The only thing worse than political theater is bad political theater. Colorado Republicans in the House of Representatives want to impeach Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, for her role in the recently decided Trump v. Anderson case. Meanwhile, the state GOP has lodged a complaint against her with the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel for supposed misconduct.
Griswold is far and away the most partisan politician to occupy a state executive office in Colorado. She spends so much time on MSNBC that she should have her own show, and her social media feed is a dead-ringer for that of any leftist advocacy organization. Unfortunately, this behavior undermines faith in the impartiality of the elections she oversees and feeds doubts sown by the election deniers.
Poor form, however, is not an impeachable offense. The state Constitution allows it only for “high crimes or misdemeanors or malfeasance in office.” Being ridiculously partisan does not constitute a high crime, a misdemeanor, or malfeasance.
Unlike city council or school board elections, which are nonpartisan (though political philosophy can be inferred), statewide offices are party-affiliated. This includes the secretary of state office, which executes laws governing business registration, elections, campaign finance, lobbyists, bingo and raffles, charities, and public notaries.
In the past, some officeholders maintained a reputation for being nonpartisan while others engaged in partisan posturing. Secretary of State Wayne Williams and Pam Anderson, former city and county clerk and Griswold’s 2022 opponent, are examples of the former while Griswold and Scott Gessler, William’s predecessor, are the latter. Gessler’s fierce partisan style earned him the sobriquet “honey badger.”
Attempting to impeach a secretary of state over matters of style is quixotic and risky. There are only 19 Republican legislators in the 65-member House of Representatives, so the resolution is a dead letter. The effort, however, marks an escalation in impeachment politics that the GOP will later regret. As I noted in a column after the GOP-headed U.S. House of Representatives impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, impeaching executives over policy or style invites retribution when the majority becomes the minority. Democrats will return the favor.
Moreover, Republicans seem to forget that Griswold did not choose to be part of the lawsuit questioning Trump’s eligibility to be on the ballot. She was a defendant in the original case brought by Republicans and independents, of which I was one. Her support for the lawsuit was not surprising. Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election, lied repeatedly about election officials and workers, and fomented violence, actions that any law-abiding secretary of state, Republican or Democrat, should oppose.
Did she exploit the opportunity to gain face time on television? What upwardly mobile politician lets a crisis go to waste?
Calling Trump an “insurrectionist” on television, however, does not constitute misconduct, as the complaint filed earlier this month by the Colorado Republican Party alleges. The GOP contends that since Trump has not (yet) been convicted of insurrection, calling him an insurrectionist is dishonest. If calling Trump an insurrectionist is a false statement worthy of professional censure, then the GOP needs to add to its complaint every judge and justice who heard Anderson v. Griswold and Trump v. Anderson.
Trial Judge Sarah B. Wallace found Trump “engage[d] in insurrection,” and the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the finding. While the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled states cannot unilaterally remove an insurrectionist presidential candidate from the ballot under the 14th Amendment, the justices did not abrogate the finding of insurrection. Unless the Colorado GOP wants to pursue every lawyer and judge with the temerity to call Trump an insurrectionist, it should drop this specious complaint.
Political stunts to impeach or investigate opponents over style virtue-signal to the base and taunt opponents, but they waste time and taxpayers’ money and alienate serious people. That goes for playing the valiant and selfless public servant on MSNBC.
Krista L. Kafer is a weekly Denver Post columnist. Follow her on Twitter: @kristakafer
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