Our political system is broken and one of the most insidious tools of the trade has been the politicians' use of the "secret ballot" when voting in committee. As we saw recently in the dog and pony show that was the SD 8 vacancy committee, the secret ballot protects good old boys from accountability and allows them to perpetuate the back door deals that have nearly destroyed the Colorado GOP and indeed, this country.
The only valid use of the secret ballot is when a citizen steps into the voting booth. No politician or elected representative should ever be permitted to vote on anything in "secret." This is anathema to democracy and needs to be eliminated from the state GOP by-laws. To date, politicians have hidden behind the GOP by-laws, shrugging helplessly as if "hey, that's the way it is." And with Dick Wadhams lined up (via back door dealing?) to stay at the helm of the Colorado GOP, it is unlikely this will be changed voluntarily. Conservatives are asking the Colorado GOP once, nicely, to open the doors. If this by-law is not changed we will take the party to court under the state Open Meetings Law, and we will win.
The Open Meetings or "Sunshine Law" provides in part that a "state public body" is any public or private entity to which the state, or an official thereof, has delegated a governmental decision-making function . Under this statute:
(2)(a) All meetings of two or more members of any state public body at which any public business is discussed or at which any formal action may be taken are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times.
...except that no adoption of any proposed policy, position, resolution, rule, regulation, or formal action, except the review, approval, and amendment of the minutes of an executive session recorded pursuant to subparagraph (I) of paragraph (d.5) of subsection (2) of this section, shall occur at any executive session that is not open to the public.
We have little doubt that a court will support our position that the Colorado State GOP is subject to this law. We believe that the by-laws allowing for secret ballot in committee - especially and most egregiously when voting to fill a vacant public office - are a blatant violation of the Sunshine Law. Further, it is a disgrace to our democratic system. Given the way deals are now made in politics - behind closed doors, at private meetings and exclusive parties - this is just the beginning of how we will dismantle the good old boy network.
Take note Colorado state GOP: amend your by-laws at your first meeting this spring, or we will take you to court and force you give up your back-door deals. We will force you to act with integrity and for every door you continue to close we will use the courts, civil protest, and our outrage to open this process up and let in the fresh air of democracy.
We are now engaged in a battle of ideas. The outcome of this battle will determine whether the United States of America continues to be the light on the hill for the rest of the world where individual freedom rings, or whether we become just another welfare state, constantly struggling to avert financial ruin. This is far too important to be left to self-serving party hacks who got us in this mess to begin with. As Bob Dylan said, "the times they are a changing." The GOP must change, or it will be relegated to the dust-bin of history as conservatives seek a new home.
