Last week, Democrat Vice Presidential candidate, Tim Walz, stopped in Denver for a one-night fundraiser and promptly returned to the midwest. This comes one week after former President Donald Trump passed through Aspen for a private fundraiser himself. The lack of time spent in Colorado by both tickets indicates that Colorado is not in play this Fall for the Republicans. Thoroughly blue for the last decade, Trump sent out a post referring to Colorado as a “political cesspool.” Trump has his reasons to use such strong language given the Democrats in Colorado attempted to keep him off the primary ballot entirely. Democrats in Colorado control the governor seat, the senate, the house of representatives and the mayors of both Denver and Colorado Springs. With critical elections upcoming this Fall, one would think the Colorado G.O.P. would be entirely focused in getting whatever candidates they can across the finish line, and yet the topic of debate at the moment is if the chairman of the party should step down or not. This is a sad example of an observation C.S. Lewis famously made, “The game is to have them all running around with fire extinguishers whenever there’s a flood; and all crowding to that side of the boat which is already nearly gone under.”

Regardless of what one thinks about Chairman Dave Williams and his priorities, one can recognize the silliness of the Colorado G.O.P. fighting amongst themselves as the Left waltzes to victory in a majority of the elections this Fall. Additionally, it reveals there is a growing divide on the right which is fastly becoming an identity crisis in the Republican Party. This is not only happening in Colorado but also at the national level. As an example, those considered to be on the right have voiced objections to what Vice Presidential Candidate JD Vance is promoting. Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, recently took issue with Vance’s comments on child tax credits. Specifically, he objected to the idea that Vance’s proposition requires households without children to pay more taxes in comparison than households with children. He referred to the idea as “f–ing idiotic.” Portnoy, who is childless himself, offered the solution that if you cannot afford a big family, “don’t have a ton of kids.” Because of Vance’s comments, Portnoy even questioned Vance’s legitimacy on the right saying, “We sure this dude is a Republican?” Setting aside the policy debate of child tax credits and that Portnoy is of course not a serious thinker, the interaction revealed that the defining feature of being a “Republican” to him, and many others, is not paying high taxes.

Another recent, albeit low-hanging fruit, example is David French. A self-professed “conservative”, he wrote an article in the New York Times with the title, “To Save Conservatism from Itself, I am voting for Harris.” As French said in a follow-up T.V. spot on MSNBC, “If you’ve been a lifelong Republican, I’ve got news for you. This party is not the party you grew up with.” French is actually right, Trump has ushered in a new era for the Republican party and severely disrupted the status quo in the G.O.P. The divide on the right, in many ways, can be reduced to if one believes the aberration of a Donald Trump presidency is a positive or negative development for the party and the nation in general. Trump certainly is not your traditional “conservative” and yet that is partially what has made him successful. He is different from the establishmentt Republicans of the past who became known for being paralyzed by principles while the left runs wild acquiring power and destroying our country. G.K. Chesterton, in striking terms, summarized this dynamic that many “principled conservatives” have displayed, “The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected.” The issue of abortion is a telling example. Most Christians wish Trump was more outspokenly pro-life and yet despite his wrongs, Trump is responsible for overturning Roe, the most significant pro-life victory to date. Trump may not hold to a clear, core belief system from a policy or idealogical perspective and his opponents may be able to profess greater governmental credentials. However, if such knowledge leads to child mutilation, increased illegal immigration, abortion up to and after birth, and letting your own city burn to the ground, of what use are those credentials?

Ultimately, a vote for Trump is a vote against the status quo in Washington. Political commentator Auron MacIntyre helpfully explains the importance of Trump’s ascendance, “Once again the value of Trump isn’t what he will do in office but that he drives the regime into a delusional frenzy where they destroy the legitmacy of the system.” As we have learned with the recent Biden-Harris swap, the Left does not feel constrained by any principles themselves. Conservatives need to recognize the state of politics today and break free from the abstract ideas to which many small government Republicans cling. Those debates can resurface once significant changes are made in the right direction but until then, those on the right must be willing to acquire and leverage legitimate power for positive ends. In fact, amidst political and cultural destruction, perhaps the term “Conservative” is no longer appropriate, as Chesterton also observes.

“All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change. If you leave a white post alone it will soon be a black post. If you particularly want it to be white you must be always painting it again; that is, you must be always having a revolution. Briefly, if you want the old white post you must have a new white post.”

As mentioned at the outset, Colorado is not in play this Fall for the presidential election. There are a few congressional seats that the Republicans hold and potentially will win, but for the most part, the Left will continue to dominate politically in the Centennial State. This presents an opportunity for those on the Right in Colorado to press the reset button and re-evaluate their strategy moving forward. Many envision a non-radical path forward, aiming to appeal to moderate and independently minded voters. This can certainly be a strategy for local elections. However, at the state and national level, there is a significant mountain to climb. There will not be any meaningful resistance to the Left in Colorado without a politics and culture of substance. Rather than catering and reacting to the Left, what is needed is a greater depth to the positions held on the Right as well as an offensive advance, not just a retreat. Cultural strategist, Aaron Renn, helpfully explains this position, “Strategic retreating and regrouping in some cases is the wise move, but someone who never does anything more than that is a loser who will only keep on losing.” Fundamentally, those on the right need a distinctly Christian approach to the political and cultural challeges in Colorado. In the face of statewide decline, order can only be preserved and sustained by a turning to Christ and His teachings. The answer is not to become more like our enemies but to instead strengthen our own distinctivness and most notably, welcome and acknowledge the Christian foundation to all that we believe.