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"Who Does He Think He Is - Hearst?"

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Nov 05, 2007 at 08:40:09 AM MST


We wrote yesterday about the virtually unprecedented move by The Denver Post to run a front page editorial bashing Gov. Bill Ritter for signing an executive order on Friday allowing for a partnership agreement with state employees. As we said then, forget the issue for a moment: Running a front page editorial in a major metropolitan newspaper is indefensibly wrong.

As former Denver Post columnist Jim Spencer writes, it seems as though there aren't a lot of happy folks in the Post newsroom over this:

"The language used and the placement demonstrate a certain hysteria that stems from Mr. Singleton's personal dislike of organized labor," Ritter's spokesman, Evan Dreyer, said Sunday.

"I think the degree of the personal attacks is a bit surprising for a newspaper of this caliber. To stoop to this level is unbecoming."

Dreyer said the governor "extended the courtesy" of telling Singleton and Post Editorial Page Editor Dan Haley about the executive order the day before it was issued last Friday.

"It was apparent two minutes into the conversation that Mr. Singleton was not happy," Dreyer said.

Singleton did not return an emailed request for comment Sunday. In an email, Post Editor Greg Moore said, "I don't have anything to do with editorials." Moore declined to discuss the decision to put the editorial on the front page, which is almost always reserved for news.

In an interview Sunday, Haley said he wrote the editorial. He called the decision to do so "a collaborative decision between the publisher and myself." Singleton serves as the Post's publisher and apparently ordered the editorial placed on the front page [Pols emphasis]...

...A source inside the Post newsroom said that most staff members were not aware of the tenor of Sunday's editorial and only learned of its placement late Friday afternoon.

"I didn't have any conversations with anyone about it," said one staffer who asked to remain anonymous. "I heard Greg tell some people it was going on the front page. All I knew was Dean was pissed off. So pissed off that he put an editorial on the front page. Who does he think he is - Hearst?"

The language in the editorial was so raw that the staffer predicted some distress among people in the newsroom.

"You can be opposed to what the governor does," he said. "But this name-calling stuff is embarrassing."[Pols emphasis]

Spencer also notes that Singleton's hatred of unions is well-known and reflected in his past history of newspaper ownership.

Singleton's visceral reaction did not surprise journalism scholar John McManus.

McManus, an author and professor, runs a San Francisco-area media watchdog group called GradetheNews.org. McManus says Singleton's hatred of unions revealed itself in his handling of a series of newspapers he bought recently in the Bay Area.

"He established something called the Alameda News Group for the small papers he owned," McManus said. "ANG papers were unionized."

When Singleton purchased the much larger Contra Costa Times, McManus said, Singleton merged the non-unionized Times staff with the ANG to form the East Bay Area News Group.

"Then," McManus explained, Singleton "said, 'We now have more non-union than union employees. So we will no longer negotiate with the union because it doesn't represent a majority of workers."

So far, that tactic seems to have worked, McManus said.
Colorado Pols :: "Who Does He Think He Is - Hearst?"
Poll
Should Major Newspapers Ever Run Front-Page Editorials
Yes
No

Results

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"Who Does He Think He Is - Hearst?" | 95 comments
Dan Haley
needs to watch Hoffa and then discuss it with Dean. Maybe they can run a front page movie review.

The "Liberalism is a Sickness" user is an Ignorant Asshole
A question for Dan Haley
Do you believe what you wrote or were you just following orders?  The editorial had such a condescending, elitist tone you lost any connection to the ordinary people who live and work in this state. 
[ Parent ]
Great editorial
Beautifully written by a pro.

That the union members who staff the paper are unhappy about the editorial is to be expected. Once you're a union member, you're very likely to be sympathetic to all unions. A few of us managed to go through the experience and maintain our principles and capitalistic outlook on life.

Face it. Ritter had done a dumb thing. His credibility is destroyed so far as independents and most business owners are concerned.

As any employer who has operated in heavily unionized states as well as Colorado, we have a a relatively fair labor department here. Now, with state employees joining more unions, the culture in the state's labor department will turn bitterly against employers, and they will have no chance for fair hearings in disputes with former and current workers.

That is one reason employers are embittered by Ritter the Red's executive order. It's a sad turn of events for californiated Colorado.

[ Parent ]
Yeah, this ranks right up there with, oh, the Iraq War.
"Ritter the Red."  Gimme a fucking break.  This decision of his changed almost nothing.

