By Sean M. Pond | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
Colorado did not fall because of one bad election or one bad governor. It fell because a handful of people figured out how to take over a state legally. They did it quietly, methodically, and permanently. By the time most Coloradans noticed, it was already too late.
This is not theory. It is documented history and political strategy. If we do not face it head on, Colorado will become the model for how the rest of America loses its freedom without a single shot being fired.
In the early 2000s four ultra wealthy progressives, Jared Polis, Tim Gill, Rutt Bridges, and Pat Stryker, launched a plan called The Blueprint. Their goal was to flip Colorado from red to blue and lock it down for good. They did not just focus on big elections. They targeted small local races, poured millions into “nonpartisan” nonprofits that were actually Democrat recruitment machines, and built a web of think tanks, activist groups, and friendly media outlets to control the narrative year round.
By 2008 they controlled the state legislature. From there they rewrote the rules to make sure they never had to give it back.
The Blueprint takeover began in small local races. That is exactly where we will begin taking it back.
Here’s the truth the establishment won’t say out loud: Denver, Boulder, and increasingly parts of Colorado Springs have enough population to control statewide elections on their own. Rural counties can vote ninety percent against something and still lose. Urban voters who have never set foot on a ranch, mine, or logging site now decide the fate of industries they do not understand.
Once they had power they changed the rules:
• Universal mail in ballots sent to every registered voter
• Automatic voter registration at the DMV, inflating the rolls
• Loosened residency rules, making it easier for people without deep ties to sway elections
• Ballot harvesting loopholes, allowing political operatives to collect and submit other people’s ballots
All of this went through the legislature, was signed by the governor, and upheld by the courts. It is legal on paper even if it destroys the fairness of the process.
The courts are no help. Judges are appointed or retained under systems controlled by progressives. The Colorado Supreme Court leans far left. By the time one lawsuit is resolved, three more bad laws have taken root.
I have seen firsthand that there are far more of us than they want you to believe, and the movement to restore liberty in Colorado is already underway.
Every overreach is sold with a feel good slogan:
• For the children means more state control over parenting, education, and health
• Protect the planet means land grabs, water restrictions, and shutting down traditional energy
• Save lives means gutting the Second Amendment and letting criminals out early
It is propaganda designed to make opponents look heartless.
Our Constitution runs on the consent of the governed. But when the media only tells one side, when voting rules are rewritten to benefit one party, and when courts are stacked with like minded appointees, you can manufacture that consent. The system still looks legitimate but functions like a machine built to keep the same ideology in power no matter how badly it performs.
That is why I call it legal tyranny. Oppression with paperwork.
The Founders warned about this in 1787. They said liberty survives only when the people defend it. They said a majority can destroy freedom just as fast as a king. They said once power is concentrated, it will not give itself back willingly.
Colorado is now a test lab for progressive America. What works here gets exported to other states. If we do not break this machine, the rest of the country will follow.
This fight will not be won in Washington. It will be won in our towns, our counties, and our school boards, and I am already in that fight.
The fix will not come from Washington or the courts. It will come from us, the people of Colorado, standing up at the local level where this takeover began. We must take back school boards, city councils, and county commissions. We must build a permanent conservative ground game that operates year round. We must expose their machine for what it is so people can see that this is not progress, it is control.
I have been in communities across Colorado, meeting face to face with the people who refuse to surrender our land, our liberty, and our future, and we are far stronger than they want you to believe.
The good news is that it can be done. The Blueprint takeover began in small local races and local organizations. That is exactly where we can begin taking it back. We can show up at every meeting, from school boards to county commissions. We can recruit and support candidates who will defend the Constitution. We can work year round instead of waking up six months before an election. We can educate our neighbors, share the truth, and refuse to be intimidated into silence.
If you are reading this, you are part of a growing movement. Together we can restore freedom in Colorado. I know the road is not easy, but I also know we have the strength, the numbers, and the will to do it. And as long as I have a voice, I will be using it to fight for our land, our liberty, and the future of our state.
Colorado is not lost yet. But we must fight now, together, or we will be remembered as the generation that let freedom slip away.
Sean M. Pond is a Montrose County Commissioner for District 3, a U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Persian Gulf including during Operation Desert Shield, and a fifth generation Colorado native. He has stood on stages across the state defending constitutional freedoms, protecting rural Colorado, and fighting back against government overreach. Sean travels regularly to communities across Colorado to meet with local leaders, grassroots groups, and everyday citizens, building a movement to restore liberty in the state.
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.