April 10, 2013 01:11 PM UTC

Gessler says Denver Post out to get him and other conservatives

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• by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

On KOA's Mike Rosen show this morning, Secretary of State Scott Gessler amped up his attacks on The Denver Post, saying, among other things, that the newspaper is "ideologically skewed in one direction, and that's where they devote their resources."

Tell that to ColoradoPols, Mr, Secretary of State. But it gets worse.

In response to Rosen's assertion that Post news coverage of Gessler channels "Democrat talking points" and gives "lip service to the other side," Gessler said:

"I think that's true lately. I think part of it depends on who the reporter is who covers my office. So this article today is written by a guy Joey Bunch. He's new on the beat. So we'll see how well he works. I'm sort of optimistic that he will be a lot fairer than what we've seen in the past."

I asked the collective wisdom on Twitter if anyone thinks Post reporter Joey Bunch will be "a lot fairer" to Gessler than the Post's previous Gessler-beat reporters , Tim Hoover and Sara Barnett.

No one replied, but I can tell you that Hoover (who's writing editorials) and Barnett (who's gone) are widely considered stars in Denver journalism circles.

Gessler implied that The Post has an institutional bias against him, saying:

"You know, I think The Denver Post is just ideologically skewed in one direction, and that's where they devote their resources."

And he expects The Post to get fully behind former Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, who's running against Gessler.

"I'll be running against Ken Gordon and his largest corporate donor, which is The Denver Post," Gessler told an approving Rosen.

Gessler's comments today go beyond the usual darts he's thrown at The Post and other media outlets in the past. He's trashing specific Post reporters, as well as the entire institution. 

Coming from an elected official who, more than other partisan politicians, is supposed to stand up for democracy, and seems so ignorant about the role of journalism therein, it's gross.

Someone at The Post, maybe one of the good folks who posts the Editor's Notes blog or somewhere, should respond to Gessler's abuse.

Transcript of Mike Rosen's interview with Scott Gessler 4-10-13

Rosen: "You'll be running for re-election against The Denver Post. It's one thing for them to endorse a Democrat, any Democrat, on the editorial pages, which they, no doubt will. But they have been on you ever since you took office. And I think, in most cases, unfairly. In any event, do you know who your official Democrat opponent will be."

Gessler: "I do. It's Ken Gordon."

Rosen: "Former state legislator.

Gessler: "Former state legislator. He ran eight years ago against Mike Coffman, narrowly lost. So, I'll be running against Ken Gordon and his largest corporate donor, which is The Denver Post."

Rosen: "What does The Denver Post have against you?"

Gessler: "You know, I think The Denver Post is just ideologically skewed in one direction, and that's where they devote their resources. I mean, if you look at this legislative session, every single initiative that the Democrats have pushed, the democratic post [laughs], The Denver Post has been on board with that 100 percent. They've sided with the Democrats every single time."

Rosen: "In their news stories attacking you, they just channel Democrat talking points, giving lip service to the other side. That's my appraisal, and of course I'm biased. But I think my analysis is accurate."

Gessler: "I think that's true lately. I think part of it depends on who the reporter is who covers my office. So this article today is written by a guy Joey Bunch. He's new on the beat. So we'll see how well he works. I'm sort of optimistic that he will be a lot fairer than what we've seen in the past."