I recall that you were very happy when he didn't sign the labor bill in the last session.  Now he's a Commie for something far less consequential. Gimme a fucking break.

"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd." -Bertrand Russell

[ Parent ]
Hearst owns about 30% of Singleton's company
FYI.
[ Parent ]
Why the hysteria about Page One editorials?
The Post can run a page one editorial every day if it wants too.

Freedom of the press. A business Decision. An editorial decision. Readers can take it as they will, depending on their biases.

This was an entirely reasonable front page editorial. The governor has double crossed voters. He has put a few thousand state workers' and a dozen union leaders' interests ahead of the welfare of the millions of people and thousands of businesses who live and operate in the state.

And the owner of the paper was ticked. A ticked publisher can make his feelings known more quickly than any of us. That's the beauty of being a publisher.

That Coloradopols is somehow related to the state's unions or a union in the state has been made obvious in numerous posts since the blog came on the net. Everyone who reads and posts here knows that.

So it's pretty obvious CP protests to loudly. It publishes its opinions and biases on the top of the home page every day and only promotes diaries it agrees with, which is it's right. But it can't complain if the Post's publisher decides to use his home page to express his opinions, too.

[ Parent ]
You are right--freedom of the press
I will agree to let it pass if....

no one is allowed to say the MSM has a liberal bias anymore.  Deal?

[ Parent ]
Um, no.
That would be untrue.

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
no
claiming the media is liberal is untrue, as this editorial so clearly demonstrates. If you can't see that, you're fucking crazy.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole
[ Parent ]
Let me know
..when you grow up a little.

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
Let me know
when you decide one name to post under; MonkeyBusiness, LaughingBoy, and more.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole
[ Parent ]
Sorry,
..but it's all me.  Don't know the MB guy (or gal).

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
If you think one story
Proves a point as to bias one way or another, you're crazy. 
[ Parent ]
that's why
it's called an example. Keep showing us all how ignorant you are.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole
[ Parent ]
You really are an unpleasant person, aren't you?


Liberalism ultimately leads to socialism. Progressive (AKA liberalism) means progressing towards socialism.  
[ Parent ]
Not at all
[ Parent ]
Not at all?
Ha!  Yeah, all roses and sunshine for you, right?
[ Parent ]
arrogance
There you go again, assuming you know all.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole
[ Parent ]
What's your deal?
Sometimes we can have actual conversations, but usually your a bastard.  What's your deal?
[ Parent ]
Yeah, I'm the ignorant one
Who thinks that ONE example proves their point.  But yeah, go on little one, dream away
[ Parent ]
Post is a typically left-wing paper
It'll probably find a way to show it's left-wing views on unionization, too. Indeed, it supports the CEA. What more do you want?

And while Gregg Moore claims he doesn't have anything to do with editorials, he publishes left wing editorials every day.

[ Parent ]
why do you keep dragging the DP down?
if it's supporting your views, then attacking it as left-wing (disregarding for a moment the ineffectiveness of that particular attack), or attacking it all really seems like you're kinda shooting yourself in the foot.
[ Parent ]
Anybody who can't see the Post is lefty isn't looking
Read the paper. The story assignments are lefty. The columns are mostly lefty. The stories often have lefty slants, especially in the business section.
[ Parent ]
homework assignment for AS
Find an article in today's Post (online edition, so you can link it) and demonstrate it's left wing bias. You'll have to actually take a centrist perspective - that means stepping outside of yourself a bit, but I'm sure you can do it - and come back here demonstrating exactly how it's biased. Using hyperbole will result in an automatic F, so keep it reasonable.

"The fact that we Dems can't rebuild the house does not mean you bring back the [Republicans] who burned it down." - DavidThi808
[ Parent ]
Your rhetoric is problematic
I am often conflicted, but I am not delusional about it.

You hold two contradictory ideas in your head insisting they are both true.  If the conservative orthodoxy says something, you accept it uncritically and ignore any evidence that contradicts it.

I accept that there is merit and logic behind many conservative ideas (I accept many of them as my own), but ignoring facts does your conservative philosophy no justice and makes you appear to be an uncritical thinker.


[ Parent ]
C
"Running a front page editorial in a major metropolitan newspaper is indefensibly wrong."

Really? For some reason I don't remember Pols calling the Post's decision to support Ref C on the front page wrong...

I had forgotten...
Did they really run a front-page editorial for Ref C?  If so, then that was a bit silly.  I'll bet it didn't include hysterical personal attacks on anybody, though.

