She was the featured speaker at Lincoln Day Dinner on April 29

MONTE VISTA — Approximately 350 people gathered at the Outcalt Event and Conference at SLV Ski-Hi Complex in Monte Vista for the Republican Party’s annual "Lincoln Day Dinner" fundraiser on Saturday night, April 29.

For $50 a plate, attendees were treated to a hearty catered meal served by the Rainbow Girls Club. But at a partisan event in a political atmosphere that continues to be characterized by rancor and discord, talk of Congress working together was not on the menu for the evening.

Former Alamosa County Commissioner Darius Allen emceed the event, cracking a few good-natured jokes that elicited friendly laughter from the crowd.

Things took a turn when Dave Williams took the podium where, just minutes before, a video of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, narrating an edited version of Jan. 6, 2021, events played on a large screen on the wall.

Williams is the Chairman of the State Republican Party and 2020 election denier who tried unsuccessfully to have "Let's Go Brandon" inserted into his name on the ballot.

"I'm going to give it to you straight," Williams said, referring to the current state of the Republican Party. "We got our butts handed to us, and we're in some tough terrain here. A lot of people have asked me what are we going to do to make sure we can get elected again?"

He said the answer is not easy, but it "involves some very simple things." 

He then laid out a plan, admitting it may take four to six years to produce results.

To start with, Republicans will "fire the left-wing strategists and consultants" who have been "bilking the party for years" and saying the party needs to be more centrist. "That is a lie from the pit of Hell," Williams said. "We're not going to apologize for being pro-life. We're not going to be apologetic for defending the Second Amendment. We're not going to apologize for electing Donald J. Trump." 

Republicans are going to go on the "offense, offense, offense," and "attack the Democrats," he said. "We're at war, ladies and gentlemen. (They) know that, and it's high time we understand that as we march to victory."

Williams then displayed some of what might be in store, describing Democrats as "radical socialists."

"They don't care about what you care about. They have one mission, and that's to destroy this country," he added.

Williams shared one "really exciting" thing, "The state party is going to fight back and start doing research to kick the bovine excrement out of the Democrats every chance we get," he said. "We haven't really done that in the past, but it's a mission of mine that we find the dirt on these Democrats, expose who they are, and make sure that they no longer serve in any public position."

Saying that it was "all hands on deck," Williams asked that Republicans donate to the party, even if it was for a race outside of their district. He also encouraged people to contribute to the campaign of Rep. Lauren Boebert to make sure she is re-elected.

"She's the best congressman [sic] in Colorado," he said, adding the district was "lucky" to have her as representative.

Anne Kelly, District Attorney for the 12th Judicial District, was next to address the crowd and focused on the priorities and accomplishments of her office. Restoring victims' rights is paramount to Kelly, as is rebuilding an infrastructure that was in shambles. Kelly also underscored the alarming escalation in crime, attributing it to non-prosecution.

"We need to talk about crime to beat the Democrats," she said.

State Senator Cleave Simpson received a warm round of applause from the crowd, many of whom know him well. More bluntly than in other venues, Simpson spoke of the challenges of being one of only 12 Republicans in the Senate, and a House where Democrats hold a supermajority. He expressed frustration with additional legislation related to reproductive rights — "I thought that issue was done," he said — and more gun legislation when past legislation did not seem to have any impact on crime.

"We just don't hold people accountable for bad behavior. Violence has become acceptable. Even when someone wins a game, the response turns violent," he said.

Jeff Young, who has worked as director of data analytics for "Cause America," the group founded by Mike Lindell, made a brief presentation claiming that "people are voting in the San Luis Valley who don't live here." He also suggested that some signatures on ballots are forged.

Rep. Boebert, the final speaker of the evening, began her speech by yelling, "Patriots!" as she walked onto the stage, praising the crowd for the "strength in their numbers."

"You trusted me to be your voice in DC, and I hope that first week showed I'm not there to be a career politician," Boebert told the crowd. "I'm not there to get along to go along. The ‘R’ behind my name does not stand for rollover.

“There were many great victories that we got. But one thing that I saw was apathy among my colleagues.” She expressed frustration with fellow Republicans who privately agreed with the Freedom Caucus but refused to openly support their demands because of “excuses,” such as they wanted to be elected chair of a committee or they were worried about their next election.

“Now, when we say ‘we’re not moving forward unless...’, we've drawn that line in the sand and we’re taken seriously. Criticism from allies in the media or threats from leadership in the Congress don’t stop us,” she said.

She indicated that the same approach was used in discussions about the debt ceiling, a high-stakes negotiation about federal money that has already been spent. If negotiations fail and the government defaults, Social Security checks are not issued; Veterans do not receive benefits; federal employees do not receive paychecks.

According to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, Congress has acted 78 times to raise the ceiling since 1960 and did so, with bipartisan support, three times under former President Trump.

Republicans in the House insist the debt ceiling be tied to future spending, and the Freedom Caucus insists on specific cuts.

"I wouldn't agree to just write a blank check," Boebert said. "But I was not going to let our country default. But even in these cuts that we had, there were conversations in our party saying we can't make this cut; what about our vulnerable members who won't get re-elected if we cut this or that?"

Boebert listed off the group's victories, including defunding the hiring of 87,000 IRS agents.

"Our leadership argued with us, and we said, then we won't pass the debt ceiling," she added.

Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen announced this week that the government may default on its debt by June 1 if Congress does not raise or suspend the nation's borrowing authority; leaving just a few days to negotiate a bipartisan agreement. And Boebert acknowledges herself that their demands "won't get past the Senate or the White House."

Without naming the bill, Rep. Boebert also briefed the crowd on legislation she "was able to pass to improve energy so we'll be energy secure again, energy independent and can pursue energy dominance. If we had that, we wouldn't see what's going on between Russia and Ukraine," she said, adding, "but maybe that's part of their plan."

The congresswoman addressed transgender individuals, saying she was "very inspired that the country would come back from this" because, in looking at the crowd, "there is not one man that I see whose lips are the same color of red as mine and wearing a dress and heels, and that must mean they are not serving Bud Light," referencing the backlash against Bud Light for featuring Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender actress, and influencer in an ad on social media. That drew a big laugh from the crowd.

"We have folks who are trying to censor you, take away your free speech, and now we see Dylan Mulvaney saying it should be illegal to call him a man. Well, sir, your 5 o'clock shadow says otherwise," she continued.

Rep. Boebert closed her speech by suggesting divine providence in the Republican battle to retake control and sharing a verse from the Bible where Mordecai is telling Esther that "perhaps she was brought to the kingdom for such a time as this."

"God has placed a vision in our hearts," Boebert said. "You were created for this moment. It's not an accident that you are here right now. So, those frustrations and challenges that arise, take that, and see what you can do to be a part of the solution and what God is calling you to be in that moment. Because you are here, every one of you, with gifts and talents created by God himself, because you were created on purpose, and the purpose is now. I'm going to encourage every one of you to be involved because we are in this battle together."