News at The Denver Post

Karen E. Crummy, investigative reporter for The Denver Post

Today is Election Day in Colorado.  We are voting on education measures, and it’s a partisan issue.  Republicans favor school reform while the Democratic Party wants to enhance the current system through additional taxation.

The Denver Post has a front-page story that illustrates how “news” is portrayed here in Colorado.  The story is by Zahira Torres, Karen Crummy and Nancy Lofholm.

Here is the text:

Financial backers who want school districts to adopt the anti-union, pro-voucher and school- choice model set by Douglas County have fanned out to other parts of Colorado, donating to candidates who are promising similar results.

Among the key donors are businessmen C. Edward McVaney, Ralph Nagel and Alex Cranberg. They have contributed more than $200,000to school board races for the Douglas, Jefferson, Greeley-Evans, Mesa Valley and Thompson school districts.

Colorado Springs real estate developer Steve Schuck has not directly donated to school board races this year but served as a host for a fundraiser to elect a slate of candidates in Jefferson County.

Schuck says he, McVaney, Cranberg and others are purposely focusing contributions where there is the possibility of reform.

"We do try to target (areas) where we think we have the greatest chance to have the maximum impact," he said.

Schuck and Cranberg were members of the host committee for a fundraiser held by JeffCo Students First in support of Republicans Julie Williams, Ken Witt and John Newkirk, who are vying for seats on the board of Jefferson County Public Schools. The fundraiser at the home of Greenwood Village businessman and voucher supporter Brian Watson helped the charitable organization, which is not required to disclose its donors, raise $30,000 for the three candidates.

The three candidates opposing the Republicans have been endorsed by the Jefferson County Democrats and have the support of the teachers union. Tonya Aultman-Betteridge, Jeff Lamontagne and Gordon Van de Water each received more than $8,000 from the Public Education Committee, a small-donor committee of the Colorado Education Association.

Ami Prichard, president of the Jefferson County Education Association, said the local teachers union did not put any money into the races early on but expects to in the final push.

Prichard said she was disheartened by efforts to turn the race into a partisan battle.

"It's really sad that people are using the school board to make a political statement," Prichard said.

In 2003, Schuck; Cranberg, CEO of Aspect Energy; and McVaney, co-founder of software company J.D. Edwards; were instrumental in getting pro-voucher candidates elected to the Colorado Springs District 11 school board.

Schuck said electing candidates who are pro-vouchers and school choice are the "primary objectives" in every board election, but that "each of us goes his or her own way" when it comes to districts.

"We've learned that we've got to be strategic where we put our resources," Schuck said.

Douglas County remains the key battleground with Cranberg and Nagel, the president of Top Rock LLC, bankrolling the campaigns of Meghann Silverthorn, Doug Benevento, Jim Geddes and Judi Reynolds.

Campaign finance records show that an expenditure committee heavily financed by the American Federation of Teachers has spent extensively on candidates Julie Keim, Ronda Scholting, Bill Hodges and Barbra Chase.

In the Thompson School District in Loveland, four candidates endorsed by the local Republican Party have raised $33,000. McVaney and Nagel have donated $26,000 of that money.

The five candidates who are not part of the slate collected $15,000. Donors to some of the candidates included the Public Education Committee, which gave more than $1,800.

Janice Marchman, an incumbent, said she worries that some of the Republican-backed candidates have suggested that Thompson could model its reforms after the efforts in Douglas County.

"I don't know that Thompson can handle Douglas-style education reform," Marchman said, citing higher numbers of English learners and children in poverty.

Robert Rumfelt, co-founder of Liberty Watch, a group that pushes for limited government, said his organization did not get the response it hoped for when it submitted a petition asking trustees to change the way the district interacts and negotiates with the teachers union.

Rumfelt, who supports the conservative slate of candidates, said donations from McVaney and Nagel should not be an issue in the race.

"The guys that run for the union slate, they just get money," Rumfelt said. "So, if there are people who are successful and share values of the conservative candidates, I don't see that that is a problem."

McVaney and Nagel have also contributed $26,000 to a group of candidates running as a conservative slate in the Greeley-Evans School District.

In Mesa County Valley School District 51, the conservative candidates and their supporters have made no bones about the fact that, if elected, they would follow Douglas County's policies. They don't like teachers unions and say they are only one seat away from gaining the majority on the school board.

Democrats "are petrified we are going to push for vouchers and more charter schools," said Linda Gregory, president of the Mesa County Republican Women and a board member of Freedom Colorado, a Tea Party group.

