You can take some of the idiots out of the Republican Party, but you can’t take the idiot out of all of the Republicans. Or something like that.

I’ve written here before that a major reason the Republican Party in Colorado has done so poorly in recent years is because of its insistence on focusing on controversial social issues, like gay marriage and abortion, instead of tackling bread and butter issues like health care and education. The GOP has also done poorly because they have shown an incredible ability to do and say really stupid things.

Yet even though Colorado Republicans have had their political rear ends handed to them in the last two election cycles, they still haven’t purged themselves of what I’ll call the idiot wing of the Party. Exhibits A and B are the bizarre and inappropriate statements of two Republican state senators in the last couple of days:

State Sen. Scott Renfroe
Renfroe proposed legislation, which never made it out of a senate committee, that would have banned all abortions including those resulting from cases of incest or rape. In explaining his reasoning, Renfroe thought it might be a good idea to compare abortion to slavery, as 9News reported:

“I think today’s aborted baby is the black slave of our history, and when you take a look at that, that was piece of property, it had no rights the owner was able to do what they wanted, said State Senator Scott Renfroe.

The controversial proposal will be debated Monday during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill seeks to ban all abortions in Colorado. The only exception comes when the life a pregnant mother is in danger. Cases involving rape or incest do not apply.

“In my mind you know all life is worth protecting. Reporter: “Even in cases of rape or incest?” Well that’s life too, said the State Senator from District 13.

There are probably plenty of people who agree with Renfroes stance on abortion, but to compare it to slavery is a bit absurd particularly when you refer to a slave as an it.

State Sen. Dave Schultheis
You might remember Schultheis, the patron saint of idiocy, from some of his other fine moments in 2006, such as when he e-mailed The Greeley Tribune to inquire whether members of a family killed in an automobile accident were illegal immigrants. They weren’t, and Schultheis was later baited into another e-mail exchange that made him look like a bigoted moron.

The latest missive from Schultheis was highlighted by the editorial board of The Boulder Daily Camera, which took him to task for being a wee bit insensitive on the issue of rape and emergency contraception:

This page often disagrees with state Sen. David Schultheis, but it is rare that the disagreement is dwarfed by genuine astonishment. In opining about victims of sexual assault, however, Schultheis has shown stunning insensitivity.

Recently, state legislators were discussing Senate Bill 60, which would require emergency-room doctors to inform sexual-assault victims of their right to obtain emergency contraception. Schultheis, a Colorado Springs Republican, wondered how doctors “determine that a person actually did incur that sexual assault,” The Denver Post reported last week.

“Are they going to take the word of that individual?” asked Schultheis. “You could see individuals coming in that just wanted to make sure that last night’s stand didn’t result in a pregnancy and basically say that they had been a sexual assault” to get the contraceptive.

This is so insensitive, theres really no way to defend Schultheis here.

Until Republicans decide to stop blurting out whatever pops into their heads, they’re going to have a hard time convincing voters to put them back into power. It’s hard to be proud to have representatives like this in the legislature.