Search Results for: boyles

Wadhams Wants Candidates With the ‘Guts’ To Say ‘Fraud Didn’t Happen’ But Praises Some Who Dodge the Question

18
  by: Jason Salzman March 8, 2022 at 8:43 AM MST

(A collection of contradictions — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Colorado Republican Dick Wadhams, the moderator of a GOP candidate forum Thursday, hops up and down and insists that Colorado voters will consider Republican candidates “credible” only if the candidates say the 2020 election wasn’t stolen. He wants candidates with the “guts” to say, “Fraud didn’t happen.”

Yet, after three of four Republican congressional candidates at Thursday’s GOP forum either brazenly dodged his questions about fraud in the 2020 election or delivered baseless election conspiracy theories, Wadhams told the audience at the conclusion of the event that he’d “rarely seen a forum with four more articulate, thoughtful” candidates.

Republicans CD8 Hopefuls Debate in Fort Lupton, 3/3/22

Wadhams asked the candidates at Thursday’s forum in Fort Lupton for Republicans in the race to represent Colorado’s new congressional district, whether the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump and whether it was stolen in Colorado and in Weld County.

Only state Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer (R-Brighton) answered the questions directly, as she’s done before, stating that the 2020 election was fair.

“No, it was not stolen in Weld County,” said Kirkmeyer. “We have a county clerk that’s Republican. Her and her team have been running elections in this county for over 17 years. I think she knows what she’s doing. Second question, was the election stolen. No. … I just want you all to know the secretary of state in this state does not run the elections. It’s county clerks, and the majority of our county clerks are Republicans. So do I trust them? Yes, I do.

Thornton Mayor Jan Kulmann dodged the question, as she’d done before, by saying “Biden is a horrible president” and “unfortunately, he is our president,” without saying whether she thinks he won the presidency due to fraud.

“I’m tired of being called a conspiracy theorist just because I want to make sure our elections are fair,” said Kulman at the forum. “It’s not a dumb question. It’s absolutely something we should be asking every single day.”

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Bremer: Voters Now Realize It Was Just Trump’s ‘Tone of Voice’ That Bugged Them

5
  by: Jason Salzman November 8, 2021 at 10:14 AM MST

(Yeah, THAT was the problem — promoted by Colorado Pols)

A leading Colorado U.S. Senate candidate hopped on the radio last week and basically told Colorado’s swing voters they don’t care about climate change, preserving Obamacare, abortion rights, gun safety, democracy, immigration reform, courts… .

Eli Bremer, a former Olympian who’s running (first) to win the Republican primary and (second) to unseat U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), made these comments on right-wing radio as part of his minefield-laden campaign in which he has to look as if he likes Trump (to win over Republicans) without embracing Trump (to keep almost everyone else in Colorado from running away from him later).

Bremer thinks last week’s election results, both in Virginia and in Colorado, illuminated a path forward for him.

According to Bremer, Voters disliked Trump’s “tone of voice” so much last year that they forgot about how much they liked his policies.

“I think that there are a lot of people who didn’t like Donald Trump’s tone of voice, and they didn’t vote based on policies in the last election,” Bremer told KNUS’ Peter Boyles Nov. 3. “They voted based on personalities, and now they’re having some serious voter regret. And if Republicans capitalize on this in 2022, if we talk about policies, our policies work. Mayors are a dumpster fire train wreck. And if we can keep it on those policies and go and make it about our policies, we’re going to sweep the next election.”

In other words, get over the shallow personality problems, Bremer says. What you didn’t like about Trump was his snotty voice.

Did Colorado’s unaffiliated voters — who are in charge when it comes to elections here — really not understand what Trump stood for, policy-wise?

He tried to kill Obamacare. He torpedoed all immigration reform, even for DREAMers. He basically denied climate change, set us on a path to criminalizing abortion in many states, mocked the justice system and journalism, and may have ended democracy as we know it by spreading conspiracies about the election.

No doubt, Trump himself drove left-leaning voters to the polls in 2020. If Trump were to disappear, Democrats would likely have a tougher road ahead.

But he won’t disappear, and even if he did, check out any poll of Colorado’s unaffiliated voters and you see (mostly) that the policies of the Trump Republicans are mostly hated.

Yet, Bremer says (repeated for emphasis):

“I think that there are a lot of people who didn’t like Donald Trump’s tone of voice and they didn’t vote based on policies in the last election. They voted based on personalities, and now they’re having some serious voter regret.”

