Media Matters:

The most recent addition to the GOP dog-pack nipping at the heels of Congresswomen-Elect Betsy Markey, CU Regent Thomas J. Lucero, is having an identity, or at least residency, crisis. According to his CU Regent biography he lives in Johnstown. But, the press release he sent to the Loveland Reporter-Herald includes (R-Loveland) after his name (see the extended text).

According to the Managing Editor of the Reporter-Herald those 10-characters between parentheses are sufficient evidence to tout him as the "home town" candidate.  This is the second time that the Reporter-Herald has announced his candidacy in the past two-weeks crediting him as a Loveland resident.

Since the newspaper doesn’t seem to understand investigative journalism, or even the need to confirm information sent by politicians in a press release, I made a few checks.  First of all other Colorado newspapers have reported Mr. Lucero’s home as Johnstown.  Then there is the information on his CU Regent biography that lists his home as, surprise, Johnstown.

The CU Regent biography goes a little further to specify that Mr. Lucero is a Johnstown businessman and civic leader.  So while it is getting hard to figure out which former dairy farm is now part of Johnstown, or which corn-field is Loveland’s $6 Million dollar investment in the future, a person with ambitions for the US Congress should know what address to go to at the end of the day.

When he ran for CU Regent Tom knew that he lived in Johnstown.  The Colorado Secretary of State record shows his campaign committee address from the 1997 campaign season as 1015 WS 1ST ST/PO BOX 921 JOHNSTOWN, CO 80534.  That’s the same Post Office box that’s on the CU Regent Biography.

Further evidence of Mr. Lucero’s inaccuracy in the press release to the Reporter-Herald is found through the Dex.com online telephone directory.  No surprise here that there is no listing for Thomas J., Tom or “T” Lucero in Loveland.  This is inconclusive since Dex doesn’t account for the phenomenon of people with only a cellphone and no landline at their home.

Next in my bag of tricks is the Larimer County Assessor website for property records.  It’s reasonable to believe that an independently wealthy pizza magnate would own his home.  Curiously, a search for any person with the last name of Lucero owning property in the County doesn’t show a Thomas in Loveland, but there is one in Fort Collins.  Sorry, for dragging that guy into this mess.

So, I guess it comes down to this.  Almost a month before Betsy Markey is even provided the respect and courtesy of being sworn-in as a Member of Congress ( “MC” as my former Congressman and professor is known to say) we have the curious case of a GOP wanna-be getting ready for the 2010 contest.

The Rocky Mountain News weighs-in this morning with a good report on the growing revelations of the GOP voter suppression agenda. Curiously, this shows in Colorado as a fight between the GOP Secretary of State and two strong GOP County Clerks.

The County Clerks, Republicans Scott Doyle (Larimer) and Pam Anderson (Jefferson), are holding the line for what is right and just in the face of CD-6 Candidate and Secretary of State Coffman's fixation on a questionable policy. This year's election controversy is increasingly looking like valid charges of radicals in the GOP deliberately using technicalities and irrational procedural hoops to deny eligible citizens the right and opportunity to vote.

The contemporary "voter fraud" cries of the GOP are a manufactured issue with the sole purpose of suppressing likely Democratic voters. There is no problem other than the radical conservatives seeing their political clout wither with each succeeding election. The facts of the miniscule number of REAL cases of Federal and State voter fraud charges and convictions in recent history defy the hysteria of the GOP.

Doyle and Anderson are providing leadership and good public policy for all of Colorado. Too bad that there is some other influence keeping Mike Coffman from recognizing, and acting on, that good example. Maybe it is too much for him to run for Congress and be responsible for a fair election.

Read the Rocky's full story online at:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/22/secretary-of-state-stands-by-registration-check/

One of the most disagreable experiences I've had during this year's political campaign came when national, and local, groups viciously attacked the integrity, motivations and message of General Petraeus. Yet, on Wednesday the conservative Heritage Foundation heard policies and concepts from Petraeus that confirm the campaign platform of Barack Obama.

