The recent end run around Grand County voters by the Republican Party was indeed inappropriate but nothing new to our system of government. Teddy Roosevelt was a “conservative” Republican who actually worked to conserve our country’s natural treasures and open them to the public. He was a great proponent of the “strenuous life” who set aside more federal land for national parks and nature preserves than all of his predecessors combined. He was also a gifted student of history and a man with great insight into human behavior. Over 100 years ago, he made a prophetic statement that speaks directly to the current residents of Grand County: “Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people.”