Many were increasingly of the opinion that they'd all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place.  And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans. - Douglas Adams
[ Parent ]
If you believe the economic destruction Ref C's failure
would have wrought, placing a front page editorial was justified.  If you think little would have happened if Ref C failed, then a front page editorial was misused.  I think it was justified for Ref C but not for this issue.  The impact of allowing state employee unions a seat at the table will have little, if any, impact on the state budget. 
[ Parent ]
Only when extraordinary circumstances or times warrant it.
The EO and Ref C don't seem like extraordinary circumstances/issues.

I can see front-page editorials over issues like, say, invading Iraq or Iran or Pakistan or [insert name of chaotic middle Eastern country here].

The Post's editorial will probably hurt Singleton more than it will hurt Ritter.

Stop buying their BS papers
The Post once had reasonable journalist and editorial board members, but with complete garbage like this who needs the Denver Post when we already have Fox News?

I cancelled my subscription this morning.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole

Ditto...subscription cancelled.
Is this really the issue the Republican party wants to hang it's hat on for '08?  Please, please....
[ Parent ]
I don't get it
So I read the three (or was it four) articles in the Post on this subject and I still don't understand one thing.  Exactly how is allowing state employees the right to unionize an attack on Colorado businesses?

If the theory goes that it will raise the cost of government which will be passed on to users wouldn't it be an attack on all Colorado citizens?

And why
are they quoting the National Federation of Independent Business or even Joe Blake for that matter? This has to do with STATE WORKERS, not private companies workers. There is a big difference.

And why isn't anynone talking about the private business have this very type of agreement such as Kaiser Permanente, if they want to draw a reasonable connection/comparison?

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole

[ Parent ]
Cancel
I just cancelled my subscription, what a disappointment!
Tough week for the post...
All the regular folks canceled after the La Raza press release masquerading as a news story at the beginning of the week, and all the far lefties canceled now after not getting the standard kid glove treatment they get 99% of the time.

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
Exactly LB
It is comical how the true far lefties are just outraged as their usually very liberal Denver Post has foresake them. Spit in their faces so to speak.
I'm enjoying every minute of this.

What do you suppose these same "whiners", as Go Blue called us several days ago, would say if the Post ran a front page editorial blasting Bush? Or Tom Tancredo? Or any other consevative cause/ideal?
Not much I'm sure. Freedom of the press and such would be the lefty word of the day.
Guaranteed.

Liberalism ultimately leads to socialism. Progressive (AKA liberalism) means progressing towards socialism.  

[ Parent ]
I feel compelled,
to point out that your assertion that, "Freedom of the press and such would be the lefty word of the day", Freedom of the press is actually a phrase, not a word.

Further, no on here has suggested censorship or a curtailing of freedom of the press.  It is merely customers discussing their opinions on the editorial decisions of one of the major daily newspapers (as if there were actually two).  No one has advocated the government restriciting freedom of the press or the Post's right to editorialize.  What we are discussing is the wisdom of the Post to use its front page to slam a decision made by our governor that many of us suppport and our right, as consumers, to chose to spend our money as we see fit. 

Personally, I will not be cancelling my subscription just yet, but I have certainly noted the editorial decision of the Post's and will continue to monitor its managment's future editorial decisions.  If the Post goes the way of Fox News, then it will certainly not be welcomed in my home.

"But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining."  Glenn Beck  

[ Parent ]
See the letters to the editor in today's Post...
At least they published a bunch of letters attacking the completely over the top front page editorial.  Only one letter defended it and the rest were pretty devastating.
Comment about the poll
"Should a newspaper ever run a front page editorial?" [My emphasis.]

Ever? Of course they can, given extraordinary circumstances. I think it was Middle of the Road who said that times of war or crisis can justify a front page editorial. I imagine there were lots of those on December 8, 1941.

Rephrase the question and I bet there'd be a lot more "No" votes (as I write this the score is 10 Yes, 6 No). For example, "Was the Denver Post justified in placing this editorial on their front page?" I would have answered No.

"The fact that we Dems can't rebuild the house does not mean you bring back the [Republicans] who burned it down." - DavidThi808

Well said.
My sentiments exactly.

"But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining."  Glenn Beck  
[ Parent ]
Well,
When you guys own your own newspapers, you can make decisions like that.

Ari, I would have thought you'd get that?

