September 11, 2010 07:13 PM UTC

Whitewashing Ken Buck

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• by: JeffcoBlue

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

The Denver newspaper published an editorial today that raises serious questions about their bias and objectivity in the U.S. Senate race. Making false statements about the record of Republican Ken Buck, and facilitating Buck’s attempts to back away from previous radical views, the Denver newspaper is actively assisting in rewriting Buck’s history for the general election.

We’ve all complained about the Denver paper at one time or another, but this is worse. They are helping Buck run away from his past, and committing lies of omission at the very least.

In today’s editorial, the Denver newspaper attempts to disprove an ad from Buck’s Democratic opponent by offering “context” for the statements shown on video by Buck. On Social Security, I am meant to believe that Buck does not think Social Security as a whole is a “horrible policy,” but the government bonds the Social Security Trust Fund consists of (because that’s what they’re talking about). This distinction is made ignorant of, or in an attempt to distract from, the fact that these interest-bearing and guaranteed bonds are as reliable an instrument as any other government bond. If they are worthless, than so are all government bonds, and the world economy is screwed. The Denver paper’s defense of Buck’s response as “nuanced” ignores the fact that the entire discussion is idiotic.

Buck has said repeatedly that he favors privatization of Social Security, and the Denver paper’s editorial completely avoids mention of this unpopular fact: a fact that proves the Bennet campaign’s original claim.

About that “substantive discussion” of Social Security the Denver paper claims followed? Politico reported a long time ago what Buck said after those words:

http://www.politico.com/news/s…

“The idea that the federal government should be running health care or retirement or any of those programs is fundamentally against what I believe. And that is that the private sector runs programs like that far better.”

The Denver newspaper then says that Buck “officially” opposes shutting down the federal Department of Education, and claims that Bennet’s clip of Buck saying “we don’t need a Department of Education” is misleading. But they don’t tell you that Buck repeatedly and unequivocally stated his support for abolishing the Department of Education during the primary! In fact, Buck said that we could “immediately flip the switch” and shut down the Department of Education. (link) Maybe he has since “Buckpedaled” from his position, but to gloss over what it originally and stridently was is what is fundamentally misleading: NOT Bennet describing accurately what Buck has said.

Finally, the Denver paper’s mounts a similar defense of Buck in regards to student loans. Buck has said repeatedly that the federal government should not “be in the student loan business.” The federal government has recently reformed the student loan system after many years of well-documented abuses. But Buck has said that the federal government should not even be in the business of guaranteeing student loans, undermining the Denver paper’s defense. From the same June Politico story I linked to above:

During an appearance in May on a local radio program, Buck suggested that the government should not be in the business of providing student loans.

“Over time, we have to wean the American public off those,” he said.

The Denver newspaper has committed a serious breach of trust with its readers with this editorial. They have compromised more than their integrity; this is a breakdown of their mandate for simple accuracy. And they have misrepresented the truth of each of these issues to the point of absurdity.