It should surprise no one that O’Donald Trump Laden—America’s favorite domestic terrorist—has been stoking the fires to ignite another January 6th by already claiming the 2024 election has been rigged for a Democrat victory. And like everything else that bears the mark of conservatism, it should also come as no surprise that GOP leadership in Colorado has decided to completely blind themselves to reality in the name of party allegiance by leaning head-first into this baseless bullshit.

In all fairness to the GOP, there is one person who was recently convicted of federal crimes related to the supposed election fraud of 2020. Too bad for the party, it was one of their own.

Because of her fervent belief that the only way the evil Democratic party could win the 2020 election was through election tampering, former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters decided to use her security clearances (in conjunction with some good old-fashioned American ingenuity) to copy hard drive images of election software. Sadly, this was done to impress pillow salesman Mike Lindell—who would unsuccessfully try to use them as proof that election interference took place.

Though the information she ended up with was really a nothing-burger when it came to helping push the big lie that would benefit Trump, Peters was convicted in August of first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, failure to comply with requirements of the Secretary of State, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and three counts of attempt to influence a public servant for her troubles.

So, in a way, the Republican party is right; illegal activities surrounding the tampering of software when it came to election fraud in 2020 did occur … I guess.

It’s this kind of magical thinking that has allowed for the Colorado Republican party to concoct the following equation: Lack of substantive proof + the Tina Peters conviction = the implementation of fact-free policies when it comes to directly impacting the 2024 election.

Enter Ron Harris and the Republican election integrity unit.

In August, Ron Hanks and the unit decided to appeal to the lowest common denominator of Republican voters by refusing to certify the 2022 elections. Hanks was quoted as saying, “Nothing has changed since the 2020 elections.” He then called the state “a playground for election manipulators” and alleged “systemic fraud” without providing evidence.

This ideology seems to have taken hold with other Colorado conservatives as Republicans on five local canvass boards have also voted against certifying their results; again, without any legitimate proof of wrongdoing.

The thing that bothers me so much about Colorado Republicans pushing the big lie comes from the fact that it stokes the fears of the truly unhinged. And this unhinged contingency is terrifyingly gaining steam.

A 2023 report released by the University of Chicago’s Chicago Project on Security and Threats found that one in 10 American adults believe the US government is run by Satan-worshipping pedophiles. The study also found that 12 million Americans believe violence is justified in restoring Trump to power.

When you learn that both the Colorado Supreme Court and Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold have received over a thousand violent threats this year because of the battle regarding Trump’s removal from the state ballot, you can see how the rhetoric of Colorado GOP leaders could be problematic.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t think there are any amount of death threats—legitimate or otherwise—that will force the Republican party to change its tune. In fact, with the new “purify and purge” strategy they implemented this year, the Colorado GOP has made it crystal clear they will blindly follow Trump, no matter what.

In May, state GOP chairman Dave Williams required candidates to complete a questionnaire that pledges support for Trump’s populist, America-first agenda and denounces the anti-Trump conservative Americans for Prosperity organization. Keep in mind, it’s these same people who will give a bear hug to the American flag while looking at their voting bloc with a straight face and proclaiming that they embody what that colored cloth stands for.

Because nothing espouses the core ideologies of the free-willed, democratic society that is America quite like complete fealty.