On Colorado Inside Out, Rocky's Bartels noted Colorado Media Matters' coverage of Caplis

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

During a discussion of Colorado's 2008 U.S. Senate race on the January 21 broadcast of KBDI Channel 12's Colorado Inside Out, the Rocky Mountain News' Lynn Bartels called Colorado Media Matters one of “the left groups that have now sprung up” and asserted it “came out with hard attacks on [conservative 630 KHOW-AM talk show host Dan] Caplis,” who has said he is considering running for a Senate seat.

Bartels was presumably referring to a January 16 item about Caplis' announcement on the January 15 broadcast of The Caplis & Silverman Show that he is considering a campaign to succeed U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO) in 2008. In the item, Colorado Media Matters identified numerous instances in which Caplis spread misinformation, and made dubious statements and extreme commentary on a wide range of topics, including his remark in the run-up to the November 7 election that "[i]f you want America to surrender in this war, then vote for the Democrats. You have a shared interest at that point with the terrorists."

Bartels also stated that because of organizations like Colorado Media Matters and ProgressNow, presumptive Colorado Republican Party chairman Dick Wadhams “is walking into a whole different situation” from when he worked as a consultant on Colorado GOP campaigns and “Democrats just fumbled for a message.”

From the January 21 broadcast of Colorado Inside Out:

BARTELS: Right. The day after Allard announces that he's not going to run again, the, the left groups that have now sprung up -- the Colorado Media Matters, the ProgressNow -- immediately just came out with hard attacks on Caplis, and on [former U.S. Rep. Scott] McInnis [R-CO]. And I thought, Dick Wadhams is walking into a whole different situation than before when he controlled everything. It was “The Dick Wadhams Show,” and the Democrats just fumbled for a message. I mean, I thought right away, they went on a thing and said, “Hey people, you think Scott's great, but look at bing, bing, bing, bing, bing.” And I, I think it'll be fascinating. I agree: I think it's [Colorado Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark] Udall-McInnis.