Scouting’s Identity Crisis and Colorado’s Critical Special Election

On May 20, 2024, Bill Rutledge and Greg Lopez joined the show. Retired Air Force Colonel and former scout critiques the Boy Scouts’ decision to rebrand as ‘Scouting America,’ tracing organizational decline to poor leadership decisions and arguing that gender integration undermines both scouting programs Republican candidate for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District explains the national implications of the special election to fill.

The End of the Boy Scouts

Start listening at 30:39 – Hour 1

Colonel Bill Rutledge draws from eight decades of experience to dissect the Boy Scouts’ controversial decision to remove “Boy” from their name. The retired Air Force colonel, who joined the Cub Scouts in 1937 at age nine, traces the organization’s decline to poor leadership decisions, beginning with class action settlements over decades-old abuse allegations that ultimately bankrupted the organization.

Rutledge argues the decision to admit girls fundamentally undermines both scouting programs. By recruiting young women who could be leaders in Girl Scouts, the organization has weakened its sister program while diluting its own mission. He emphasizes that the camping programs, leadership training, and father-figure mentorship that defined Boy Scouts cannot be replicated through gender-neutral policies or technology.

The colonel points to the new CEO Roger Krohn’s rhetoric about members being their “authentic self” as code for transgender ideology infiltrating youth organizations. Rutledge maintains that boys and girls have distinct developmental needs that require separate programs with appropriate leadership.

“And why is it that the scouting program is taking the name Boy off in order to also include the girls? But the girls are not doing that. They’re using more common sense. Their leadership is.”

Colonel Bill Rutledge, Retired USAF Colonel

A Special Election That Could Shift Congressional Power

Start listening at 73:51 – Hour 2

Greg Lopez explains why Colorado’s 4th Congressional District special election carries national implications. With Republicans holding only a one-vote majority in the House, Ken Buck’s unexpected resignation created a vulnerability that could shift power to Democrats. The special election on June 25 will determine who serves the remaining six months of Buck’s term.

Lopez warns voters about ballot confusion engineered by Governor Polis. The special election question appears at the bottom of the same ballot as the Republican primary, requiring voters to cast two separate votes for the same office. Unaffiliated voters must return only one ballot or risk invalidating their vote entirely. Lopez emphasizes that if elected, he must board a metaphorical moving train on June 26, immediately engaging with ongoing congressional business.

The former SBA regional administrator outlines two key priorities: reviving the Red Card Solution for immigration reform, originally championed by Helen Kreebel, and implementing a moratorium on asylum seekers. He also proposes displaying national debt totals on election ballots to educate voters about government spending’s generational impact.

“This election is bigger than CD4, the district itself. It’s bigger than the state of Colorado. It really is about saving the republic and about doing the right things and having a voice that believes in the Constitution, a voice that believes in putting people over politics and making sure that our individual freedoms and our rights are being protected.”

Greg Lopez, Republican Candidate for CD4