October 13, 2020 12:58 PM UTC

Anschutz Gazette's Endorsement Of Lauren Boebert Is Just Sad

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• by: Colorado Pols

It was bound to happen. After nearly every editorial board in Colorado’s Third Congressional District from the Pueblo Chieftain to the Durango Herald endorsed the Democratic candidate in this marquee race, former Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush, the one editorial board Republicans in Colorado can always count on–even when they make fools of themselves getting there–is the Phil Anschutz-owned Colorado Springs Gazette, headed by longtime conservative opinionator Wayne Laugesen. And sure enough, Laugesen’s endorsement of Republican Lauren Boebert is at once offensive and fascinating–like a road race that ends in a car wreck or, well, Boebert herself:

If Lauren Boebert lands a job in Congress Nov. 3, she will improve the brand of the Republican Party.

A 33-year-old wife, mother of four and owner of a highly unique business, Boebert drew media intrigue even before she shocked the political establishment by defeating five-term Republican Rep. Scott Tipton in the primary. In addition to movie star looks, she exudes passion for freedom, capitalism and the United States that makes the socialist, anti-America sentiment of AOC + three look gloomy and sad. [Pols emphasis]

In the big league of Congress, she could lead a national, youthful, patriotic, pro-capitalist movement to rival the fashionable narrative that tells young Americans their country is evil.

Laugesen’s uncomfortably infatuated endorsement of Boebert naturally fails to mention any of the negatives that have made this once-safe Republican seat a top Democratic target–not a word about Boebert’s militia dalliances, QAnon curiosities, or spotty record as a health-department-defying restaurant owner. But obviously, there’s no need to worry about Boebert’s lack of qualifications and inch-deep policy knowledge when all you’re looking for is “movie star looks” to make “AOC + three look gloomy and sad!”

This is an election after all, not a beauty pageant. If you already know that, you are simply not the target audience of this editorial. Wayne Laugesen is appealing to voters with more…basic motivations. You might expect a candidate described in these terms to take offense, but recall Boebert’s standing offer to “Jello-wrestle” AOC and recognize that no, probably not in this case.

This isn’t the first time we have marveled at the highly questionable opinions into which the Gazette’s editorial board has been willing to invest the credibility of parent company Clarity Media. From manufacturing ties “ad absurdum” between Jared Polis and the Ku Klux Klan to endorsing candidates who had previously employed Wayne Laugesen’s wife Dede, this is an editorial board that makes news regularly–and not in a good way. In this case, we suppose it’s a comfort that the offense is more against the reader’s intelligence than journalistic ethics.

We’d say do better next time, but really we have no reason to expect that at this point.