The Fairplay Flume of June 9, 2023 highlighted Park County Commission Chair Amy Mitchell with two spreads, one noting she was now the Park County Republican Chair, and one from Mitchell herself, asking us all to be kind to each other.
Many of us have observed Mitchell during Board of County Commissioner work session and general meetings, both before she became the chair and after. She became the chair when Dave Wissel took his seat as the newly elected District 3 Commissioner, thus cementing a far-right-wing majority on the board. In fact, it is not unreasonable to suggest the majority of the board is now beholding to the tenets of Christian Nationalism, the Big Lie, pseudo-conservativism, and a regressive passion for a skewed history of America’s past.
During Mitchell’s run for her commission seat in 2020, she attended Michelle Malkin’s “Defend our Monuments” rally in Colorado Springs. Whether or not she attended with the intent to get a selfie with Malkin to post on her campaign website is unknown. But, she did just that, characterizing it as an “endorsement” from Malkin. Certainly, she thought the “endorsement” would play well with who she knew would take notice of it.
Conservative pundit and syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin has a long history of divisive rhetoric around a range of issues – particularly immigration.
Recently, however, she has publicly and explicitly allied herself with white supremacists, particularly the so-called “groypers” appearing on white supremacist podcasts and other online programs.
Malkin’s unashamed support and interaction with white supremacists points to the increasingly fine line between Christian Nationalists and white supremacists.
Indeed, she says, “I don’t apologize as somebody who has non-white skin for defending the idea that America should maintain its historic demographic balance.”
Naturally, Malkin gaslights the white supremacists message, insisting the boys and girls who espouse the groyper ideology are just patriots who are in the business of taking their country back.
Mitchell’s far-right allegiances (she’s on the far right in the pic with Tancredo) go back a long way. Back in 2014 she joined some “strong women” in support of Tom Tancredo, and, of course, she attended the “awesome” Trump rally in Colorado Springs in 2020. Nothing wrong with that. It does, though, give you a sense of where her political and ideological loyalties lie. Incidentally, Tancredo lost the Republican primary for governor to Bob Beauprez who went on to lose the general election to John Hickenlooper in 2014.
It’s not necessary to recount Tancredo’s and Trump’s racial biases.
Additionally, does Mitchell claim to have been instrumental in getting the Tea Party off the ground in El Paso County in 2009? Was that the first time she insinuated herself into the Republican Party to push her far-right agenda? And, in doing so, did she, along with her fellow Tea Party fellow travelers, absolutely guarantee the Republican Tea Party backed candidate for governor in 2010, Dan Maes, would garner only 11% of the vote? In Colorado, if a major party gets 10% or less of the statewide vote it is officially relegated to minority party status. (One does wonder how Mitchell handled the fact her Tea Party backed candidate, Maes, as well as Tom Tancredo, running under the Constitution Party, both ran in that race.)
One does have to ask the question. Did Mitchell understand that moving to Park County with less than 20,000 souls living here, was certainly more fertile ground for her to push her far-right agenda, to strut her Tea Party ideology among folks who would certainly be more amenable to it?
In November 2021 Mitchell joined Ron Hanks in a lawsuit against Jena Griswold, Colorado Secretary of State. The suit claimed all sorts of nefariousness by Griswold in administering the 2020 election. The BIG LIE had begun in earnest, and Michell was at the forefront.
You’ll remember who Ron Hanks was/is.
Mitchell’s other co-plaintiffs were Jeff Rector, a Rio Blanco County Commissioner who subsequently resigned; Gary Moyer, a Rio Blanco County Commissioner who was subsequently recalled; and Merlin Klotz, Douglas County Clerk who, in December 2020 posted this on Facebook: “Pence has plenary authority on January 6 and can declare AZ, GA, MI, NM, NV, WI and PA elections illegal, not following state and general election processes … Contact/encourage Pence.” A late arrival to the lawsuit, Elbert County Clerk, Dallas Schroeder, made copies of the Dominion system hard drives and gave them to two attorneys.
I believe it’s safe to say Mitchell is a firm believer in the Big Lie.
Following the 2020 election, if we take Don Rodgers’ post at face value, Mitchell was in the thick of it, urging her fellow Trumpers to mobilize, to pull that bubble even tighter, to raise confirmation bias to new heights.
It is safe to say Mitchell fashions herself a cowgirl, beholding to the Code of the West just like her ideological doppelganger Dave Wissel. She and her husband have a 160 spread near Lake George which she calls the ranch. You might then suppose she’s a rancher. But is she?
Mitchell’s background is in corporate and independent ownership of a diet supplement business. She claims to be a 5th generation Coloradan and has served on a number of volunteer boards. She’s clearly involved in her community. But is she a rancher?
Or does she simply lease her agriculturally zoned property to somebody with a bunch of cows?
If I were to characterize in one example the essence of Mitchell’s (and Wissel’s too) agenda for Park County, it would be the “Theater of the Absurd.” Mitchell placed an item on a BOCC work session agenda to address ways to restore voter confidence in Park County. What it turned out to be, however, was two yahoos who… Well, take a look at the video.
There is a great deal more to say about Amy Mitchell, and who she is. But, did you see this headline in the FLUME?
Yes, the Park County Republican Party is now the party of the Big Lie, among other things. Even Dave Wissel’s wife has been seated as an officer on the central committee. And who is Lillian Wissel?
More troubling, though, is who is purported to now head up the PCGOP Vacancy Committee. This committee, as its name implies, fills up any vacant spots in the party structure, including precinct captains. (I’m told even the Head Accountable of the South Park Outsiders is vying for precinct leadership. What do the South Park Outsiders believe? Here’s a hint, and here too.)
But, more troubling, is Amy Mitchell is purported to have appointed the editor and publisher of Lamplighter League Patriot Press to head the vacancy committee. Here’s a link to one of the editions. The editor and publisher is local, living in Bailey. Some gems from the Patriot Press are below.
Clearly, if you really want to see the kind of bubble the Big Lie, anti-vaxer, anti-government, so-called Constitutional Conservative world lives in peruse the Patriot Press. Amy Mitchell even invited everyone to attend a Patriot Press-sponsored event before the November election. The Patriot Press is, after all, as they note, “WE ARE THE NEWS NOW.”
So, who is Amy Mitchell? You can make your own conclusions. I’ve made mine.
It is important to understand that traditionally whoever has their hands on the Republican Party in Park County is assured of having their fingers in every aspect of Park County government. That may have been tolerable when the old-timey, sincerely conservative, died-in-the-wool Republicans were heading the party apparatus. But now?
The Park County Republican Party has been co-opted by the severely and dangerously right-wing, Big Lie, and conspiracy-believing, Code of the West adherents, who are not Republicans. They are not the inheritors of the party of Lincoln. They are pretenders, voraciously consuming the false fodder that they are We the People. They are not. Their definition of that term is exclusive to them, their ideology. And, those of us who believe the people of Park County are not defined by the insidious machinations of this group, should really start paying attention.
I am not so naive to believe that someone reading this post will say, Hey, that Amy is a humdinger. She’s exactly who I want to see running the county.
I am certain, however, there are a whole lot of folks who, at least, will be enlightened by the post. And maybe even angry enough about what’s going on in the county to determinably get involved, to do something about it.
