Republican political leaders converged on Colorado Springs Saturday afternoon at a tea party rally to urge loyal activists to help get out the vote.The gathering, organized by the Rocky Mountain Black Tea Party, featured speakers who condemned President Barack Obama on all fronts. Speakers said freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, and control of the country are being forcibly taken from the people.“People are tired of losing their freedoms. All across the state, people agree on that,” said Republican Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, a tea party hero who ran in 2010 for the U.S. Senate.The GOP is hitting El Paso County Republicans hard this weekend to ensure they make it to the polls in a bid to tip Colorado’s deadlocked presidential race. Republican vice-presidential hopeful Paul Ryan is coming to Colorado Springs Sunday to stump for votes.One hot topic that was raised repeatedly by speakers was a new federal requirement that religious employers, including churches, include access to contraceptives in their health benefit plans for employees. The requirement is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.“So much for 200 years of religious freedom, if we ever had it,” said U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs.Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said that portion of Obamacare has been used by Democrats to gain women’s support. He predicted that as soon as the election is over, Democrats will stop defending the issue in court and cave to Christians who oppose it.“Why are they doing this? They’re after (women’s votes),” Suthers said.Lamborn defended GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney for saying he’d cut funding to PBS. Lamborn reminded the crowd that he also has tried to de-fund National Public Radio.“I don’t have anything against Big Bird,” Lamborn said. “What I do have a problem with is when Big Bird and NPR can stand up on their own two feet, why do taxpayers have to subsidize them? Why do our children have to pay the bill for generations to come?”The congressman blamed Obama for high gas prices, the unemployment rate, a skyrocketing national debt and military budget cuts.The climax of all the speeches was the same — Colorado Republicans need to hit the polling booths on Election Day, Nov. 6.“The time for talking is over,” said Buck. “We have 18 days left. We have to leave here and take the fight to them.”

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