The complete story from the "Washington Independent" is in the Extended Post Text (via Foreign Policy magazine's Daily Brief service). This is an online news outlet associated with Colorado Confidential.

This can't stay a minor story. Petraeus' comments must be shared, and the Obama campaign should advertise these policies and tactics with enthusiasm.

Part of the value in this this is seeing a competent national leader, Obama, openly discuss a strategic vision and mission for the US military.  Now we're seeing that a widely praised general is able to accept that mission and describe the operational policies and tactics to accomplish what is apparently Barack Obama's security policy in opposition to McCain's irrational Iraq fixation.

BREAKING - Sunday, September 7th 

Perhaps this should be counted as a media watch victory.  R-H editor Ken Amundson published a lengthy apology and signifcant policy change for the telephone call-in column.  Still, the R-H won't publish even their own editorials online.

In addition to the election season curtailment of political LTEs to 200-words, Amundson will not allow comments on individual candidates to be published in the call-in line column.  At least this could slow down the Right WingNut lies and slurs in one Colorado newspaper.

///original post/// 

Among the wide range of Colorado newspapers the Loveland Reporter-Herald rests in a unique place between hometown paper and loyal arm of a conservative media group. But, on Tuesday September 2, 2008 the R-H crossed a dubious line by publishing an anonymous telephone message claiming that assassinating Brack Obama is acceptable because he is inexperienced.

 "All you Democrats take what you're saying about Sarah Palin, and that's what all of us Republicans are saying about Obama.  He's way too inexperienced for the job.  I would much rather have a little inexperience at the number two position than the No. 1 position.  The only way to get rid of that experience in an inexperienced president is either by impeachment or assassination." (emphasis added)

Political commentary is expected in America, but advocating one of the worst crimes for the offense of "inexperience" is truly despicable.  By publishing this rant without edit, or disclaimer is an indictment of complacancy  and possibly even accessory by the Reporter-Herald.

In response to my my protest of this publication the Managing Editor of the R-H, Ken Amundson, provided this response:

I also reacted negatively when I read that comment this morning. I have taken steps internally to deal with it.

Ken Amundson

Today's edition of the R-H makes no mention of the offending comment.  It seems that Mr. Amundson's true definition of dealing with it internally is to ignore it and hope the issue dies.

The Extended Post Text holds the necessary information for others to join me in demanding that Ken Amundson and the Reporter-Herald take responsibility for this incident, cooperate with Federal authorities to determine if there really is a threat to Barack Obama, and publish an apology with a condemnation of inciting the public to illegal, criminal acts that undermine the political process in America.

Not that I'm surprised, but the Gazette butchered the hell out of my quote in their editorial today.

As many of you may know, we recently went after John Caldara (of the Independence Institute) after he said in an interview with Anne Coulter that Hillary Clinton had been "bitch-slapped" in the debate in South Carolina. We called on the advertisers on his radio program to pull their ads because Caldara refused to apologize for using a term so offensive to women in reference to Hillary.
 
One of Caldara's employees at the Independence Institute researched several instances in which that phrase has been used without reaction from ProgressNow, including use by two weekly newspaper reporters, as well as one blogger on our blog in reference to General Petraeus.
 
Yesterday, I received a call from the Gazette wanting a quote. What I said repeatedly was that we do not condone the use of the term in question under any circumstances, but that for John Caldara, a paid spokesperson for the Right Wing, to equate himself with a weekly newspaper reporter or a private citizen commenting on a public forum is ridiculous. Caldara has yet to respond on the merits. By his diversion, we can only assume that he's defending his statement.

The Gazette also perpetuated the lie that the person who pointed out the other uses of the term in question is a "blogger". Our understanding is that, in reality, he's on staff at the Independence Institute.
 
The Gazette was utterly complicit in Caldara's offense to women with their pathetic editorial. I expected nothing less from the state's most blatantly partisan fishwrap.