Paul Lundeen Every Day: A Step Toward Bipartisanship (and Levity) at the Colorado Capitol

An anonymous Instagram account has posted a photo of Colorado Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen twenty times since the state's 2024 legislative session began last month.

The picture is always the same: Lundeen climbing out of a window in the Senate chamber as he goes onto the balcony. The Colorado Springs Republican smiles at the camera with one leg raised to clear the wall separating him from the outside, inexplicably bypassing the set of stairs to his right. The shot is tilted at a Dutch angle, as if to convey the disorientating state of Colorado's turbulent political atmosphere.

Each day, the account @paul_lundeen_everyday shares this photo with a countdown of how many days remain in the legislative session, along with the occasional song lyric or ode to childhood snow days. And the reason is simple, says the account's creator:

"There's not enough bullshit here. There needs to be something funny and relevant. I see Paul Lundeen every day, so maybe everyone should."

The person behind "Paul Lundeen Every Day" is a Democratic political employee who works closely with the legislature. They asked to remain anonymous to avoid risking their employment, though they don't think they're breaking any rules, since they don't use state resources to manage the account and only post when off the clock.

Posting the same photo every day is a popular meme on social media — one Instagram account shared the same picture of a toaster for 573 days straight, garnering over 56,000 followers. But the trend doesn't usually involve local politicians. And while the account is a joke, it's not meant to make fun of Lundeen, the creator says. As the account's bio states, it is a "fan page."

"I like Paul Lundeen," says the creator. "That man debates the bills, he debates the policy, he's up there talking about case law and shit. I respect what you're doing here, Paul."

The creator didn't take the photo of Lundeen and isn't even sure where it came from, speculating it might have been sent in a Capitol group chat at some point.

It's important that the Instagram account center on a Republican, the creator continues, calling it "lame" to post a Democrat every day: "We hear enough about the Democrats...there are too many of them." There are 69 Democrats and 31 Republicans in the legislature, the strongest Democratic majority in over 85 years. With this party dominance, business can get done without even talking to the other side, the creator says.

That gets down to the real goal of the account: fostering bipartisan camaraderie.

"We don't talk to each other enough here, especially across the aisle," says the creator. "If the Republicans can talk about [the account] and then our side can be like, 'Oh, my God, you guys saw that, too,' we have something to talk about. And isn't that a great thing?"

Despite its name, "Paul Lundeen Every Day" doesn't just feature Lundeen. Every Friday, the account posts a photograph of Republican Senator Perry Will — to make Fridays more exciting, the creator says, calling the Capitol a "life-sucking" office building at its core.

A retired wildlife officer from New Castle, Will was chosen because of his memorable quotes during debates — "You can fix the inside of a human by touching the outside of a horse," for example — and because he sings an extended verse of the "Happy Birthday" song every time the legislators sing for each other. "That man is just the most legit dude I've ever come across in this building, maybe even more legit than Paul Lundeen," admits the creator. "But I love both of them."

Twenty-three days in, the account has amassed several dozen followers, including two state senators, a handful of party officials and lots of legislative staffers.

But Lundeen himself has not yet followed, so Westword asked him if he was familiar with the account.

"Ha! I was not. It looks like I’m trying to escape," Lundeen replied via text. "Seems silly."

The account's creator, who'd only spoken with Lundeen once before starting the daily posts, is now too nervous to approach either Lundeen or Will, calling the senators "my idols." But if the creator could talk to Lundeen, this is what they'd say:

“Thank you for keeping the Senate true to its mission of slow and deliberative change regardless of the moment that this state finds itself in.

"And please follow my account.”