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
Actually,
as a customer, I have a right (responsibility even) to voice my opinion about the product that is being offered me.  If the business is interested in my continued patronage, they should listen and ensure that their product meets my expectations.

Do you have no grasp at all of how capitalism works?


"But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining."  Glenn Beck  

[ Parent ]
You see...
That would be how capitalism is *supposed* to work, in the supposedly functional free-market society.

At least until it *does* work - then it's obviously some ploy by a mob of unruly Communists to destroy the system.

"I have come to the conclusion that the making of laws is like the making of sausages-the less you know about the process the more you respect the result."  -- Anonymous IL State Rep. circa 1878

[ Parent ]
Actually,
I have a very firm grasp on the system, as does Singleton, apparently.

I think you're taking yourself far too seriously to think that beyond canceling your subscription (that you probably don't really have) that you'd be some sort of victim with a bunch of influence on someone else's business.


"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
Wow
LB, I've really underestimated you! I think I want to have that cup of coffee you used to blather on about so much. You have the opportunity to reveal to me the true face of the the antichrist.

You have such a firm grasp on the system....as does Singleton......apparently.

You're not taking yourself too seriously, are you? Calling fellow bloggers liars now. A "victim with a bunch of influence" is it?

The responsibility of the press "someone else's business" now?

Insufferable comes to mind.

"I can tolerate chaos, I'm just not sure chaos can tolerate me" Dylan

[ Parent ]
Huh?
I'm the "antichrist" for calling someone out for acting like the  normally very liberal Denver Post writing a dumb, yes dumb, editorial about Ritter doing something that's about as big of a surprise as Christmas?

When I buy you that coffee I think maybe you should order decaf.

:)

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
You don't have the fucking ability to call
snot out of your own nose!

"I can tolerate chaos, I'm just not sure chaos can tolerate me" Dylan
[ Parent ]
Lighten up, Francis
You're too touchy tonight.  Read a good book, have a laugh, meet me for coffee...
[ Parent ]
ROFL


"I can tolerate chaos, I'm just not sure chaos can tolerate me" Dylan
[ Parent ]
Glad you liked that.
Obviously that was me, and I have no idea on how I became the antichrist for answering someone who made a ridiculous statement about my knowledge of capitalism.

You ok?

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
Addendum
I meant to say that it's silly to act like the dumb editorial has somehow offended someone as if it were an insult about their mother.

You guys - Ritter is a big boy, and a Governor in a very contentious issue.  He's a good guy, but he can handle this well-deserved criticism.  It's just politics.

Antichrist.  Hehehe.

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
Actually,
I do have a weekly subscription to the Post (with the Saturday delivery of the News).

And if what you are asserting is that customers have no influence on individual businesses, then your laughter must be chemically induced....

"But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining."  Glenn Beck  

[ Parent ]
Well,
Maybe you should cancel it if you don't want it, but I think it's fairly silly to think that you're going to scare Singleton out of speaking his mind in his own paper in a clearly marked editorial by depriving him of the $1.25 you give his company per week.



"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
I get it
But the press is no mere business, or at least it shouldn't be.

Remember, the question I posed is, Should they have printed this editorial on the front page. They have every right to, but exercising your rights and doing the right thing aren't always the same thing.

"The fact that we Dems can't rebuild the house does not mean you bring back the [Republicans] who burned it down." - DavidThi808

[ Parent ]
Like the recent editorial in the CSU paper
They were within their rights to print the four word editorial, but it wasn't necessarily the right thing.

Much ado ...

[ Parent ]
A character debate
With Singleton giving the middle finger to state employees and the Governor who is looking out for them, he showed us his true colors. In comparison, a highly popular news-man (and apparently one with far more class) is taking care of his employees and their rights.

Stewart Will Keep Striking 'Daily' Writers Afloat

If the writers strike fails, it won't be on account of Jon Stewart.

In a show of solidarity with his fellow scribes, the Daily Show host has told his writing staff that he will cover all their salaries for the next two weeks, according to a well-placed source. He has also vowed to do the same for writers on The Colbert Report. A Comedy Central spokesman referred my inquiry about this to Stewart's personal publicist, who has yet to respond.

Stewart's intention, says the source, is to ensure his writers will face no financial hardship should the strike, which kicked off at 3 a.m. local time, conclude within that timeframe.

