Before the election, Colorado media uncritically conveyed much of Wadhams' misinformation

by: swoods

11/13/08 @ 06:00:31 PM MST

During the 2008 election cycle, Colorado Media Matters documented numerous instances in which the Colorado media's uncritical reporting provided Colorado Republican Party chair Dick Wadhams with a platform to make false, dubious, and unchallenged claims regarding Democrats -- frequently while ignoring or downplaying Wadhams' well-documented history of negative campaigning in Colorado and other states.

Numerous Colorado media outlets repeatedly allowed Wadhams -- who also was manager of U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer's failed campaign -- to attack Schaffer's opponent, now U.S. Sen.-elect Mark Udall, and to make misleading assertions in Schaffer's defense without providing any response from Democrats.

After the jump are examples Colorado Media Matters documented of the Colorado media uncritically reporting Wadhams' falsehoods, distortions, and unchallenged claims.

Falsehoods about Udall

Media outlets frequently allowed Wadhams to attack Udall with misleading or inaccurate claims, without challenging or correcting the misinformation. Perhaps the most-repeated falsehood was Wadhams' insistence on prefacing every utterance of Udall's name with the term "Boulder liberal." As the Rocky Mountain News reported May 27, Wadhams "has made Udall's address an issue in the U.S. Senate campaign" and "never misses a chance to attach 'Boulder liberal' to Udall's name." The News also noted that "Udall has never lived in Boulder's city limits, although he's always had a Boulder mailing address," and is, in fact, a resident of Eldorado Springs, according to "the Boulder County Assessor's Office and the Rocky Mountain Fire Protection District."

Following the News' reporting of Wadhams' tactic, several media outlets -- including 630 KHOW-AM's The Caplis & Silverman Show, The Colorado Statesman, The Denver Post's "PoliticsWestTV," and The Pueblo Chieftain -- nevertheless uncritically repeated the inaccurate conservative talking point that Udall was a "Boulder liberal" or "Boulder Democrat."

On one occasion Wadhams claimed, "It really is on his birth certificate ... I checked. Our research department verified that." In fact, Udall was born in Tucson, Arizona, according to The Washington Post and Udall's congressional website, and graduated from high school there.

Colorado Media Matters documented the following instances of the media uncritically repeating or failing to challenge Wadhams' talking point:

• Caplis agreed with GOP's attacks on Udall -- after reading News article debunking them
• Colorado Statesman featured "[s]pecial [s]ection" of puff pieces for GOP convention, but no similar issue for earlier Dem meeting
• On PoliticsWest webcast, Denver Post reporter failed to question Wadhams' repeated misinformation
• Chieftain echoed conservative talking point calling Udall "the Boulder Democrat," omitted details of his energy policy
• Chieftain article misled on what polling showed about Udall's energy position

Additionally, Colorado Media Matters noted two instances -- on the June 11 webcast of The Denver Post's "PoliticsWestTV" and in a News article -- when Wadhams stated, without challenge from the reporter, that the energy policies of Udall and other Democrats had "stopped domestic exploration [of energy resources] for the last 20 years" or had "systematically killed domestic energy exploration for the past 10 years." However, as Colorado Media Matters pointed out, the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration has reported steady annual increases in the number of natural gas exploratory wells drilled since 1998, with the exception of 2002, which followed a large spike in exploratory gas drilling in 2001. Similarly, the EIA has reported annual increases in crude oil exploratory wells drilled since 1999, again with the exception of 2002.

Similarly, on his August 14 Newsradio 850 KOA broadcast, Mike Rosen did not challenge Wadhams' false claims that Udall and Sen. Barack Obama advocate "absolute opposition to any increased drilling or exploration" for domestic energy. As Colorado Media Matters noted, Udall and Obama publicly expressed their support for domestic drilling, and Udall sponsored legislation for phased energy development on Colorado's Roan Plateau -- an idea Schaffer also supported.

In addition, a September 25 News article about an ad attacking Udall's foreign policy record reported Wadhams' stating there are "clear differences between Schaffer and Udall" and uncritically quoted Wadhams' comment: "How can you take anyone serious on terrorism who sponsored a Department of Peace?" However, as Colorado Media Matters pointed out, the article by Lynn Bartels failed to note that Udall "withdrew his sponsorship" of the measure in 2004 "after becoming 'uncomfortable' with some of the details of the bill, including the $8 billion price tag" -- even though the News had reported the fact previously.

