The RtB Blog

Elk River Dear Restore the Balance Community, PRINCIPLE OF THE WEEK: #6 There is an old saying that a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. Public service works the same way: when someone steps forward to run for office, they are not taking something from the rest of us, they are adding light. Yet too often, those who step into that role are met not with debate, but with intimidation. Citizens should be free to run for or hold office without being threatened or har

Dear Restore the Balance Community, In Aesop's fable The Trees and the Axe, a man asks the forest for a single small branch to make an axe handle. The kind trees agree and give him a young ash tree, but the man uses it to cut down the entire forest. Topic of the Week Those disappointed or disbelieving of the results of the 2020 election had every right to question its validity. They did, repeatedly. Multiple audits and hand counts were performed. Results were challenged in ov

Chicago, IL Dear Restore the Balance Community, What Does It Mean to Put Country Before Party? Restore the Balance yard signs have featured the slogan, Country Before Party. What does this mean? It refers to our fourth principle, which states that the public interest must come before party interests for voters and elected officials alike. We think most Americans expect their elected officials to behave in general agreement with this principle. It means choosing to work toward

Donaghadee Lighthouse, Northern Ireland Dear Restore the Balance Community, This week, we will examine the third RTB Principle: No one person or party has a monopoly on the best public policy proposals; communication and good faith negotiations are essential to the legislative process. We believe no single individual or faction possesses a monopoly on wisdom when it comes to public policy, which is why the American system of government was built on deliberation rather than di

Photo near Moab. Topic of the Week: RTB Principle #2, Facts and Evidence This week we continue our deep dive into the RTB Principles with #2: "Facts, supported by objectively examined evidence, are the basis for what to believe and how to act." Decisions between people need a starting point; each side needs to start working from a set of facts that is grounded in evidence. Prior to the founding of this country and the Enlightenment, it was common for truth to be determined by

Asteria Theatre, CMU — Electric Avenue Dear Restore the Balance Community, A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Congress worked to pass laws that benefited not only their own constituents, but the broader country as well. Our Congressmen and women debated fiercely, they argued passionately, and then they settled down and figured out how to meet somewhere in the middle. They thought of their children and grandchildren as they passed budgets, established oversight agenci

Dear Restore the Balance Community, Before we dive in, the RTB community joins Western Colorado in mourning the loss of three wildland firefighters who died battling the Snyder Fire near Grand Junction last weekend. Emily Barker, 38. Nick Hutcherson, 27. Sydney Watson, 26. They lost their lives battling a deadly wildfire, all to keep our community safe. We hold their families and crewmates in our hearts. Topic of the Week: Community Engagement — What Happened at the June Soc

By MAX STITES Published in the Daily Sentinel on 6/24/26. The current president of the United States certainly has his loyalists, some of who disparage his critics by saying they suffer from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” This phrase, along with the word “activist” is often used to describe federal and state judges who rule against his policies, even though he appointed some of these federal judges. Any Republican in Congress who speaks or votes in opposition to his policies i

Mount Sopris, CO Dear Restore the Balance Community, Tomorrow is June 30, primary day in Colorado. If you haven't returned your ballot yet, tonight and tomorrow are your last chances. To ensure that your vote will count, it is best at this late date not to put your ballot in the U.S. mail. Either vote in person or hand-deliver your completed ballot to a ballot collection location by 7:00 PM tomorrow. Voter information and drop box locations for Colorado. ⚠️ Unaffiliated vote

CO Nat'l Monument Dear Restore the Balance Community, If you're a typical Western Colorado citizen, it's a good bet you like having freedom and choices. Freedom to do your own thing, whether it's river rafting or target shooting, and choices between a nice upscale eatery or just hot dogs and beer around a campfire. It's also likely that if you vote, you like having the freedom to either send in your ballot or drop it off. And you probably wouldn't mind having a few more optio

Stocker Stadium, GJ, CO Dear Restore the Balance Community, Read the full candidate responses published last week here. Topic of the Week: Stop the Steal — of Your Power Someone is trying to steal your vote. Someone is trying to take away your power. They are not robbing a ballot box or manipulating a vote count. They are not foreign governments infiltrating voting machines via WiFi. They are robbing you of power by sowing doubt and mistrust in our elections and our democra

Telluride Ski Mt, CO Dear Restore the Balance Community, The June 30 primary is three weeks away. Ballots are in the mail as of today. And this week, we're giving you one more tool to make an informed decision. Full responses from the candidates are linked at the top of each section. A Reminder for Unaffiliated Voters If you are registered as unaffiliated, you will receive two ballots in the mail, one for each party. You must return only ONE. Returning both will disqualify

Easter Hill, Grand Junction, CO Dear Restore the Balance Community, June is here, and so are the primaries. If you've been meaning to get more involved in the democratic process, this is your moment. Topic of the Week: Get Out the Vote — Why June Primaries Matter We talk a lot about elections in November. But the decisions made in June often matter just as much, and far fewer people show up. Primary elections determine who appears on the general election ballot. When turnou

RTB Spring Gathering '26 Dear Restore the Balance Community, We may be wrong about each other…and we can fix it. David French drew a sold-out crowd of over 500 at the RTB Spring Gathering held at CMU last Thursday, with watch parties in La Plata and Delta Counties. The full recording is available on the RTB YouTube Channel. Watch the full recording here. Topic of the Week: French Impressions Why such interest? French offered insights into why we are breaking apart as friends,

Green River, UT Dear Restore the Balance Community, It's hard to believe that this Thursday we'll be at CMU for our fifth annual Spring Gathering! We wouldn't be here without your support, and we thank you. In recent weeks, we have been looking at various aspects of David French's career. This week, we want to share a bit of the remarkable personal journey that has helped shape his voice. Without doubt, his family paid a steep personal price for his willingness to speak hard

Gates Pass, Tucson, AZ Dear Restore the Balance Community, In CD3, where more than 50% of registered voters are unaffiliated, we often find ourselves presented with only two realistic choices: Republican or Democratic party loyalists. Many of us end up voting against, rather than for, a candidate for public office. We may view the candidate we're against as extreme or downright dangerous. And perhaps what is even more damaging to our republic is that we reflexively dislike

Telluride Ski Resort, CO Dear Restore the Balance Community, Remember this guy? This week, we shine a light on another of the underwriters for our Spring Gathering and one of the pillars of the Mesa County community, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. We'll also look at David French's journalistic career and his views on the First Amendment. P.S. May the Fourth be with you. Topic of the Week: The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel & David French, Journalist The Grand Junction Da

Rabbit Ears Pass, CO Topic of the Week: The Courage to Listen Restoring balance to our political process does not mean taking the mathematical average of two extremes and making policy around that. It does not mean filling a quota with an equal number of conservatives and liberals. It does mean having the courage to listen respectfully to those with whom you disagree. It may mean tolerating those whom you view as intolerant, at least enough not to censor them or infringe upon

Colorado National Monument Dear Restore the Balance Community, We talk a lot about adherence to the Rule of Law being paramount to maintaining a civil society and preserving our democracy. In fact, the Rule of Law is an esoteric concept with origins dating to Ancient Greece, Rome, and English Common Law. In the US, the law appears more like a web of interconnected, hierarchical documents and decisions that change over time. The U.S. Constitution, written in 1787, is the threa

Loire Valley, France Dear Restore the Balance Community, As you are aware, we recently announced that David French is the keynote speaker at our Spring Gathering. Consistent with our nonpartisan goals to inform voters, encourage civil dialogue, support principled politics and government, and defend the U.S. Constitution and rule of law, we are proud to host Mr. French, who has a message of great importance during this election year and time of political division. We invite al