And Tina Fey was seen out picketing with the writers. Singleton and the DP Editorial Board could learn a lot from those who stick by their workers.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole

Jon Stewart will stick by them...
...for two weeks. 
[ Parent ]
Since
you didn't read the article which said:
Meanwhile, both Stewart and Stephen Colbert are reportedly working on their contingency plans in case it doesn't. "There are indications that Mr. Stewart and Mr. Colbert will come back in tweaked form if the strike is a long one
which means that they are preparing to support their workers in all forms for as long as they can.

In small words, so perhaps you will understand better, Stewart likes workers... Singleton is an elitist who hates the middle class.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole

[ Parent ]
Stewart makes good money, but
as he always says, "It's basic cable."

The "Liberalism is a Sickness" user is an Ignorant Asshole
[ Parent ]
"Teaked Form"
...most likely means non-union writers.

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
Scabs
That's right. Stewart will stick with his writers until the strike truly hits him in the wallet.  Then he'll re-start his show using non-union writers who cross the picket line.  This strike will really put liberals like Stewart in a bind when he has to produce a product.  How fun!
[ Parent ]
It's interesting
to see how your nuts twist reality to fit into your extreme worldview no matter what facts are presented in face of everything that states the opposite.


"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole
[ Parent ]
...
If saying that makes you feel better, then good luck.

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
Ritter calls Post editorial a Personal Attack
In an exclusive interview on AM 760 Progressive Talk's Jay Marvin show, Gov. Ritter responded to the editorial stating "(The Denver Post Editorial) was probably written by the publisher because it has language that he had used with me personally...around labor issues...it…was a gross mis-characterization…there were some very personal attacks...the fact that they ran it on the front page shows...the publisher's...utter distaste for anything having to do with labor unions" - Governor Ritter

Hear the entire interview at http://www.AM760.net

It's only "exclusive"
...because the Governor refused to talk to any other shows about the EO he snuck in on Friday afternoon.  Dreyer came on (finally) with Caldara and was ridiculous in how he kept dodging the questions Caldara was asking, and then refused to come back with clarification for some very simple yes or no answers he wouldn't give.

This is such a dumb thing to have pulled such a major PR blunder on.  Very un-Ritter-like.

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
well,
the only bad move was to go on to Caldara's show (if that's what Dreyer did) and give him any form of credibility. 

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole
[ Parent ]
Riiiiiight...
It's the highest-rated show in the time slot, on the biggest station in town.

I would have much preferred to hear Rosen grill him on it, but I'll get my chance next Monday.

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
What?
is his show at 3am? The man still has no credibility. Everyone in this state knows he's an ideological extremists who's more concerned with dildo artwork than funding higher education. He sticks up for that wack-job Mann Coulter at every turn, since he more than likely has a man-crush on it.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole
[ Parent ]
No, silly.
He subbed for Rosen today.  As I said, Rosen would have done a much better job grilling Dreyer - I'm not the biggest fan of Caldara's style.

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
Since you mention it Blue..
I have to point out you mention "dildo" and "Mann Coulter" in the same paragraph.  These are two things that for the good of us all should become better acquainted.

" And there are no Christian terrorists."

The Beej, circa 8/26/2010

[ Parent ]
My point exactly
Caldara's schtick is nothing more than porn and props.

"Suddenly, it may be cool to be American again" - William J. Kole
[ Parent ]
Rocky gives better coverage...
I read both papers every day and the Rocky runs circles around the Post in regards to coverage of state/local politics. It's not even close. Lynn Bartels is a better reporter than the entire Post capitol staff put together.

Yes the Rocky's editorial page is odious but I actually use it as a benchmark. When I arrive at a position on an issue I check to see what Vincent Carroll's position is. So long as my position is the exact opposite of his I know that I am on the right side of the issue.

The point isn't the Post
The point is what the Governor did and how he did it and for whom. Sweeter salaries and sweeter PERA benefits (if that's possible) all in the name of government efficiency. DA's plea bargain, Governors shouldn't. The General Assembly better have something to say about this in January or all those "safe" Democrat seats won't be next November.
It IS about the Post!
What part of this thread title do you not understand? 

The issues of his order, or the effect on Colorado is NOT the issue of the front page editorial and Singleton telling his house boy how high to jump. 

Of course, nuances like this are usually lost on the righties.

"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd." -Bertrand Russell

[ Parent ]
Nuances like...
..a free press and private ownership of a newspaper?