You feel for Bremer who’s got a thankless primary ahead of him, and maybe he could pull this off in some other state. But not in Colorado.

A List of CO Republicans Who Believe the 2020 Election Was Stolen — And Some Who Don’t

6
  by: Jason Salzman November 4, 2021 at 2:40 PM MDT
(For posterity — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

James O’Rourke is co-author of this post.

Colorado Republicans show no sign of stopping their attacks against last year’s election results, both in Colorado and nationwide — even though claims that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of the Democrats have been debunked.

In Colorado, only a handful of Republican public figures have spoken out against this rhetoric.

Below is a guide on where Colorado Republicans stand on the 2020 election: whether they repeat the Big Lie, or stand against it–and whether they think Colorado’s own elections were fair.

Editor’s Note: This list will be updated. Please send additional information, omissions or corrections, to us.

CO Members of Congress Who Have Said the Prez Election Was Rigged:

CO Members of Congress Who Have Gone Back and Forth on Whether the Prez Election Was Stolen:

CO State Legislators Who Have Said the Prez Election Was Rigged:

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Aurora Council Candidate Claims To Have Been Misquoted But Won’t Say What’s Incorrect

0
  by: Jason Salzman October 25, 2021 at 1:48 PM MDT

(O-kay… — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Aurora City Council candidate Danielle Jurinsky claims that I misquoted her a “couple” times in an article posted over the weekend, but she won’t say where the errors are.

In the piece, about a conservative slate of candidates that’s campaigning together to take over the Aurora Council, I wrote that Jurinsky welcomes being compared to U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), that she carries a gun, that she’s not received a COVID vaccination, and that she wants to make the Republican Party “cool.”

In a phone interview today, Jurinsky, a Republican, repeated an earlier claim that I misquoted her, but refused my request to point me to any statements in my article that were incorrect.

Here’s a transcription of my interview with Jurinsky:

Colorado Times Recorder: This is Jason Salzman with the Colorado Times Recorder.

Jurinsky: Jason, I don’t have anything to say to you.

Colorado Times Recorder: You said I misquoted you. I’d like to know where.

Jurinsky: You did a couple of times. You did.

Colorado Times Recorder: Where?

Jurinsky: It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. You are not going to clean up the record. It’s obvious that you apparently have the biggest crush on me out of all five of us [running as a conservative slate for Aurora City Council] because of how you wrote about me. But you are not going to say anything nice about me. You never are.

Colorado Times Recorder: I will correct the misquotes. That’s a very fair request.

Jurinsky: That’s very fair, and that always happens. I mean, that’s standard practice, but your article has already gone out.

Colorado Times Recorder: I can go ahead and correct it. No problem.

Jurinsky: Jason, I don’t care. I wish you the best. I’m going to finish off my race without any chatter and outside noise from you guys. I’m going to stay focused. I don’t care what you write about me. I don’t care.

Colorado Times Recorder: Okay, thank you for getting back to me in the first place. If you have a change of heart, here I am. I don’t want to put out misinformation.

Jurinsky: I appreciate it. Thanks.

Colorado Times Recorder: Take care, Bye.

Republicans Campaigning Together To Take Over Aurora City Council

13
  by: Jason Salzman October 23, 2021 at 3:23 PM MDT

(Masks off, Aurora — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

The Colorado Republican Party’s leading candidate for Governor, Heidi Ganahl, launched her campaign last month with a seven-day statewide tour that included a stop at JJ’s Place, an Aurora bar owned by Republican Danielle Jurinsky, who’s running for Aurora City Council.

The partisan back-scratching between Ganahl and Jurinsky is part of a coordinated effort by Colorado Republicans statewide — as well as a group of conservative candidates in Aurora — to gain a majority on the Aurora Council.

The five-member group of Council candidates, endorsed by the conservative Denver Gazette, includes Republicans Jurinsky and Dustin Zvonek, who are running for at-large seats, Republican Steve Sundberg, who’s running for Ward 2 in Northeast Aurora, Republican Jono Scott, who’s running in Ward 3, and conservative Bill Gondrez, who’s registered as Unaffiliated but has voted in every Republican primary election since 2006.

The conservative slate promotes itself by, among other things, referring to each one another in media appearances, endorsing each other, and sharing photos and messaging on social media.

Three of the five shared the same photo on Facebook of themselves with their campaign signs, under the slogan “For a stronger, safer, Aurora!” with comments boosting each other.