Former Grand Junction Mayor Jim Spehar, whose wife is a teacher and development coordinator in Mesa District 51, said the efforts by conservatives to win school board elections have gone too far.

Spehar said he has seen the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party turn what, by law, is supposed to be a nonpartisan election into an overtly partisan battle with the aid of outside money.

The Mesa Valley candidates running as a conservative slate have raised $24,595.Of that, about $21,000 came fromMcVaney and Nagel.

The candidates not aligned with the conservative cause have raised a total of $33,157. Most of that has come from local donors, including a few Republicans and the Mesa Valley Education Association.

Note how the story is used to characterize Republicans in a negative light.  Republicans have “gone too far.”  They have attended a fundraiser that “is not required to disclose its donors.”  They have turned the election “into an overtly partisan battle with the aid of outside money.”  They “don’t like teachers unions.” They use the school board “to make a political statement” and that’s “really sad.” 

This is a “News” story in The Denver Post.

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Starting To Get It

Lee Habeeb, VP of Content for Salem Radio Network

National Review has an article today by Lee Habeeb (h/t Hugh Hewitt).  The article is about story-telling and boils the problems of the Republican Party down to an issue of “messaging.”

This post is titled “Starting to Get It” because Mr. Habeeb points out that Republicans are (gasp!) unpopular.  In our culture, they are cast as “the bad guys.”

I’m sure many who read Mr.Habeeb’s article will simply frame it as another Republican rant.  But the idea that our culture sees Republicans as “the bad guys” is the salient point.

In an earlier post about the elegance of Democratic Party messaging, I brought up this issue in the context of simplicity and repetition.

The Democratic Party pushes The Themes over and over, and reassures its adherents, “You have high ideals, but dislike of Republicans is what makes you popular.”

Story-telling might be good messaging.  Being consistent and repetitive is what engenders power.

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The Media Research Center

 

 

The Media Research Center operates under Section 501(C)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(Yes, that is the type of organization the IRS wishes to suppress.)  As it happens, the Media Research Center (MRC) was founded in 1987, before the current ideological shift in the IRS.

L. Brent Bozell, III (a nephew of William F. Buckley) started the venture.  That’s interesting, as well as this fact: While the MRC often promotes conservative principles, Mr. Bozell says he is not a Republican.

All this is by way of introduction to an MRC study that is out today.  It analyzes the slant of the evening newscasts for ABC, CBS and NBC in covering the partial shutdown of the American government.  The three networks had 124 stories covering the shutdown, from October 1 through October 15.  Here is the significant finding:

Of the 124 full stories and brief items about the shutdown or the pending debt ceiling deadline, 41 blamed Republicans or conservatives for the impasse, 17 blamed both sides, and none specifically blamed Democrats.

The article has a chart and some anecdotal information, but the conclusion is about polling data.  Each of the three networks conducted polling of the American public and found that Americans blame Republicans for the problems of our government.

ABC, CBS, and NBC let Americans know this is what is "right and natural."

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Looking at You Differently

An open letter to my Democratic Party friends:

I am looking at you differently these days.  Yes, I still consider you a friend, but I don’t understand what you are doing.

Here is a concern: You are attracted to organizations that teach you I am a racist.  The “accepted truth” is that because I am a Republican, I want to hurt people with dark skin tone.

Let me put that in perspective.  Perhaps you have a gay son or daughter, and attend a church that teaches that your child is therefore a sinner.  You are taught one thing, yet you know another.

Why do you support an organization teaching principles you know are false?

Another concern is the toleration of government pressure against people of differing ideology.  Why are you comfortable with the use of the IRS for political reprisal?  To me, that seems insensitive and obtuse.

Lastly, because I am a Republican, I suffer dehumanization.  Without a second thought, our culture thinks of Republicans as “mean-spirited, risky extremists.” And lately, the rhetoric has been ratcheted up.  We are now characterized as terrorists, arsonists, murderers and worse.

Again, I see your quiet acceptance and wonder, “What is the attraction for you?”

And more to the point: “Am I really your friend?”

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Always Trying to do the Right Thing

AP Photo by Brennan Linsley at Boulder Municipal Airport, 9/14/2013

The Democratic Party cultivates the notion that it is always “trying to do the right thing.”  The photo above is of Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, along with U.S. Senators Mark Udall (on the left) and Michael Bennet (on the right).  The left shoulder of Representative Jared Polis and the chin of Representative Ed Perlmutter are also shown in the photo.

