Parroting a conservative talking point during the November 29 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Caplis & Silverman Show, co-host Dan Caplis -- referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's November 29 open letter to the American people -- claimed the “second part” of the letter “is a loud-and-clear message to the Democrats: 'Hey, we gave you this election, so you better come through for us or we're gonna make you pay.' ” Caplis also claimed that Democratic Party Chairman "Howard Dean could have written much" of Ahmadinejad's letter.

From the November 29 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Caplis & Silverman Show:

CAPLIS: And then the second part of [the letter] is a loud-and-clear message to the Democrats: “Hey, we gave you this election, so you better come through for us or we're gonna make you pay; you lose the next one.” And that's one thing that really strikes me when you read this. It doesn't surprise me, 'cause I've been saying for a long time, these guys are trying to influence our elections through what they're doing, including stepping up the killing in Iraq. And I think this just confirms it. I mean, you know, Howard Dean could have written much of this letter. And just the direct reference to our elections, and, and -- and the jargon that you've heard coming out of Dean.

When co-host Craig Silverman challenged Caplis' comparison of Ahmadinejad to Dean, Caplis insisted, “What I said is absolutely accurate. That much of what Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here is virtually identical to things we've heard Howard Dean say. Not all of it, but, but big chunks of it. And -- and that's just the reality of it.”

As Media Matters for America has noted, when an earlier Ahmadinejad letter to President Bush was released to the public in May 2006, conservatives tried to equate its contents with the positions of Democrats and progressives. Recently, conservative news outlets such as WorldNetDaily and WDC Media have, like Caplis, likened Ahmadinejad's rhetoric to that of the Democratic Party.

From the November 29 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Caplis & Silverman Show:

CAPLIS: And, and now we move on -- you want to talk about bully -- the consummate bully, Ahmadinejad, who wants to wipe -- he's made it clear -- Israel off the face of the map with a nuclear weapon. And he's determined to get a nuclear weapon. And now he is appealing to you directly. He today released a letter, going over the head of President Bush, directly to you. And love to hear from you on this. Do you care? Should we care? And then we'll get into the guts of the letter. And what do you think this guy is really saying? 303-713-8255 the number.

Craig, I have to tell you, my take on this letter is that what this guy's saying is, “Hey, if you want peace, you have to abandon Israel.” I think he's making that real clear in the letter. Because you'll read headlines about Iraq this, Iraq that. Hey, you actually sit down and read this puppy, what you're gonna see is, it is about Israel. It is about, give up your support of Israel if you want us to stop killing you. That's, that's what this is about. And then the second part of it is a loud-and-clear message to the Democrats: “Hey, we gave you this election, so you better come through for us or we're gonna make you pay; you lose the next one.” And that's one thing that really strikes me when you read this. It doesn't surprise me, 'cause I've been saying for a long time, these guys are trying to influence our elections through what they're doing, including stepping up the killing in Iraq. And I think this just confirms it. I mean, you know, Howard Dean could have written much of this letter. And just the direct reference to our elections, and, and -- and the jargon that you've heard coming out of Dean. But, but the point blank -- and even CNN has referenced it -- you know, the point-blank warning to the Democrats: “Hey, if you don't step up and do the right thing with this power now, we're taking you down next.” I mean, this -- crystal clear what this guy is doing.

SILVERMAN: Do you really want to go that far, Dan? Because I'm inclined to agree that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a huge threat to America, but, holy cow, for you to compare Howard Dean, the chairman of the DNC, to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Did I hear that wrong? Do you want to compare those two?

CAPLIS: No, you just misstated it. What I said is absolutely accurate. That much of what Ahmadinejad said here is virtually identical to things we've heard Howard Dean say. Not all of it, but, but big chunks of it. And -- and that's just the reality of it. But when this guy, you know, is directly referring in the way that he does to our elections, et cetera -- I mean, even CNN says when they summarize the letter here: “Democrats warned to help ease global resentment and hatred of America.” Another wire service report: “Democrats warned that it could cost them '08 election if they don't do what Iran wants.” You're not disputing, are you, that these guys have been and are continuing to try to directly influence our elections?