It’s time again for the Colorado Times Recorder’s weekly round up of stories about political extremism. Several stories originated from the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference this week. Erik Maulbetsch reports that, despite outcry over Steve Bannon’s Nazi salute, the Colorado Republican Party will still have Bannon headline an upcoming event, with a spokesperson calling Bannon a “Hero of the Right.” One of our Washington D.C. correspondents, Maria Tedesco, did a deeper dive into the Colorado connections at CPAC. Logan Davis’ recent column examines new data on Christian nationalism. Finally, we wanted to highlight a piece by Colorado Public Radio’s Caitlyn Kim looking at Rep. Gabe Evans’ first piece of legislation that would subvert Colorado immigration law.
Colo GOP Won’t Disinvite Bannon Over Nazi Salute, Says He’s a ‘Hero of the Right’
The Colorado Republican Party recently announced that Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump advisor, would headline their annual fundraising dinner in March. Bannon, a prominent figure in the American far-right movement, made headlines earlier this month when he concluded his speech at at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) with a Nazi salute. Although Bannon denies that the gesture was made to reference the Nazi imagery, it was enough for some foreign speakers to cancel their planned speeches. A spokesperson for the Colorado GOP, Darcy Schoening dismissed any criticism of Bannon as a ‘grift’ from the left. “I look forward to seeing him again in March, and to the work we will do together to save our children in the new Golden Era-the Trump era.”
Election Deniers With Colorado Connections Speak at CPAC
Bannon and his salute are not the only news to come out from CPAC this year. One of our D.C. correspondents reported from National Harbor, MD, where the event was held, and there were numerous connections to Colorado politics. From former Trump attorney John Eastman, author of the infamous “coup memo” and My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell were both guest speakers at this year’s CPAC. Lindell has been a long-time supporter of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was sentenced to a nine-year prison sentence for her conspiracy to under election safety in Mesa County.
Xenophobia, Sexism, and QAnon Stand Out in New Study on Christian Nationalist Beliefs
The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) recently released a new dataset on the Christian nationalist movement, from the general size of the movement, demographics, and general beliefs. According to PRRI, roughly 10% of Americans fully align with Christian nationalist beliefs, while another 20% count as sympathizers. Their research also found that those who held Christian nationalist beliefs tended also to hold extreme views of immigrants like that they are “poisoning the blood of our country” or are “invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background”. Logan Davis’ analysis looks into the similarities of Christian nationalism with some of today’s prominent conservative ideology.
Colorado Public Radio: For his first bill in Congress, Rep. Evans aims to reverse Colorado’s immigration laws
Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Fort Lupton) barely won his election in 2024. While he remained silent on the cuts to Medicaid he just voted for, the first piece of legislation Rep. Evans has put forward would takes aim at Colorado immigration law. All other GOP members of the Colorado delegation joined Evans by cosponsoring the bill.