“The 5 of us push each other, support each other, and cheer each other’s successes!” wrote Jurninsky on Facebook, calling the four other candidates her “band of brothers.”

On his Facebook page, Sundberg wrote that the same photo is, “Your one picture 2021 Aurora City Council Voting Guide.” Scott’s comment on the same group photo was, “Ready to serve Aurora!”

Last week, Zvonek shared a Facebook photo of the five conservatives, including himself, and commented, “This is THE team. For a safer more prosperous Aurora. #VoteBill Gondrez for Aurora City Council, Steve Sundberg for Aurora City Council, Jono Scott for Aurora City Council, Danielle For Aurora.”

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Republican Wars Have Consequences

3
  by: Jason Salzman September 16, 2021 at 1:52 PM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

No matter what side they’re on in their internal war over whether to dump open primaries, Republicans are telling the world — and each other — how weak they are in Colorado, how much swing voters hate them, how deep blue the state is turning, and how depressed they are about it.

That’s the most amusing collateral damage for Republicans in the lead-up to Saturday’s vote on the open-primary question. And they are inflicting it on themselves.

In a devastating opinion posted today, Republican Mark Hillman expertly outlines the irrefutable math on how much unaffiliated voters, who are essential in winning elections, dislike Republicans nowadays.

“Even in GOP strongholds of Douglas and El Paso counties, unaffiliated voters are breaking hard against Republicans,” wrote Hillman, repeatedly using the phrase “deep hole” to describe the Republicans’ whereabouts in Colorado.

George Bruachler, a former candidate for Colorado Attorney General, was more circumspect about spotlighting his party’s ongoing failures in Colorado, but he did so nonetheless. “The notion that Republicans’ lack of electoral success since 2018 in Colorado is attributable to open primaries and all of the conspiracy theories that flow from them is contrary to facts.”

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Polis Is Unbeatable in Next Year’s Election, Says GOP State Sen. John Cooke

3
  by: Jason Salzman August 6, 2021 at 10:25 AM MDT

(Moment of clarity – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Gov. Jared Polis (D).

Appearing on right-wing talk radio yesterday, state Sen. John Cooke (R-Greeley) said he thinks Republicans can’t unseat Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) in next year’s election, due to the incumbent’s potential war chest and the absence of a “viable” candidate so “late in the season.”

“Can Polis get beat?” KNUS radio host Peter Boyles asked Cooke, who’s the Republican Assistant Minority Leader in the Colorado Senate.

“You know, I would like to say yes, but no, I don’t think he can at this point,” replied Cooke, who praised Polis as smart and popular. “You know, it’s unfortunate, but money runs campaigns. And one, we need to have a good candidate, and it’s really getting late in the season.”

Cooke’s comments came as a surprise, as leaders of political parties don’t usually predict that their party will lose upcoming elections for fear of scaring away donors. Yet Cooke lamented one GOP candidate’s lack of money.

“We have one person that announced [to run for governor],” said Cooke on the radio. “Greg Lopez, good guy. But if you ask 99, if you ask 100 people, walk up to strangers say, ‘Who’s Greg Lopez?’ Ninety-nine, I bet, maybe even all 100 would say, ‘I have no idea.’ And so he has no name recognition. And if you don’t have name recognition, you’re not going to raise the money. And if you don’t have the money, you’re not going to get the name recognition. So it’s kind of a Catch 22. So we don’t really have a viable candidate yet running for governor. Nobody seems to be out in the wings waiting. And, you know, Polls can write his own checks.”

Asked by Boyles about defeating U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cooke said it will be “tough” to unseat him.

“You know, maybe in Colorado,” said Cooke on air. “It’s going to be tough unless we get organized and unify on a message, then I don’t know if that could be beaten either.”

Cooke’s assessment of the Republican Party’s prospects in next year’s election is largely supported by voter surveys and expert opinion, which point to Democratic victories in the absence of a fundamental political shift. That’s seen as not likely but always possible.

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CO Republicans Once Declined Interview Requests From Toxic CO Radio Hosts. Not Anymore

4
  by: Jason Salzman June 30, 2021 at 2:23 PM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Peter Boyles.

Some of Colorado’s most right-wing talk radio hosts, who regularly promote views that drive Colorado voters away from the Republican Party, are rejoicing over the willingness of Colorado Republican leaders to appear on their shows again — after past GOP leaders rejected interview requests from the toxic radio yappers.