Distortions of past political campaigns

Several Colorado media outlets -- including the Greeley Tribune, the Colorado Statesman, the News, and Colorado's Morning News on KOA -- uncritically repeated Wadhams' false claims regarding past statewide political races made in references to 2008 campaigns -- namely, that Colorado Republicans U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave and U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard won past elections despite being outspent by their opponents, and that Allard trailed his Democratic opponent Tom Strickland in midsummer 2002 polls:

• In an August 13, 2007, article, the Tribune uncritically allowed Wadhams to state without substantiation that Musgrave's opponents "grossly outspent" her during the 2006 election campaign. However, according to campaign finance records and reporting by the Fort Collins Coloradoan, Musgrave and her supporters in the 2006 election in fact appeared to have outspent her major opponents, Democrat Angie Paccione and former Reform Party candidate Eric Eidsness, and their supporters.

The Tribune quoted Wadhams as saying that if the Democrats "couldn't take Marilyn Musgrave out last year, in the most pro-Democratic atmosphere we've had probably since 1974, and they spent millions against her -- literally millions against her, she was grossly outspent, despite being an incumbent -- they are not going to be able to do it in 2008. ... And that's just all there is to it."

Democrat Betsy Markey defeated Musgrave 56 percent to 43.9 percent on November 4.

• In a June 26 article discussing a Quinnipiac University/Washington Post/Wall Street Journal poll showing that Udall led Schaffer, the News uncritically reported that "Wadhams responded to the numbers, and to another set showing Barack Obama with a lead over John McCain in the presidential race, by noting that there is no President John Kerry and never was a U.S. Sen. Tom Strickland from Colorado, despite those two Democrats enjoying leads in June of their election years." In fact, while national polls showed Kerry leading President Bush in June 2004, the News itself reported in July 2002 that polling then showed Allard with a 9-percentage point lead over Strickland, noting that the lead had dwindled from 16 points since January of that year.

A search of the Nexis database and PollingReport.com did not identify any polls that sought opinions on head-to-head matchups between Strickland and Allard in June 1996. At that time, Strickland was still contesting the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat against challenger Gene Nichol, while Allard was contesting the Republican nomination against then-Colorado Secretary of State Gale Norton.

• In June, several Colorado media outlets uncritically repeated Wadhams' assertion that the retiring Allard was outspent by Strickland in their 1996 and 2002 campaigns. In fact, Federal Election Commission data show that while Strickland outspent Allard when the two candidates competed in 1996 for Colorado's open U.S. Senate seat, Allard outspent Strickland during his 2002 re-election campaign.

The Colorado Statesman reported Wadhams' assertion in an article by John Schroyer published May 30 (accessed in the print edition; also available online by subscription), as the News did in a June 2 article by Bartels. Similarly, KOA anchors April Zesbaugh and Steffan Tubbs did not challenge Wadhams on the June 2 broadcast of Colorado's Morning News when he stated, "[I]f outspending your opponent was the only thing that determined victory, Senator Wayne Allard would not have won two elections, and Bill Owens would not have won his first campaign for governor."

Wadhams shadowboxing

On several occasions during the 2008 election cycle, Colorado media outlets repeated Wadhams' inflammatory remarks about Democrats without providing any Democratic rebuttal. For example:

• A July 26, 2007, KUSA 9News at 5 p.m. report about Denver's hosting of the 2008 Democratic National Convention quoted Wadhams as saying the convention would be "good for Republicans" because "the Democrats have to talk about" what he "think[s] will be their very liberal platform." Although 9News reporter Adam Schrager interviewed the head of the Democratic National Convention Committee, Leah Daughtry, about the potential impact of the convention on Denver residents, the report did not include Democrats' response to Wadhams' assertion that politically, the event would be "good for Republicans."
• During a September 9, 2007, News at Nine O'Clock segment about upcoming "Democrat and Republican caucuses," KDVR Fox 31 reported that Wadhams -- whom reporter Charlie Brennan called "one of Colorado's most astute political observers" -- "would not offer a prediction as to which way Republicans will go for president," but that "he had a very clear opinion about what Democrats will do and what the fate of their candidate will be in Colorado." Fox 31 then quoted Wadhams' assertion that he thinks Democrats "will be nominating Hillary Clinton ... who I believe is very unpopular in Colorado." The report, however, failed to provide predictions or comments from any Democrats regarding who might win the Republican nomination or how popular the Republican candidates are in Colorado.
• In a September 22 article about August campaign donation figures in the presidential race, after reporting that Obama's campaign raised more money "on the day Sarah Palin was announced as the GOP vice-presidential candidate than on the day he made his historic acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver," the News reported Wadhams' comment that "(Democrats) are so repulsed by the notion that an articulate, competent, successful woman could be running on the Republican ticket -- it does not compute for them." The article did not include a Democratic response to Wadhams' baseless assertion.

