Friday, March 29, 2024 -
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Accept the election results

Talk about sore losers!

Republicans lost — in disastrous fashion — the Colorado elections of November, 2018. The Senate, House, governorship, attorney general and secretary of state all went to Democrats. These various elected officials made their platforms abundantly clear. There was no lack of transparency on where they stood on gun control, sanctuary city and energy extraction.

Yet now, some Republicans seek to unseat some of these newly-elected officials, not through the normal process of campaigning ahead of the next elections, but through a recall.

Recalls should, in my opinion, be reserved — as they are in Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island and Washington — for cases of malfeasance or misconduct. In Colorado, that standard doesn’t exist, but I wish it did.

Instead we have a powerful Republican lobbying group pushing for the recall of legislators who passed laws a majority of Coloradans who voted said they wanted them to pass.

The most egregious of all the recall attempts is that of Tom Sullivan. The representative of House District 37 is the father of an Aurora shooting victim. He campaigned specifically on the red flag law, which allows for the temporary removal of firearms from people deemed to be of significant risk to themselves or others. One can call the law unconstitutional or a violation of civil liberties. Neither makes Sullivan unfit to serve his constituency.

Remember when Donald Trump was elected and many were unhappy with the result? Remember when Republicans said — correctly — that election results must be respected? Do Republicans only believe that when it’s the result they want?

If Republicans want legislators in power who share their values, here’s an idea: Do a better job of getting them elected. Republicans pride themselves on their respect for the rule of law and government. This recall effort is evidence of the opposite.

Shana Goldberg may be reached at [email protected]

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