PART 1: We must engage As 2023 gets into gear, we’re plagued by political extremism that prevents progress on many issues, so we need to recognize that extremism has become an essential problem. And we need to take actions to reduce or defeat it. Extremism’s success lies in its ability[Read More…]
Tag: Politics
Lukens assigned to committees
Representative-Elect Meghan Lukens, a Routt County local, was recently elected to serve as the Colorado State Representative for Eagle, Routt, Rio Blanco and Moffat counties. Rep.-Elect Lukens has been assigned to be on the Education Committee and the Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee at the State Legislature. “It is[Read More…]
Don’t call me unaffiliated
I don’t want to be called unaffiliated. That’s what Colorado’s Secretary of State calls me. Merriam-Webster says it means I am “not associated with another.” It is not true. I am an independent. And as of July 1, 2022, I am associated with 1,715,211 other independent voters in Colorado. We[Read More…]
Editor: What have we learned?
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. ~ Søren Kierkegaard Someone has said that when we go through difficult times, instead of asking “why is this happening?” we should be asking “what can I learn from this experience?” So what can we learn from the[Read More…]
We can build an alternative to political extremism
We are Republicans, Democrats and those unaffiliated with a party. We are conservatives, moderates, and liberals. Many of us have long been active in politics while some of us have been uninvolved – until now. But today, we agree that we must speak out about a serious threat facing Western[Read More…]
Alternatives to bigger jails aren’t a partisan issue
If you know someone is a Republican or Democrat, then you might assume you know exactly where they stand on whether local jails need to be expanded. But if recent experience in the rural, southwest Oregon county where I live is any guide, it’s not that simple. The economy in[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Bridging the divide
There’s a lot of discussion underway about the rural/urban divide. It’s a real problem — politically, socially, economically, and culturally — but rare are the discussions about possible solutions. Here are a few ideas: 1) One of the best ways to understand a different culture or lifestyle is through immersion.[Read More…]
Guest Column: How I came to respect centrists
RBC | Sticks in the mud. Overly cautious. Obstacles to progress. That’s how I’ve tended to view political moderates — especially those in my own party. As a 30-something state legislator (1999-2005) deeply committed to individual liberty, limited government and personal responsibility, I often grew frustrated with moderate Republicans who[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Maybe politics shouldn’t be a profit game
Anyone who thought politics was a slow-moving game, or dreadfully dull, has had that idea challenged this year. Now almost every political race is a neck-and-neck battle to the finish line (if a finish line can ever be agreed upon… how I miss those simpler times). It’s exciting when a[Read More…]
QUOTE: George Washington’s take on Political Parties
However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government,[Read More…]
Diverse group meets with potential senate candidate
MEEKER I A geographically diverse crowd gathered at the Meeker Café last Saturday to meet possible U.S. Senate candidate Patricia “Trish” Zornio. She’s considering a challenge to sitting Colorado U.S. Senator Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, whose first six-year Senate term is not up until January 2021.
Independent? Unaffiliated? You can now vote in primary elections
RBC | Thanks to Proposition 108, unaffiliated, active voters can participate in the Colorado primary election for the first time this year. According to voter registration statistics from the Colorado Secretary of State’s office, there are 819 active unaffiliated voters in Rio Blanco County as of May 1. Those votes[Read More…]