January 13, 2011 02:17 AM UTC

Revising--And Plagiarizing--Colorado History With Frank McNulty

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• by: Colorado Pols

New Speaker of the House Frank McNulty thought he was waxing statesmanlike today, invoking the memory of former three-term Democratic Governor and U.S. Senator Edwin C. Johnson of eastbound I-70 tunnel fame. From McNulty’s speech:

[A]s the Dust Bowl ravaged the Eastern Plains of Colorado, our Governor at the time, Edwin “Big Ed” Johnson, a Democrat, struggled with the challenges we face today. He seized the opportunity to lead. Big Ed was critical of Washington, D.C.’s New Deal plan, which he saw as a one-size fits all approach. Rather than keep this one-sized approach, he focused on working with the federal government and state leaders to create Colorado’s own reorganization and reform program. [Pols emphasis] Governor Johnson pushed for a balanced state budget, instituted tax reforms, and even managed to draft a robust highway construction program…

What a wonderful example of bipartisanship, singling out Democratic Gov. Johnson as a model of the kind of “pioneer spirit” leadership we should all aspire to show in tough times.

But we’re sorry to inform you that there’s a problem. Two problems, actually.

The first problem with McNulty’s speech is a striking similiarity to the official biography of Edwin Johnson in the Colorado State Archives–and we do mean striking, Scott McInnis style:

Even though Johnson was a Democrat he did not support New Deal legislation. “Big Ed” instead created his own statewide reorganization and reform program. [Pols emphasis] Tax reduction, a $20 million highway construction program, balanced budget legislation, and civil service reform earmarked this successful program…

Seriously, folks, have we not had enough political plagiarism in the last year? We’ve gone back and forth a couple of times now to make sure this is really what it seems to be. And, well, yes. It appears that McNulty lifted this copy from the Colorado State Archives–with only token changes, a la “Musings on Water.”

The next problem, perhaps not as universal a problem but not really good, with McNulty’s rosy look back at history would be Johnson’s actual history. Continuing with the official biography of Johnson in the State Archives where the above left off, we see McNulty stopped transcribing just as the narrative turned, well, substantially less rosy!

Edwin Johnson’s isolationist views became apparent in 1936 when he called out the National Guard to prevent the entry into Colorado of Mexican migrant farm laborers. Pressured by federal government and other public officials, he reversed this stance but reinstituted the ban in 1958.

Despite his popularity, Senator Edwin Johnson is known for his political vacillations, which were largely caused by his allegiances being split between the Democratic Party and his Republican constituency. For instance, while “Big Ed” was a proponent of isolationism and consistently voted against America’s military involvement in foreign wars, he became Vice-Chairman of the Senate Military Affairs Committee and was instrumental in the creation of the G.I. Bill of Rights, Lowry Air Force Base, and the Air Force Academy. Once the United States entered World War II, Johnson was solidly behind the war effort, even supporting the Japanese internment camps; a political stance which placed him in direct conflict with Governor Ralph Carr who was much more sympathetic to the Japanese-American population…

Edwin Johnson’s controversial and often conflicting stances were not limited to Depression politics and military affairs. Johnson was on the committee that censured Senator Joseph McCarthy, yet he introduced legislation requiring the licensing of movie performers based on their morality. This legislation was introduced after Johnson publicly called Ingrid Bergman “an apostle of degradation” and her lover / director Roberto Rossellini “vile and unspeakable…Unconventional free – love conduct must be regarded…as an assault upon the institution of marriage.”

What’s worse about this, folks? That McNulty whitewashed the history of one of Colorado’s more famous political leaders…or that he apparently plagiarized it? It’s true that politicians want people to talk about their speeches afterward, but this might not be what McNulty had in mind.

In fact, any way you slice this, it looks pretty bad…