The liberal wing of Colorado’s Democratic party is grasping at straws to fling mud at the Republican gubernatorial candidate, but the Denver Post – whether as it was originally written or as it was edited for publication – props up the credibility of the charges by omitting relevant information.
Under the guise of a benign-sounding group called Colorado Citizens for Ethics in Government (CCEG), activist Democrat attorney Chantell Taylor is taking media potshots at the integrity of Bob Beauprez’s campaign without the fortitude to follow the legal channels and actually file a formal complaint. In the article, Taylor is only identified as “CCEG director.”
Instead of initiating a formal complaint, Taylor finds a media audience to murmur that the current Secretary of State – Republican Gigi Dennis – is playing partisan politics by not initiating the complaint herself. Maybe she should consult some other lawyers on her own side before she starts making silly allegations, as Post writer Chris Frates uncovered:
Election lawyer Mark Grueskin, who often represents Democrats, said he thinks Dennis is correct because the system is set up to be enforced by citizen complaints.
“She’s not really supposed to be investigating all these fact- specific complaints,” he said. “Frankly, if this group wants to get it addressed, they need to put pen to paper and let the process take its course.”
If there were anything approaching serious evidence that Beauprez had broken any campaign finance law, liberal Democrats would be filing real complaints rather than staging press conferences. It’s just sad (and predictable) to see the Post acting as an enabler of frivolous charges, without disclosing key facts about the source of the complaint.
A two-minute Google search would have identified Taylor’s affiliation with the ACLU of Colorado and her active role as a district captain for the Denver Democratic Party. And less than five minutes searching the contribution records on the Colorado Secretary of State Web site would have shown that Taylor is a contributor to Ken Gordon, the Democrats’ candidate for Secretary of State.
Pertinent facts to consider, don’t you think? I know it may have been a slow news day, but if you’re going to cover the story, at least include a few important details to give some context.
Facts and truth in the pages of The Denver Post? I believe it is fair and appropriate to say your expectations of this former newspaper now scab sheet are unrealistic.