Attacks on Obama's campaign

The media also allowed Wadhams to make false claims about Obama and his campaign without noting his factual inaccuracies. Colorado Media Matters documented the following examples:

• Reporting on a planned Colorado campaign appearance by Michelle Obama, a July 16 News article uncritically reported Wadhams' statement that he believes "John McCain's candidacy is far more representative of what women voters want," without noting that several national polls showed Obama holding a significant lead over McCain among female voters at that time.

The News also published Wadhams' assertion that Obama "supports higher taxes on the middle class," but provided no information about Obama's actual tax proposals. In fact, Obama proposed raising taxes only on "people who are making 250,000 dollars a year or more" and cutting taxes for middle-income families.

• In an August 7 broadcast and news article, respectively, KOA's Colorado's Morning News and the Rocky Mountain News provided no substantiation for Wadhams' inaccurate assertion that Obama's campaign would require some type of commitment -- which Wadhams labeled "a loyalty oath" -- for those wanting to attend Obama's August 28 acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. In fact, in outlining plans on August 6 for credentialing those wishing to attend the speech, the Democratic National Convention Committee and the Colorado Campaign for Change stated that "volunteering is not a prerequisite for recipients" and detailed a plan to give those who did volunteer with the campaign "all-star seating for Obama's speech."

In contrast to KOA and the News, the Post reported on July 24 and August 7 that volunteering for or donating to Obama's campaign were not requirements for getting access to the speech at Invesco Field at Mile High, quoting an Obama campaign official.

• On his August 14 broadcast, Rosen did not challenge Wadhams' false claim that Obama advocated "absolute opposition to any increased drilling or exploration" for domestic energy. As Colorado Media Matters noted, Obama publicly expressed his support for domestic drilling.
• On 9News' September 4 Decision 2008: Convention Update broadcast, Schrager uncritically allowed Wadhams to assert that Obama "has nothing to his credit on any legislative achievement. The guy's been in the Senate two years and has nothing to show for it." In fact, Colorado Media Matters and Media Matters for America have noted legislation Obama authored or helped pass in the Illinois state senate and the U.S. Senate.

Ignoring Wadhams' past

Furthermore, in reporting Wadhams' criticism of purported negative and dishonest campaigning by liberals and Democrats, several Colorado media outlets ignored Wadhams' own well-documented history of negative campaigning. As Colorado Media Matters noted, according to a Washington Monthly profile of Wadhams from September 2006, Wadhams has "taken ... low blows to new heights, combining blistering verbal assaults, nasty wedge issues, and general loud-mouthing in an astonishingly effective manner." The Post referred to the same profile when it reported in January 2007 that "Wadhams is politically brutal enough to be considered a Republican hitman."

Examples of the Colorado media's omissions of Wadhams' history include the following:

• On the January 30 broadcast of Fox News Radio 600 KCOL's Mornings with Keith and Gail!, host Keith Weinman allowed Wadhams to blame Colorado supporters of liberal 527 organizations for having "pushed the [election] process into a very, I think, unseemly direction," without mentioning the past political influence of the now-defunct Republican-backed 527 organization the Trailhead Group, or Wadhams' history of negative campaigning.

• In a March 1 column (accessed via the Factiva database) praising Wadhams for "taking on" Democratic "power brokers" who engage in what he suggested was "rotten" politics, Tom McAvoy of the Chieftain omitted Wadhams' history of negative campaigning. Further, McAvoy stated that Wadhams is "taking perhaps a more personal interest in Schaffer's campaign for the Senate," but failed to mention widespread reporting at the time that Wadhams was playing a significant role in the campaign, and by one account appeared to be "the de facto campaign manager."
• In a June 21 article, the News uncritically reported Wadhams' comments criticizing "liberal" blog reports about Schaffer. The article quoted Wadhams saying, "These stupid blogs can make things up," and, "This is the latest character assassination attempt by Udall and his leftist allies." But the News failed to mention Wadhams' own widely reported history of hiring bloggers as covert political operatives and his use of other online media outlets while serving as manager of the 2004 U.S. Senate campaign of South Dakota Republican John Thune.

Moreover, a March 29 article on the Post's PoliticsWest website reported that Wadhams disputed Democratic Party chair Pat Waak's contention during a recent joint appearance that "he can get pretty nasty at times" by stating that it was "kind of crazy" and "an excessive characterization." But the Post failed to report that Wadhams had a history of negative campaigning and that the Post itself had described him as "politically brutal."

-C.H.