Of All Political Leanings and None at All

Cross- and A-Partisan Response to this Treacherous Moment

I was very glad to learn today that, same as I, John Brackney attended yesterday’s rally for democracy at the Colorado Capitol. Who, you ask, is John Brackney?

Brackney is a widely respected figure in Colorado conservative politics, one who is renowned for his long and sterling history of civic engagement. Following distinguished service in the active duty Army and Reserves (he twice received the Meritorious Service Medal), Brackney compiled an impressive record of public service as a civilian:

John was elected for a first term as Arapahoe County Commissioner in 1996. In 1999, he was re-elected to a four-year term and served as chairman in 2000. He then served as chairman of the Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority (Centennial Airport), and as president of the Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority. Director of Public Policy at the South Metro Denver Chamber from Jan 2003-April 2004. Later on, he served as the President and CEO and member of the Board of Directors of the South Metro Denver Chamber from April 2004 to March 2014.

As a conservative thought leader, Brackney has several times published guest columns in the Denver Post. The one that came out in October 2022 is especially impressive. The context for it was the 2022 midterm elections. In the column, Brackney said of the 45th president that his assaults on our democracy render him “ineligible to ever participate in our republic again.” Below is the passage from the essay in which that assessment appeared:

Let’s be clear: One person is responsible for Jan. 6, the rise of contemporary political hate groups, and our ability to remain a constitutional republic for centuries to come: Donald J. Trump. The former president must be thoroughly removed from the Republican Party and all respectable discussions in public policy.

As to criminal intent or civil liability, that is not our concern; it is for investigators, prosecutors, judges, and juries to decide his culpability if any. But as to public policy influence in America, he should have none. Zero. Nada. Zilch. Nothing.

When a person is willing to sacrifice our system of governance (yes, our constitutional republic is founded on representative and direct democracy) to ensure that he remains in power, nothing else matters.

You may like or oppose his views on immigration, race relations, foreign policy, abortion, gay rights, taxes, his style, communication techniques, willingness to take it to the “enemy,” and on and on, but none of that matters.

You may despise President Joe Biden and the war that has started on his watch, his lax approach to securing the southern border, his tax and spend policies, his bumbling gaffes and his strong criticism of MAGA Republicans, but none of that matters.

Former President Donald Trump is ineligible to ever participate in our republic again.

He was willing to use whatever means necessary to retain power against our current laws, and that is reprehensible. We must ensure that he never has access to any credible power again in the United States. Do this out of love of country, not hate for the man.

In that election year column, Brackney suggested that responsible citizens require that candidates answer this question: “Will you vote for Trump if he is the Republican nominee?” Continuing, he wrote, “If the answer is yes, then you’ll know much about that candidate’s lack of knowledge about America and the importance of respect for our Rule of Law.”

In a guest column one year later, Brackney asserted his conservative bona fides when he weighed in on the topic of how best to fill the vacant position of visiting scholar in conservative thought at the University of Colorado. One of the previous holders of that position – the ninth – is the notorious John Eastman, one of the architects of the plot to overturn the 2020 election. Here is how Brackney characterized Eastman: “[H]e, second to only one, played a lead role in potentially ruining the greatest experiment in self-rule in the history of the human race: the United States of America.”

Brackney went on to propose questions for the candidates for the vacant position:

Are you willing to overthrow the U.S. government, stopping the peaceful transition of power for the second time in our history?...Do you believe in pluralism or is violence sometimes necessary to achieve your political goals?”

[...]

Do you believe our 9th visiting scholar in conservative thought and policy, John Eastman, represented the University of Colorado, the state of Colorado, and the longest-serving Constitutional republic in the history of the world well or not? Please explain your answer in detail.

[..]

Conservatives love people. Will you stipulate to that? If not, you’re not eligible.

[...]

Conservatives support the written rule of law and the Constitution. We don’t like made up customary law or judge-made law or fluid feelings about the law. We like black letter law.

[...]

Conservatives don’t believe in violence to achieve political ends…We believe in supporting the police and the military. Yep, seriously, don’t mess with those who serve.

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Why do I go on at such length about John Brackney? Simply because to me it is so very vital to champion Republicans and conservatives who, like him, stand up for their principles and values against the authoritarianism that is blooming in the Republican Party and in this second administration of the person who, as Brackney alluded, played the leading role in nearly “ruining the greatest experiment in self-rule in the history of the human race.”

Consider just a few of the developments in the first four weeks of this presidency:

• In direct contradiction of the “black letter law” of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, the 45th/47th president has issued an executive order declaring an end to birthright citizenship

• In direct contradiction of the “black letter law” of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the administration of the 45th/47th president has unilaterally frozen the disbursement of federally-mandated spending, including through the arbitrary and unlawful termination of tens of thousands of federal employees.

• In direct contradiction of support for the police, the 45th/47th president pardoned the vicious thugs who beat up cops on January 6, as well as seditious conspirators who plotted his coup attempt. Additionally, in a fundamental inversion of the rule of law, his Department of Justice is pursuing a purge of personnel who faithfully executed their duties in pursuing investigations and prosecutions in connection with January 6.

• In direct contradiction of the “black letter law” requiring 30 days notice and justification for removals, the administration terminated 17 inspectors general, who are charged with investigating and exposing fraud and abuse in the federal government

There is so very much more to which a principled conservative like John Brackney surely objects and in opposition to which will stand in solidarity with other patriots – of all political leanings and none at all – in defense of our rule-of-law, Constitutional republic. It is only through such cross- and a-partisan alliances that we have any hope of success in fulfilling an oath that both John Brackney and I have sworn or affirmed: to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”