deserves this kind of humiliation from former comrades whom the shamed ones had supported for years or even decades.
A few clicks reveal Dave Williams, the Colorado Republican chairman who replaced former Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown, is behind that wall.
Newly hung on the RINO Wall of Shame is Brown, lawyer and policy adviser with conservative advocacy group Advance Colorado. Brown focuses on school choice and protecting the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
Why Brown?
Williams said the State Central Committee was promised more than $100,000 would be left for the new leadership team, but accounts were drained to a little more than $8,000. The state GOP has signaled it intends to “pursue civil and possibly criminal legal complaints against team KBB over its financial fraud and abuse scandal.”
I’ve met Brown and ran a few of her guest columns in our Opinion pages. Always seeking diverse voices, I thought Brown made compelling arguments. Chances are, she’ll come out OK after this very public accusation. But it must hurt terribly.
Williams’ allegation was shared extensively. My heart goes out to any person who has tirelessly and passionately worked for an organization – whether or not I believe in its mission – only to be treated in casually cruel ways.
Brown presided over a troubled organization that failed to win statewide offices and the Legislature, and splintered between an election-denying MAGA faction and traditional conservatives.
Also on the wall is Dick Wadhams, a columnist at The Gazette in Colorado Springs and another former chairman of the state GOP. Wadhams’ unforgivable, alleged crime was his “willingness to cozy up to the opposition for personal gain.” In plain speak, his support to repeal the Gallagher Amendment.
A hit below the belt, the RINO site links to a column – in the very newspaper Wadhams writes for – with the headline, “How Dick Wadhams and the establishment screw the GOP.”
For a taste of the column’s flavor, here’s a line: “Wadhams is a prime reason your property taxes are skyrocketing.” Ridiculous to oversimplify all that was the Gallagher Amendment, Wadhams’ position and the meteoric property value climbs now.
Krista Kafer, a thoughtful columnist for The Denver Post, was also shamed. Kafer was one of six who filed a lawsuit in September, seeking to keep off former President Donald Trump as a 2024 presidential candidate on ballots in Colorado. The group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, argued Trump is disqualified under the 14th Amendment that bars certain office-seekers who have engaged in insurrection. Note, the lawsuit is based on a core Republican principle.
I’m sending empathy to Kafer. At least, it’s nice to see she’s kept her sense of humor. In her Dec. 7 column, she wrote, “If only being censured by the Arapahoe County Republican Party meant I would be spared the daily barrage of unsolicited GOP fundraising text messages.”
Amen to that.
Last, but certainly not least, is Ken Buck, representing the 4th Congressional District. Buck’s portrait includes multiple little rhinoceros heads on the bottom frame. This must show he’s the alpha RINO of the RINOs. (Just learned a group of rhinoceros is called a “crash.”) Buck may even be the inspiration for this creepy site.
He is part of a ripple through Congress to break publicly with his party in announcing he would not run again. Buck also bravely denounced the cultural dominance of the hard right and its allegiance to Trump.
“We lost our way,” Buck told media outlets. “We have an identity crisis in the Republican Party. If we can’t address the election denier issue and we continue down that path, we won’t have credibility with the American people that we are going to solve problems.”
Wise words.
We hope the pain of landing on the Wall of Shame will eventually transform into something else. An indicator of that very American streak of independence or a point of pride. Maybe even a trivia question.
But, for now, it’s mean. Like extortion on a playground with bullies demanding full allegiance. Or else.
Shaming sharply divides the Republican Party even more.
But from this abyss within the ranks, we hope to see a phoenix rising. Moderate Republicans who will step out from the shadows, say something and reclaim their rightful place in American politics and democracy. If the quiet ones were to mobilize, we can expect dedicated bipartisan work on all that needs done.
In her column on being censured for joining the lawsuit, Kafer reminisced about the days when her party was unified around such things as school choice, tax reform, building a strong economy, instituting law and order. And upholding the rule of law.
On the last point, she said, “It is not we who have deviated from that principle.”
Ann Marie Swan is Opinion Editor for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez. These views are hers alone and do not represent the editorial board’s.