“You know, I got to tell you something,” KNUS morning host Peter Boyles told Aurora City Council candidate Danielle Jurinsky on air earlier this month. “…If I told you I could not get a Republican candidate or an elected official to sit in that chair for ten years, would you believe me? They never came.”

“How sad is that?” said Jurinsky.

“I never got Walker Stapleton; they wouldn’t even return phone calls,” continued Boyles, adding that the “old guys” were really “machine” Republicans. “Cory Gardner, forget about it. I’ll give you a list of people that wouldn’t come near the show.”

But now, Boyles is thrilled to say on air, he can get the leader of the Colorado Republican Party, Kristi Burton Brown to appear on his show any time he calls. Same with the party’s vice-chair and secretary. 

Boyles talks about possibly hosting a series of “lunches” to raise funds for these women.

Republican leaders who want to be hated by most Colorado voters should go yuk it up with Boyles as early and often as possible. He’ll help them lose elections.

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Boebert To “Rally the Troops” in Georgia

21
  by: Jason Salzman December 1, 2020 at 2:36 PM MST

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Rep.-elect Lauren Boebert (R-ifle).

You knew the only thing stopping Congresswoman-elect Lauren Boebert (R-CO) from exploding across the conservative underworld nationally was actually getting elected.

Now that she’s cleared that obstacle, Boebert is lighting up social media, Fox News, and other right-wing platforms as she launches her national campaign for…anything that will draw more attention to herself.

That’s the theme that runs through Boebert’s life. To the extent she’s been successful in business and politics, it’s because she knows how to get attention.

The latest sign of her national rise is her travel schedule.

She was on the radio over the weekend bragging not about returning to Colorado in December to talk to constituents but, instead, about “fun trips,” first to Georgia to inflame right-wingers there in hopes of getting them to vote.

“A couple of fun trips in December that we are taking,” Boebert told KNUS’ Randy Corporon Friday. “I’m gong to Georgia to help with the Senate races. And I’ll be down there with Senator Cruz. And we’ll be rallying the troops down there” (here at 43:30).

Republicans are worried that Trump’s lies about rigged elections will keep loyal and logical conservatives from voting in Georgia’s upcoming Senate election, because, why vote if the election is rigged anyway?

Boebert continues to not only question the election results, but also attacks any elected official who isn’t doing the same.

(more…)

Jenna Ellis Claims Dominion Voting Machines May Have “Swung” Colorado Races

26
  by: Jason Salzman November 20, 2020 at 11:54 AM MST

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis.

After joining a news conference yesterday with Rudolph Giuliani claiming without evidence that widespread fraud undermined November’s presidential election, Trump’s legal advisor Jenna Ellis jumped on a Denver conservative radio show and alleged, again with no evidence, that Colorado-based voting machine firm may have committed fraud to give victories to losing candidates in Colorado.

“We are seeing how Dominion may have swung some of the state and local races in Colorado as well,” Ellis told KHOW radio host Dan Caplis yesterday afternoon. “I mean, this is stuff that is just incredible and is absolutely unconstitutional and goes against our fundamental constitutionally protected right to free and fair election. So this is massive.”

Ellis is referring to the Dominion voting platform that’s used in 62 of 64 Colorado counties and in other states. It’s come under baseless fire by Trump’s legal team challenging election results.

On the radio yesterday, Ellis didn’t specify which Colorado races may have been affected by fraud.

Ellis said, “We are also getting some people who have independent knowledge,” said Ellis, declining to “share anything further to protect their identity.”

But Colorado voting experts, including former Republican Secretary of State Wayne Williams and Republican county election officials have expressed complete confidence in Colorado’s November election.

“I can’t speak for what’s going on across the nation, but I can tell you, right here in Larimer County and in Colorado, I’m completely comfortable with our system as we have it,” said Larimer County Clerk and Recorder Angela Myers, a Republican, on KCOL this week here at 20 min. “I feel like it’s been completely reliable. We’ve had no issues of any kind, no indication that there have been any issues of any kind of these many, many years.”

In Colorado, said Williams on KNUS over the weekend, “the process is working; we can prove that it’s working; we can show that every step of the way has been conducted properly.”

“With respect to Dominion, we have run over 350 risk-limiting audit tests on Dominion’s software in Colorado,” said Williams. “It has passed every single one of those. So we have verified in election after election, in county after county, that the system functions properly.”

