“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
― H.L. Mencken
If you’re like me, you’ve already booked your flight to D.C. to arrive on January 5, so you can rise bright and early on the 6th, don your camo, and pull the velcro straps tight across your utility vest. You’ll dig into the box of supplies you pre-shipped via UPS and pull out the bear spray, smoke grenades, retractable baton, balaclava, safety glasses, brass knuckles, and walkie-talkie, finding the appropriate pocket on your vest to stuff each item into. One of your compadres drove his Audi to D.C. loaded with 200 8″x12″ and 25 4’x6′ American flags, and you’ll catch up with him later to grab a bunch of the little and one of the big Old Glories. You pull on your tactical Kevlar helmet, wave to the desk clerk as you exit the hotel, and join the thousands of patriots who’ve already gathered to cheer Kamala and Joe, who’ll foment the insurrection from the Ellipse. Then you’ll…
But wait!
That was then. That was them.
This is us. Today. And this will be us tomorrow. And this will be us come the mid-terms in 2026.
So, half the country elected a moron yesterday. It is what it is. We could Monday-morning-quarterback the whole nasty mess from here to eternity and still not come up with a convincing explanation about what happened.
It does not behoove us to argue the outcome with anybody, especially those who claim We, the People, won.
“Never argue with stupid people,” Mark Twain told us, for “they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”
Let’s look at a few things from right here in Park County. And let’s be honest with each other. Park County is Republican, conservative, and infested with MAGAs. We can hope that the future, the next election cycle, will break the MAGA Republican hold on the county’s government, and we can fight the good fight toward that end. And we should. But we should not be surprised when the reality of Park County once again dashes those hopes. Maybe five or ten years in the future, that reality will change. Or perhaps it won’t. Or maybe, just maybe, the 2026 midterms will surprise us all.
Should we start thinking and planning for the 2026 mid-terms right now? Of course, we should. Should we take a lesson from the Park County Maga Republican Party’s unrelenting demagogic message and its uncompromising win-at-all-cost regimentation as we plan for the future? We definitely should because I do not believe nice guys win ballgames, especially in the Trump Era.
Some specifics.
Notably, Amy Mitchell and Jason Gemmer, the MAGA Republicans, won their races against Robb Green and Jack Hansell, the Democrats, by nearly the same 15 percentage points. This tells me that no matter what qualifications, new ideas, and abilities the Democrats brought to the table, contrasted with the verified MAGA lunacies of Mitchell and Gemmer, the only thing that mattered to regimented MAGA Republicans was the R next to the candidates’ names.
Sergei Matveyuk, the MAGA Republican candidate who claimed God called him to run for the U.S. House seat against the Democrat Brittany Pettersen, garnered 15 points over Pettersen in Park County. (There’s that 15 points again.)
Pettersen won that race districtwide by, yes, 15 points.
Jule McCluskie fell short on the Park County vote for the District 13 State House contest by 17 points. It didn’t matter that she was the Speaker of the Colorado House and bent backward to assist Park County in several endeavors, even working closely with MAGA Mitchell. No, what mattered was that D next to her name.
McCluskie won the District by 11 points.
The hypocrisy of the MAGA no new taxes mantra was exposed by their support of the Hartsel Fire District’s 13-point victory, raising the mill levy by up to 8 mills by 2028.
The Ute Pass Regional Health Services District 1% sales tax passed with almost a 30-point spread.
Amendment 80, the school choice measure, won by only 9 points in Park County. What’s happening here? Did some Republicans become a wee bit less regimented?
The amendment lost statewide.
Look at this: Amendment J will remove the Colorado constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Park County approved this by 10 points. Again, what’s happening here? Where’d the MAGA Republicans go?
This amendment won by 30 points statewide.
And then Amendment 79, recognizing a woman’s right to the sovereignty of her own body by embedding in the Colorado Constitution the right to an abortion, won in Park County by 5 points. This is the devil’s work, for sure. How could you, MAGA Republicans?
Amendment 79 won by 23 points statewide.
There is much to be said about party over country and county. Indeed, there’s a lot to be said about mindless devotion to a con man’s con. That half the country proved as susceptible as it did to the con is something I won’t spend much time trying to figure out. That’s not productive.
What’s productive is continuing to fight the good fight regardless of the new cast of characters on the national scene and right here in Park County District 2. To be sure, scrutiny of their every move, nonsensical idea, word, or action they expose must continue to be documented, verified, and reported on to the best of our abilities. That’s part of the good fight.
And most of us remain up to the task.
…a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government. History will teach us that the former has been found a much more certain road to the introduction of despotism than the latter, and that of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.
Alexander Hamilton – Federalist #1
A helpful assessment. Thank you.