Author Archives: Jason Salzman

("Honey Badger" doesn't care – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Update: Audio added 6-15. Click here for Audio
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Reporters apparently missed Secretary of State Scott Gessler's first direct response to the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission's finding that he violated state ethics law and "breeched the public trust for private gain."

Gessler made his comments on KNUS’ Kelley and Company (710-AM) this morning, and reporters should have tuned in. So I'll fill in the media gap and provide a transcript of most of his comments below. And I'll update this post with audio of the interview later today.

Guest host Jimmy Sengenberger, filling in for regular host Steve Kelley, did a decent job interviewing Gessler. 

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Full story: Gessler: “The left can jabber all they want, and, of course, the Ethics Commission is part of the left”

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

After the Republican election disaster of 2012, there was a lot of talk about how GOP leaders had constructed a giant bubble around themselves, protecting them from facts that could have saved them from the November collapse.

The bubble remains unbroken in many quarters on talk radio, as you’d have known if you tuned to KNUS’ “Backbone Radio,” Sunday, featuring a conversation between former state Senate President John Andrews and host Matt Dunn.

Things got interesting when the two began discussing who’s sufficiently conservative to speak at Andrews’ upcoming Western Conservative Summit, sponsored by the Centennial Institute and Colorado Christian University. 

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Full story: Bubble-Enclosed Western Conservative Summit Shuns Christie

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Former state GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams believes Colorado Republicans should find state-wide candidates modeled after Wayne Allard, Bill Armstrong, Bill Owens, and Hank Brown.

"They were candidates that appealed to a broad section of Coloradans," Wadhams told internet-radio host Art Carlson Saturday. "They didn't go out of their way to alienate any Colorado voter. And as a result, they won in a state that's very competitive, like Colorado. And that's what we need in 2014."

Nothing unusual there, but the funny part was, Wadhams went on to praise a possible GOP candidate who's obviously among the most alienating public figures in Colorado.

"I think it's difficult to start a campaign when you're dealing with those ethical assaults [resulting form the ethics investigation Gessler faces]," Wadhams told Calrson. "But if Scott can get past them, if he can get beyond those charges against him, he'll emerge as a strong candidate." 

What about the need to find a person who won't "alienate any Colorado voter?" I can think of at least a few voters that Gessler might have alienated, maybe Hispanics and minorities, for example, but unfortunately Carlson let the topic slide by. 

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Full story: Radio host notes no irony when Wadhams says 1) GOP needs non-alienating candidates and 2) Gessler would be “strong” choice

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

If you want to hear what the base voters of the Republican Party are thinking, tune to…talk radio!

This is especially true when the radio hosts themselves are conservative former Republican officials and office holders, as is the case with former CU regent Tom Lucero and former Larimer County GOP executive Devon Lentz, who hold forth as co-hosts in the mornings on KFKA radio in Greeley.

Lucero and Lentz were worked up Wednesday morning about immigration, as they've been in the past, and their conversation gives us a local window into the reasons the immigration-reform bill seems to have hit a brick wall in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.

Lucero can't understand why Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who's been pushing federal immigration reform, would promote a bill that offers a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

"I think if Rubio were serious about it," said Lucero on air Wed., "he would have come out with just two bills that dealt with employment, and border security. But he got sucked in, in Washington D.C., and now you’re talking about a pathway to citizenship; you’re talking about people with the opportunity to vote within ‘x’ number of years."

"We’re rewarding people that are here illegally!" responded Lentz.

"Exactly!" said Lucero.

"The rules are in place for a reason!" Lentz added. "Enforce ‘em, and let’s move forward from there! Not change them! Because somebody has violated rules for ten years, doesn’t make it acceptable. Let’s make an exception to the rule for them?”

Lucero and Lentz (like Rep. Cory Gardner) clearly aren't happy with the bipartisan Senate proposal to ramp up border security, with specific milestones, as comprehensive immigration reform moves forward.

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Full story: GOP talk-show host, who opposes immigration-reform bill, says Rubio puts him in an “awkward” position

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

This afternoon Hick will sign a bill setting a state standard for the amount of electricity rural electricity associations must produce from renewable sources, like wind and solar, according to Fox 31's Eli Stokols.

Judging from past coverage, Republican opponents of the bill will try to cast it as an attack on rural Colorado.

When Rep. Jared Wright tried to do this back in April, the Grand Junction Sentinel's Charles Ashby pointed out that the Rural Electricity Association in his area supported the renewable-standard bill (SB 252).

So reporters should check for meat behind accusations of an Democratic attack on the ranchers and others in rural counties, if those accusations start flying again today. 

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Full story: Reporters should look for meat behind accusations of a war on rural Colorado, after Hick signs renewable energy bill

(If at first–or second or third–you don't succeed… – promoted by Colorado Pols)

An anti-abortion organization has launched a radio campaign to publicize a ballot initiative, referred to by supporters as the "Brady Amendment," that would allow law enforcement officials to prosecute people who commit crimes against “unborn human beings.”

"A main goal of [the radio ad] is to let people know the Brady amendment is out there, so people could sign it and get a petition for themselves," said Bob Enyart, a spokesperson for Colorado Right to Life. "It's an awareness thing."

Colorado Right to Life has a $4,600 budget for the ad, which is airing on Christian station KRKS and conservative talk station KNUS, Enyart said.

Here's the text of the ad:

An abortionist has been convicted of murder. Kermit Gosnell’s house of horrors closed. But Colorado kills many kids from conception through late term. Like Brady Surovik, killed by a drunk driver, these kids are persons. Yet listen to Princeton University’s Peter Singer.

