Colorado Open Primary Opt-Out and the Fight for Property Rights Against CO2 Pipelines

On this August 2, 2023 broadcast, Kim Monson examines two critical battles for liberty: the Colorado Republican Party’s constitutional right to opt out of open primaries, and rural America’s fight against government-backed CO2 pipeline projects that threaten property rights through eminent domain. Todd Watkins and Trent Loos provide frontline reports on these consequential struggles.

CO2 Pipelines and the Erosion of Property Rights

Start listening at 72:58 – Hour 2

Trent Loos, sixth-generation farmer and rancher, reports from the frontlines of the Free Soil Coalition’s battle against CO2 pipeline projects. At a three-hour meeting in Charles City, Iowa, farmers united against what Loos describes as government and corporate collusion to seize private land for burying carbon dioxide, a naturally occurring plant nutrient essential for agriculture. The momentum has shifted dramatically as landowners recognize the threat to generational family farms.

The pipeline proponents dangle financial incentives to struggling farmers while simultaneously wielding eminent domain against those who refuse. Loos explains that conservation easements grant perpetual control over land, meaning foreign entities, including China, could legally acquire control. In Nebraska, landowners began receiving eminent domain papers just this week, escalating a crisis that strikes at the heart of American property rights. The irony is stark: government policies make farming increasingly difficult through regulatory burdens and inflation, then offer easement payments as relief while demanding permanent surrender of property rights.

Loos connected this fight to broader regulatory overreach, noting that August 1 marked the end of incandescent light bulb sales, a ban that began under George W. Bush in 2007. He warned that intermittent power is coming, citing a Minnesota feed mill forced to shut down mid-day due to electricity unavailability.

“This is not just about fighting a CO2 pipeline. This is about where the power of the will of the political machine, I’m going to call it, is trying to go about doing something without listening to the very people who have the power in this country. And that’s the constituents.”

Trent Loos, Sixth-Generation Farmer and Rancher

Constitutional Foundations of Closed Primaries

Start listening at 31:39 – Hour 1

Todd Watkins, vice chair of the El Paso County GOP and former border agent, breaks down the legal framework surrounding Colorado’s open primary system. The Supreme Court’s 2000 ruling in California Democrat Party v. Jones established that compelling political parties to allow non-members in their nomination process violates First Amendment freedom of association. Colorado’s Prop 108 attempted to circumvent this ruling by offering an opt-out provision, but Watkins reveals the provision was designed to be nearly impossible to exercise, requiring 75% of the entire central committee, not just those present, to approve opting out.

The data reveals the problem clearly: since Prop 108 passed in 2016, unaffiliated voter registration has increased 134%. These voters select Republican primary ballots but then vote for Democrat candidates in the general election, effectively allowing opposing party members to choose Republican nominees. Watkins explains that Amendment 7, proposed for the September 30 vote, would require central committee members to affirmatively attend and vote no, rather than having absences automatically count against the opt-out effort.

“The caucus and assembly process that Colorado has is unique among the 50 states. There aren’t many states that do it like that. But the Constitution guaranteed each state a Republican form of government. I submit to you that the caucus and assembly process is the most Republican form of government, Republican little r, form of government that you could imagine.”

Todd Watkins, Vice Chair, El Paso County GOP