The head of the Libertarian Party of Colorado repeatedly used anti-gay slurs last week in an exchange with a person who criticized the party’s social media presence, according to copies of the messages reviewed by The Denver Post.
The party’s chairwoman, Hannah Goodman, sent the slurs Friday after a commenter privately messaged the party’s Facebook account to criticize what he saw as its “asinine” postings. After an initial exchange that included the commenter sarcastically highlighting the party’s lack of electoral success, Goodman — replying through the party’s official account — defended her party’s achievements and repeatedly referred to the commenter using an anti-gay slur.
She also repeatedly referred to him using a slur for people with intellectual disabilities.
Goodman continued using the slurs after the commenter said he planned to take the messages to the media. The party confirmed in a statement Saturday that Goodman, a congressional candidate last year, sent the messages. In a subsequent email exchange in which the commenter asked party leadership for an apology, Goodman told the commenter that she had authored the messages through the party’s Facebook account.
“There is no such thing as bad press,” Goodman wrote in the Facebook exchange, according to copies of the messages provided to The Post by the commenter. “Also, I’m the chair of the party. So … no (expletive) given.”
The commenter, who is gay and requested anonymity to share the exchange out of a fear of harassment, said he had never spoken with Goodman or the party previously.
He said Goodman’s initial responses were fine, given the “sassy” nature of his initial message to the party. But he said he was taken aback by how “grossly homophobic” her subsequent responses were since he was just “some rando who tried to get smart with them.”
Goodman did not return a message seeking comment Friday. On Saturday, the party’s executive director, James Wiley, sent The Post a seven-page statement that defended the party’s political relevance, touted the success of a recent social media posting on the party’s Facebook page, and further criticized the commenter.
Wiley referred to a meme produced by Goodman as an “artistic work product” that, Wiley wrote, had prompted the initial criticism from the commenter.
“These judgements were rendered entirely at (the commenter’s) own suggestion without any prompting on the part of the party or its representatives,” Wiley wrote.
Wiley confirmed that Goodman wrote the messages and said he stood by them. He concluded the statement by calling the commenter another slur and quoting a character from the animated show “South Park.”
The party, which was founded in Colorado more than 50 years ago, has long been a minor player in the state’s elections. It has the third-most party affiliations among Colorado voters. Both Goodman and Wiley have run unsuccessfully for Congress.
But the party played a more substantive role in last year’s contests — by not participating in them.
In 2023, the party’s leadership reached an agreement with the Colorado Republican Party to keep Libertarian candidates out of some races, so long as the Republican candidates in those contests signed a pledge to align with Libertarian values. That was thought to improve the Republican candidates’ chances of winning, including in the tight 8th Congressional District race later won by now-U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans.
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