If you are old enough you grow to realize that most everything in life ebbs and flows. Markets of all sorts rise and fall. Teams that were winners one season can be losers the next. It is the same in politics. Back in 1937 after Roosevelt’s reelection landslide, there were 105 Republicans in total in both houses of the United States Congress. Republicans were in a super minority status. They barely had 20 percent of all the seats. Ten years later they were in a majority for the 80 ^th Congress. Fortunes rise and fortunes wane.

What happened from 1937-1947 was that some dedicated action on the part of volunteers and donors occurred to turn the tide. It was intelligent action that persuaded others to help the GOP gain a majority in Congress to push good policy. It did not happen overnight, but happen it did. When I wrote the first draft of this column out last week, my intention was to state that I have every belief that the Colorado GOP will rise again and gain seats.

After Saturday’s State Convention in Pueblo I cannot say that honestly or keep a straight face being optimistic about the future of limited government in Colorado. The Republicans in the 1930s and 1940s were intelligent and dedicated about getting out of the minority. If today’s Colorado GOP is intelligent about getting out of the minority, as a first step they should avoid ejecting reporters from their conventions.

Many think the mainstream media has bias and there are ample amounts of tangible evidence in that regard. But if you have nothing to hide then you certainly do not get sheriff’s deputies to eject a reporter from the Colorado Sun who is reporting. This should be common sense. It was for me. I let MSNBC into one of my assemblies and did not bother them. Nothing bad happened. It is an unsavory image ejecting someone that gives rise to the worst thoughts in those who read about it. Among those thoughts are thinking the worst about Republican or conservative candidates.

It was thinking the worst about Republicans that led to the beginning of this little column. I wrote a letter to the then-editor of the Columbine Courier, Michael Hicks about the shooting at the Capitol Baseball Game in 2017 that wounded Steve Scalise. Michael invited me to write for the Canyon and Columbine Courier after we met. It has been an enjoyable and interesting experience.

This is my last column. For a few reasons, I need to turn the page on a few chapters in my life. I have enjoyed it immensely. When I was first asked to write, the best advice I received was from my great friend Joy Hoffman. She told me to keep it positive and I think I have. My reason for soft selling was that I wanted those who read me to see conservatives as people rather than the harsh unfeeling troglodytes that some would make us believe we are. I got personal and shared stuff with the readers because conservatives have hard times too. We care about our communities and our neighbors. We wish to make them model places in which to live. We are real people.

I ended my first column by paraphrasing former Speaker Paul Ryan’s quote about conservatives and Republicans. Here is something that I would like for everyone to remember about conservatives and Republicans. We are young, old and in-between. We have all sorts of religious beliefs and some of us have none at all. We are male and female. We encompass every sociological definition imaginable. We are your friends, coworkers and neighbors. You know us. We are Americans just like you and we have a right and duty to influence the future of our country. We do this because we want what is best not just for ourselves and those we love, but everyone in our community.

Thanks for listening to me, Jeffco. Thank you Colorado Community Media (support it!) and thank you to editor Kristen Fiore.