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Neville Blames GOP Consultants for Demise of Colorado Republican Party

7
  by: Jason Salzman October 12, 2020 at 12:04 PM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Colorado House Minority Leader Patrick Neville (R).

In announcing his decision not to seek re-election as the leader of Colorado’s House Republicans, state Rep. Patrick Neville (R-Castle Rock) issued an unvarnished critique of the Colorado Republican Party.

His primary target: Republican consultants, who, says Neville, make millions of dollars and attack Republicans while going soft on Democrats.

RELATED: How Conservatives Lost Colorado.

Neville told KNUS morning-show host Peter Boyles Friday that won’t seek his leadership post so he can “get back, get closer to the grassroots, work with the grassroots; I think they’ve been ignored far too long.”

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Birtherism Is Back? If So, It Has Plenty of Precedent in CO

6
  by: Jason Salzman August 28, 2020 at 4:25 PM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

University of Colorado visiting scholar John Eastman landed in the national spotlight last week after speculating in a Newsweek op-ed that Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris might not be eligible to serve as vice president because her parents were possibly temporary visitors at the time of Harris’ birth.

Eastman, who’s attending a conference in Beaver Creek this weekend, later faced a national outcry denouncing him as a “birther,” in the mold of Trump himself who long promoted the falsehood that former president Barack Obama was ineligible to be president.

Colorado has seen birthers emerge repeatedly over the years, some apologizing some not, most recently in the form of Colorado Republican National Committee delegate Randy Corporon, whose views were profiled by profiled by CNN.

 

By far the most memorable of Colorado birther’s, aside from talk-radio host Peter Boyles, was U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), who was caught at an Elbert County fundraiser 2012 saying he didn’t know if Obama “was born in the United States of America,” but that “in his heart, he’s not an American.”

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How Boebert Wowed Colorado Talk Radio Hosts

11
  by: Jason Salzman July 14, 2020 at 3:55 PM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Lauren Boebert (R-ifle).

In the months before her upset victory over fellow Republican Scott Tipton, Colorado congressional candidate Lauren Boebert developed a loud-mouthed fan base among a key group of Colorado conservatives: talk radio hosts.

Boebert was a regular guest on Colorado’s largest talk radio station, KNUS 710-AM, as well as competing stations, giving updates on her campaign and the saga about her restaurant, Shooters Grill, which she refused to close despite orders to do so to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The dozen or so radio interviews confirm the portrait Boebert creates of herself on social media, as an aggressive, media-savvy politician, who delivers zingers more effectively than the zinger-delivery experts on the radio.

“Did you ever think that in your lifetime you would be labeled defiant simply because you want to run your business in a responsible manner?” Boebert was asked on KFKA’s Mornings with Gail May 19.

“No. You know, flattening the curve turned into communism very quickly,” Boebert replied, referring to government health orders, like the one resulting in the temporary shutdown of her restaurant, where the wait staff openly carry guns, even including her servers who are under 18 years old.

(more…)

Conservative Radio Host Says Not to Expect ‘Breaking News’ from His ‘Town Hall’ with Cory Gardner

8
  by: Jason Salzman May 6, 2020 at 11:56 AM MDT

(Hater radio lovefest! – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

In advance of his radio station’s online discussion with U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), KNUS host Steffan Tubbs warned “not to expect breaking news” from his “virtual town hall” with Gardner tonight at 7 p.m.

Still, Tubbs said he’d ask “what I perceive to be tough questions” of Gardner.

Those attending the online event are encouraged to submit questions, but Tubbs didn’t know how he’d choose which questions to ask Gardner.

“I don’t know, Pete, to be honest with you, the process of what questions are going to be asked,” Tubbs told KNUS’ Peter Boyles this morning.

Tubbs said prior to the event on air that he would not be  working with Gardner’s staff on deciding which questions would be asked.

In an indication that his questions won’t cause problems for Gardner, Tubbs said on air not to expect “breaking news” from the event.

In fact, Tubbs apparently criticized 9News anchor Kyle Clark, who’s known to grill Gardner and other politicians, for what Tubbs apparently sees as Clark’s unfair questioning of Gardner.

“I have noticed of late the little digs by a certain anchor on Channel 9. I don’t get it,” said Tubbs on air, almost certainly referring to Clark who’s the object of frequent criticism on KNUS.