"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
That's right
How dare the Denver Post or Colorado Pols editorialize on their front page!
[ Parent ]
Blatant Attack
This was a cheap shot, plain and simple. Just because I can sneak up behind someone and knock them out with a rock doesn't make it right...
[ Parent ]
Awwwww
Poor, poor innocent Dems, just minding their own business...

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
Yeah, you're right Laughing Boy...
I almost slipped into the arena of fighting fair, just wait till "BS" and your Republican party are up for elections. Should be lots of fun!
[ Parent ]
Oh, please
Just stop with the victim stuff.  What was so offensive about this for you exactly?

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
Blind?
If you can't see it, even if you are a radical righty, then I can't explain it to you.
[ Parent ]
Or...
...you just don't know. 

I'm sorry you have to deal with a press that disagrees with you once every twenty years.  The hurt won't last and you'll feel all better soon, I'm sure.

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
It may have been slanted...
But I guess things could be worse, BB could be in office ;)
[ Parent ]
You know,
I agree with you for the most part.  This Labor stuff concerns me, but Ritter's a great listener, and I think he's doing a great job in most areas.  That's what's so odd about both his choice of doing something like this EO in this particular manner, the Post's crazy editorial, and the CO Dem left's insane response to the criticism.

It's like an abortion debate how freaked out everyone is.



"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
...
I would consider myself to be a moderate, as such, the reactions need to be fierce so that people think twice before launching a personal attack. Thats just the way it has to be these days.
[ Parent ]
The issue was the topic of the thread
Not some philosophy of journalism.

How do I not call you guys morons?

"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd." -Bertrand Russell

[ Parent ]
I disagree.
I think only looking at the 'outrage' of placing an editorial on the front page of a newspaper is looking past half of the issue.

Honestly, was there an outcry over the Ref. C editorial on the front page?

What Ritter did, even though it isn't going to have an effect forever, was fairly unprecedented.  And the manner in which they snuck it out, and then ham-handed the response was really out of character.

I still don't understand why he did this the way he did.  He could have stood tall and answered any questions and not faced any more repercussions than he has now.  It's not like he doesn't have the right to do it, and it's not like the Dem House and Senate are going to force him to overturn it.

How does that make me a moron?  Because I disagree with you?

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
LUDLOW
Read the book 'Blood Passion' and you'll have even less respect for union-haters.

Singleton is a thug. His kind fomented a class war that nearly destroyed our state.

Unions have brought us reasonable working hours, fair pair and collective bargaining. Anyone that thinks workers don't deserve those things is a scoundrel and beneath contempt.

Laws not Men

Unions gave us these things,
for all workers.  Not just unionized workers.  We have America's long tradition of union organizing to thank for many things, even if we've never come close to joining a union.

"But every Republican in the world is a lobbyist…" -- Bill O'Reilly
[ Parent ]
correction
Fair PAY. Hard to type when all you can see is red.

Laws not Men
Red ink? n/t


"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

[ Parent ]
Sweeter salaries and sweeter PERA benefits ????
Did you read the executive order?  Where do you get sweeter salaries and sweeter PERA benefits from?  How can anyone with a logical mind argue that an association representing workers and management shouldn't work together for the good of the state.  This is so much ado about nothing that I am laughing.  You can't keep screaming fire when there is no fire and think that people will listen.  The hooplah is crazy. 
Sweeter salaries and sweeter PERA benefits ????
Did you read the executive order?  Where do you get sweeter salaries and sweeter PERA benefits from?  How can anyone with a logical mind argue that an association representing workers and management shouldn't work together for the good of the state.  This is so much ado about nothing that I am laughing.  You can't keep screaming fire when there is no fire and think that people will listen.  The hooplah is crazy. 
Strives for deception
While the Post, and others, cry that a union will raise the salaries of state emplyees, the conveniently fail to report that the state constitution requires that state employees be paid a prevailing wage.  Not more than average. Not less than the average wage. Just an average wage.

Does the Post, or anyone else, believe that state workers will go on strike for higher wages until a modified state constitution is ratifies?

Why the Democrats are Blue
This anti-union blast from the "liberal" paper really confused me.  It seems to bear out Mark Stricherz' book "Why the Democrats are Blue," which holds that liberals in the professional class have consistently shortchanged labor in their quest to make social liberalism the lodestar of the Democratic party.

I can't make heads or tails of Ritter's decision myself.  Though I'm skeptical of unions only when government employees are involved, Ritter's plan seems like an impotent symbolic gesture.  Nobody seems to win.

"Who Does He Think He Is - Hearst?" | 95 comments
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