GOP attacks 'liberal' Republicans, stokes ideological flames in school board race

In what some might see as a revealing small chapter of contemporary U.S. politics, an ugly school board election in Douglas County has seen the local Republican Party use hard-line ideological arguments to promote preferred “freedom loving” Republican candidates over teachers’ union-endorsed “liberal” Republican candidates. In a race that sees Republicans eating Republicans, the point seems to be less about the candidates than it is about the kind of school system a right-wing GOP would like to install in Douglas County.

Over the past months, determined Republicans have worked to link the teachers union-endorsed Republican candidates to right-wing bugbears like “Government health care” and the Employee Free Choice Act and President Obama.

Monday, however, the Douglas County Federation, or local teachers union, returned fire in the form of a press release that makes a damning case that the local GOP has raised ideology over candidate qualifications. And Colorado Ethics Watch filed a complaint against GOP-endorsed candidate Meghann Silverthorn for violating Hatch Act campaign laws meant to keep partisan politics out of government business.