(more…)

The Top Arguments Colo Conservatives Are Using to Oppose Gov’t Efforts to Fight Coronavirus

10
  by: Jason Salzman March 26, 2020 at 4:15 PM MDT

(None of them are GOOD arguments — promoted by Colorado Pols)

Here’s a summary of how conservatives are justifying their opposition to government efforts to save people from getting sick or dying form COVID-19.

Get the Government Out of the Way

“As a conservative, I know governments don’t solve problems. They typically create more. A free people operating with individual liberty is best to solve problems,” former Colorado State Sen. Tim Neville, a Republican, opined yesterday, in an opinion piece that concludes with the line, “Get Out of Our Way and Let Us Get Back to Work.”

Stop Socialism

Some conservatives would rather take their chances with coronavirus than socialism, which they see in government aid and assistance to fight the virus. “I understand that nobody wants to catch Coronavirus but statistically, even if you catch it you’re likely to be just fine,” said Weld County, Colorado, Sheriff Steve Reams on Facebook. “What I’m concerned with is our Country catching a huge case of socialism.”

My Expert Says Not to Worry!

Notorious right-wing talk radio host Peter Boyles said Monday he wasn’t worried about taking his grandchild, whom Boyles is helping home school, to a playground where “bazillions of kids” are “touching the slides” because he had a doctor on his show who told him the sun will kill the virus. [There’s no evidence for this.]

Say No to Overreach

“It doesn’t have to come from a government mandate,” said Kevin Lundberg, a former Colorado state senator who suggested the health orders were “overreach.”

Let Individuals Decide

“Personally, just speaking for myself, there’s probably any number of restaurants that I would go into,” said Colorado State Rep. Liston of Colorado Springs. “I would be very cognizant of my surroundings, to make sure everything is swabbed down, not just with a dirty dish towel.”

Fight the Stealth Government Takeover

Being told to stay home or not go to restaurants is a step government should not take. “It is an action taken by the worldview that the state should control individual behavior,” state Rep. Mark Baisley of Colorado Springs told the Denver Chanel. “Let’s remember who we are as Americans and defeat this virus as Americans — not as ignorant subjects in need of an overlord.”

The Dems Are Really Out to Get Trump!

This one has faded as Trump himself acknowledged the danger of coronavirus—even as the president says we have to open everything up in two weeks.

Give Me Liberty or Give me Coronavirus

This is emerging as a prime objection, as stay-at-home orders spread across the country. “Over and over again what we are seeing is an overreaction to a very serious situation, and that overreaction is now causing some serious civil liberties issues,” said Colorado Congressman Ken Buck. “We are telling people they can’t go to church. We are telling people they can’t hold political rallies. We are telling people that, as the result of a disease that is not targeting younger populations, they can’t go to school. [COVID-19 is found in young people.] We are in the midst of a panic that is creating irrational responses,” the congressman told The Denver Post. He describes himself as “not a good example of someone who avoids social contact,” and has in recent days continued to shake hands with constituents.

Let Old People Die

You find some people in the conservative underworld floating the idea that it’s not worth it to save the lives of people with short life expectancies, at the expense of the economy and business. “It’s the Pansy-demic,” said Chuck Bonniwell, the conservative publisher of a suburban newspaper in Denver. … “The people who it’s killing are costing society huge amounts of money… Their death is not hurting the economy, it’s enabling the economy. But we are never allowed to discuss those things.”

The “Cure” Is Worse than the “Problem.”

“WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF.” —President Donald Trump.

The president’s comment, more than anything else, seems to have given fellow Republicans the strength to speak up about what they see as misguided anti-coronavirus measures—and now potential and current coronavirus victims may suddenly feel as if they are under widespread attack, either directly or indirectly, like so many other vulnerable people in Trump’s America.

Neville: Lawmakers Will Fight ‘Outlandish’ Stay-At-Home Order

1
  by: Jason Salzman March 25, 2020 at 2:42 PM MDT

Describing the metro area’s stay-at-home order as “outlandish and outrageous,” leading to a “gestapo-like mentality,” Colorado’s Republican House leader vowed Wednesday to fight it, ignore it, and continue doing his job.

“It’s completely insane,” said Colorado House Republican leader Patrick Neville of Castle Rock this morning on KNUS’ Peter Boyles show, referring to the stay-at-home order, as first reported on 9News. “I think we have — what? — something like 40 people, maybe it’s 80 people, somewhere in that range, who have actually been hospitalized [due to coronavirus]. I mean, look, there is a real shortage on things like [protection equipment], the masks and stuff like that for hospital workers, because global supply chains have been disrupted, a real shortage on ventilators and things like that.  Those are kind of the real issues we need to be facing.”