"No, I don’t think it’s problematic to say that a four-month old baby is not actually a person. I think that’s simply true.”

This is widespread, and even taints the White House. It’s up to us to stop this taking of innocent life.

The University of Colorado’s Michael Tooley advocates both abortion and infanticide. Discover Magazine defends the evolution of infanticide. The New York Times published a call to kill newborns. So did the Journal of Medical Ethics.

It’s up to us to stop the horror. Sign the pro-life Brady Amendment. It’s urgent. Call any Colorado Personhood group to get a petition, or just go to AVoiceForBrady.com. That’s avoiceforbrady.com.

Listen to the radio ad here, as aired on KNUS May 30.

In April, activists started collecting signatures to put the fetal-homicide measure, which is backed by a Personhood USA, on the 2014 ballot in Colorado. 

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Full story: Radio ad aims to boost Personhood-backed fetal-homicide ballot initiative

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

I blogged Friday about complaints from an African-American radio host, who's also a leader of the Black Tea Party, that Colorado Republican Chair Ryan Call isn't properly supporting grassroots organizing efforts to diversify the state GOP.

The Colorado GOP responded Saturday to that criticism, which was aired by Derrick Wilburn, founder of the Rocky Mountain Black Tea Party, on his KZNT radio show last Saturday.

Colorado GOP Communications Director Owen Loftus told the Daily Caller's Greg Campbell:

“As chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, Ryan receives many invitations to attend and speak at events and meetings across the state, and he does attend as many as possible,” he wrote in an email. “As Mr. Wilburn stated, Ryan has even met with the Rocky Mountain Black Conservatives.”

“Chairman Priebus was in town to discuss Hispanic outreach,” he continued. “The vast majority of people at the meeting were members of the Hispanic community. We were happy to have Mr. Wilburn there to share his thoughts. Unfortunately, given Chairman Preibus’s tight schedule, no one was able to speak at length, not even elected officials like Rep. Clarice Navarro.”

Ryan Call even met with Rocky Mountain Black Conservatives!

But what else has he done? I don't think the Colorado GOP has sufficiently responded to the gist of Wilburn's complaint that the state party isn't showing enough love to African Americans, young people, Hispanics, etc. What's happening, beyond talk, to diversify the party? This is a story that needs to be told.

Full story: CO Republican Party responds to criticism from Black Tea Party leader

(Sort of fascinating – promoted by Colorado Pols)

There’s a talk-radio show in Colorado Springs called “Black, White, and Right.”

"Black" because one of the show’s hosts is the African-American founder of Rocky Mountain Black Tea Party, which has the tough job making the conservatism more appealing to African-Americans.

"White" because one of the co-hosts is a white guy, Robert Blaha, who challenged Rep. Doug Lamborn in last year’s congressional primary in Colorado Springs.

"Right" because both of the show’s hosts are righties. (Note that the show was not called, “Black, White, and Correct.”)

Each week, the hosts name someone as “almost human,” kind of like Westword's "Schmuck of the Week" or Colorado Inside Out's "Disgrace of the Week."

This past Saturday on "Black, White, and Right," Blaha's "Almost Human" was a woman in Florida who's under federal indictment after using embezzled money to throw a birthday party for her boss.

But the African-American host, Derrick Wilburn, surprised me by picking "The Republicans" generally, and State Republican Chairman Ryan Call in particular, for “Almost Human” honors.

Wilburn feels unloved by Call, as you’ll see below, but as a connoisseur of conservative talk radio, I have to say that his attack on Call was so authentic and raw that I recommend it to all of you. 

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Full story: Media Omission: Founder of Black Tea Party group gives State GOP Chair “Almost Human” honors

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

If you’re a reporter, and you’ve been covering Secretary of State Scott Gessler, it’s been a tough few years, because he plays so fast and so loose with the facts.

That’s an accurate assessment, based on Gessler’s record of distorting basic voter information (Voter Fraud! Illegal Voters!), and has nothing to do with his policy positions. If you’re a fair-minded person, you’d agree that Gessler is slippery.

So I pity the poor reporters assigned to chase Gessler around on the campaign trail, if he runs for governor, because I can only imagine the pitfalls they’ll hit as they try to fact-check the would-be Governor Honey Badger.

You can see it coming, as Gessler contemplates his gubernatorial run.

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Full story: Journalists should note smoke coming from Gessler’s pants, if he runs for governor

Cory Gardner (not smiling).

Rep. Cory Gardner said on the radio Thursday that he and other House Republicans will act like a giant fence and stop the Senate's bipartisan immigration bill from becoming law, unless it's changed from its current form.

Any journalists who caught the interview would have to agree that Gardner's tough-guy tone isn't what you'd expect to hear from a guy who told a reporter the day after the last election that it was "absolutely critical" to bring Latinos into the GOP tent. You'd expect Gardner to be sounding more like Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, but he's not.

"[A]s the Senate bill is written, there are not the votes for that bill to move in the House of Representatives." Gardner announced on KFKA radio's AM Colorado, aligning himself with Republican House Speaker John Boehner.

As for his own problems with the bill, Gardner wants more border security, saying immigration reform "has to start with border security and some kind of a proof or trigger on border security so that it doesn’t happen unless you can actually prove that we have done the – taken the steps and components necessary to implement meaningful security measures."

Specifically, Gardner cited the need for "additional personnel on the border," an "e-verify system," and "additional security, a fence, you name it, on the border."

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Full story: Gardner replaces his post-election-immigration-happy-face with the frowny face we’re used to