This is a picture of Colorado politicians expressing concern for victims of our recent floods.  Please note that they are all members of the Democratic Party.

America’s cultural understanding that the Democratic Party is always trying to do the right thing is a huge advantage in the world of politics.  It vests moral authority in the Democratic Party, and works to shield affiliates of the Democratic Party from scrutiny.

Here’s a recent example:

The Atlantic Wire covers the story, showing that Time Magazine displays its content differently, depending on whether it is for American consumption or world consumption.  Should we be concerned about the motives of Time?  Not when Americans believe:

            Time Magazine is always trying to do the right thing.

How about the unusual scrutiny of Tea Party organizations by the IRS?   What about the DOJ looking the other way when Colorado citizens violate federal marijuana statutes?  It’s helpful when Americans know:

            Federal agencies are always trying to do the right thing.

With the recent war crimes in Syria, should actors like Ed Asner be concerned about their anti-war message and presidential policy?  Not when they know:

            Hollywood is always trying to do the right thing.

What about a liberal arts college covering up a racism hoax?  Should we worry that colleges are not teaching students the right lessons?  Not when we think:

            School administrators are always trying to do the right thing.

Consider the recent recall of a couple of Democratic Party state senators in Colorado.  Some think the recall was based on a “betrayal in leadership.”  However, the legislators involved do not see it that way.  They believe their Democratic Party ideology is more important than representing the views of their constituents.  Angela Giron and John Morse are confident in knowing:

            They are always trying to do the right thing.

American culture affords the Democratic Party wide latitude because the Democratic Party is accomplished at delivering this narrative.  Our media, the entertainment industry, government agencies and those politicians supporting the Democratic Party relish the power.  Jesse Jackson, Jr., Anthony Wiener, John Edwards, and even Melowese Richardson know their personal problems don’t matter, because:

            They are always trying to do the right thing.

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Denver Post Outrage

William Dean Singleton, Publisher of The Denver Post, at the American Society of News Editors Convention in Washington, DC (April 3, 2012).  Photo by Carolyn Kaster

The Denver Post published an editorial on Saturday (9/6/2013) expressing outrage over the recall elections being held in Colorado this week.  The headline was “Recall elections are an unhealthy trend.”  The complaint is that Democratic Party lawmakers being recalled “did not engage in malfeasance, commit crimes or ethical violations.”

The Denver Post knows what Colorado voters should do: “We hope they’ll see the greater good in rejecting the recall as a tool to solve policy disagreements.”

A year ago, The Denver Post had an opinion on another recall election.  In Wisconsin, Republican Governor Scott Walker was being recalled for enacting a law that ended collective bargaining rights for most state workers in Wisconsin.

Here The Denver Post placed a different characterization on the election.  The headline was “A ray of hope in Wisconsin recall election.”  The election suggested “a willingness of the public to stand by candidates who make hard choices.”

In 2012, The Denver Post saw recall elections as “a ray of hope” but in 2013 they became “an unhealthy trend.”

Why the change of heart?  What might cause the editorial board of The Denver Post to see one recall election as “good” and another recall election as “bad?”

UPDATE 9/11/2013:
Despite the lecture from The Denver Post, voters recalled both Democratic Party politicians yesterday.  This is despite the Democratic Party having a 5:1 spending advantage in the election.  Dave Kopel explains the outcome.

ADDITIONAL UPDATE 9/11/2013:
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz characterizes our recall election as "voter suppression, pure and simple."  The Denver Post editorial board says the election "closes an ugly chapter in Colorado's political history."

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Droit du Seigneur

John McWhorter has an intriguing article in The Wall Street Journal today.  It is coming to us on the 50^th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Mr. McWhorter is a professor at Columbia University and writes a column for Time magazine.  He is a linguist.

If you are not sure what that’s all about, please check out his TED lecture from earlier this year.  Or even better, see yesterday’s post on Miley Cyrus at the New Republic.  John McWhorter can change the way you think.

His article in The Wall Street Journal discusses how we should honor Dr. King’s dream.  As background, he shows how “The Dream” has been co-opted by our culture to place Americans with dark skin tone in a position of eternal indignation; where they think of themselves as “underdogs with a bone to pick.”

Mr. McWhorter is showing us what a “conversation on race” looks like.

In contrast, we will not see that point of view reflected in today’s speeches.  Instead, we will see classic objectification and further evidence of African Americans being held in the Democratic Party’s Droit du Seigneur.

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