The Tri-County Health Department explained its reasoning in the stay-at-home order:

“Although a large portion of the individuals who contract COVID-19 do not become seriously ill, persons with mild symptoms and asymptomatic persons with COVID-19 may place other vulnerable members of the public at significant risk,” states the order. “A large surge in the number of persons with serious infections can compromise the ability of the healthcare system to deliver consistent and necessary healthcare to the public. Colorado is experiencing a rapid increase COVID-19 transmission, and it is threatening the health of residents and threatening to overwhelm the healthcare system in Colorado, including within TCHD’s district [which includes Neville’s district].”

Neville did not return a call seeking to find out if he disagrees with the order’s assessment of COVID-19 in Colorado and, if so, on what basis he disagrees.

Neville said he and other state lawmakers representing Douglas County would be leaning on county commissioners to terminate the county’s agreement with the Tri-County Health Department, which issued the stay-at-home order for Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas counties.

This morning, Neville and other Republican lawmakers, one of whom is quarantined after testing positive for the virus, sent a letter to Douglas County commissioners urging them to cut ties with TCHD, as first reported by Denver’s 7.

The letter calls the stay-at-home order “heavy-handed.”

“We’ll push back,” said Neville on air. “I mean, at least I think all of us in the Douglas County delegation, we’re going to be looking to our commissioners to terminate the contract with Tri-County. I don’t think un-elected bureaucrats [at the Tri-County Health Department] should be making this decision. I think Castle Rock probably has the authority through home rule, which is constitutional authority rather than a statutory authority, to push back on this as well. So, that’s what I’m working on, because people just lost their minds. This order is outlandish and outrageous. It’s going to cause even more harm, because now it’s going to cause a run on all the stores.”

Neville pointed to one alleged member of the Tri-County Health Department board as an example of why the board was ill-equipped to make the stay-home decision.

“I mean, to give an example, I think one of them is a maintenance worker for some building and doesn’t even know what a mill levy or bond is,” said Neville. “So, he’s not, like, a super professional doctor or anything.”

It was not clear whom Neville was referring to, as the board’s members are health professionals.

Why Aren’t Leftists “Hysterical About Defecating on the Street?” And Other Views on Coronavirus from Colo Right-Wing Radio

4
  by: Jason Salzman March 11, 2020 at 3:13 PM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

If you want facts about coronavirus, you can visit the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But if you want to believe the threat of coronavirus is a hyperbolic creation of Democrats and the news media, tune to some of Colorado’s leading right-wing talk radio shows.

On KNUS’ flagship program, Peter Boyles said Colorado Gov. Jared Polis called a state of emergency “because every Democrat mayor and governor and his mother are lock step in this.”

“You don’t think they’re not playing this on Trump, do you?” asked Boyles on air. “Does anyone else besides me see this? Of course it is.” “I’m not saying people aren’t going to get sick. But I mean there’s a list of things,” said Boyles, listing Y2K, the end of the Mayan calendar, Ebola, the Doomsday Predictions of Nostradamus, Mad Cow, Y2K, SARS, HSN1, and H1N1. “…I mean, think of everything you’ve survived already.”

“It’s created. If you watch the local news geeks, they lower their voices,” said Boyles. “They get in what I call, you know, the dead cop voice.”

On Saturday, KNUS guest host Karen Kataline, subbing for Randy Corporon, blamed the “left” for creating hysteria.

“While the left and other people are creating such hysteria in an election year, about yet another virus, they don’t seem to be hysterical about defecating on the street, or Typhus in California, or the dangers they seem to ignore,” said Kataline, prior to introducing a guest who said on air, “Get yourself healthy so you don’t get a virus” by taking vitamins A, B, C, D, and Zinc and losing weight.

“It is also a distraction,” said Kataline, who said she wants level-headed concern. “If you can be all distracted about the coronavirus, then maybe you won’t notice, for example, that Joe Biden is one of the most corrupt politicians ever to run for president, and that’s saying something!”

On KVOR in Colorado Springs, longtime host Richard Randall said the coronavirus isn’t as “bad as the flu or just a cold.” He said the situation helps the Democrats because Trump can “no longer have his rallies” and Biden won’t have to debate the president.

Listen to Boyles here.

Fired Radio Host Says Former KNUS Colleague “Crawled over our Bodies and Urinated on Us”

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  by: Jason Salzman January 28, 2020 at 9:42 AM MST

(Oozing the classy – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

In case you’re wondering if there are any hard feelings lingering after Chuck Bonniwell and Julie Hayden’s “Chuck and Julie Show” was canceled by conservative KNUS 710-AM in December, listen to Bonniwell talk about his former KNUS colleagues on Bonniwell and Hayden’s new podcast last week.

Bonniwell: Peter [Boyles] has been great. Randy [Corporon] has been great. Backbone Radio on Sunday has been great. The one person who I considered was disgraceful was Steffan [Tubbs]. He just crawled over our bodies and urinated on us. And for a guy who was arrested for abusing a women.”
Hayden: The charges were dropped.
Bonniwell: They were dropped because he had a great lawyer. But he got fired. For that guy to try to brutalize Julie and our kid and everything else is disgraceful. It’s just disgraceful. He is just disgraceful, but that’s just me.”
Bonniwell and Hayden

Tubbs, who was fired from KOA after being arrested on domestic violence charges, was the most outspoken among KNUS staff and management in stating that Bonniwell had erred when Bonniwell stated that a “nice school shooting” was needed to break up the monotony of the never-ending impeachment hearing.

“There is no excuse for what was said on this radio station yesterday afternoon,” Tubbs said on air after Bonniwell’s firing. “And it’s hard because I like the guy who said the atrocious thing that he said.”

Tubbs, who interviewed the father of a school-shooting victim immediately after Bonniwell was fired, did not return a call for comment about Bonniwell’s urinating remark.

(more…)

Radio Station’s Ties to Hate Groups Look Ironic in Light of Hosts’ Tragedies

3
  by: Jason Salzman December 12, 2019 at 3:06 PM MST

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Denver’s KNUS 710-AM management isn’t saying whether the radio station will air a new show hosted by the Colorado Proud Boys, a designated hate group, as reported by 9News’ Jeremy Jojola.

But Louie Huey, one of the Proud Boys behind the show, appeared as a featured guest on KNUS as recently as Oct. 26.

The Proud Boys have been labeled hate groups by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, two organizations that track such groups.

But Huey, who identifies as Hispanic, claims he’s not part of a hate group. He did not return an email from my colleague Erik Maulbetsch seeking comment.

Major League Liberty co-host Logan Schwarz

White supremacist and other hate groups are on the rise in Colorado, with increasing ties to Republicans and others in the state.

The presence of a hate group on KNUS would be tragically ironic, given that KNUS morning show anchor Peter Boyles regularly touts the legacy of Denver talk radio pioneer Alan Berg and the close friendship and professional association they shared before the evening of June 18, 1984 when Berg was assassinated in his driveway.  Berg was shot with a MAC-10 submachine 12-13 times in the face and body by a hit squad of 4 members of The Order, a white supremacist group that operated in the Pacific Northwest.

Another KNUS host, Randy Corporon, was a also victim of neo-Nazi violence. On April 13, 2014, Corporon’s 69-year-old cousin, Dr. William Lewis Corporon, along with Reat Griffin Underwood, Dr. Corporon’s 14-year-old grandson, were murdered in a hate crime at the Overland Park Jewish Community Center in Kansas City.  The shooter was a 73-year-old Klansman, neo-Nazi and former political candidate named Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr.

Corporon didn’t return a call seeking to know whether he had qualms about having Huey on his show and if he was opposed to having the Major League Liberty show co-hosted by a Proud Boy aired on KNUS.

KNUS faced scrutiny this week when producer Kirk Widlund was accused of posting neo-Nazi messages on the Russian social media site VK. One of Widland’s posts stated that Widlund believes the U.S. fought on the wrong side in WWII — as an ally of Communists, socialists, and Zionists, which is ironic since Widlund produces a show on KNUS which highlights American veterans, and has featured laudatory profiles of many WWII veterans.

But Widland says none of the VK posts under the “Kirk Widlund” profile were written by him, saying it is all a smear against him by Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists, the anonymous group that first posted the “Kirk Widlund” material.

Questions about KNUS’ ties to white nationalists were also raised due to its association with Michelle Malkin, a Colorado-based conservative activist who has partnered with KNUS in hosting rallies and counter-protests against immigrants rights groups. Malkin has been disavowed by groups due to her associations with known white nationalist individuals and groups. She also wrote a book defending the racial profiling and the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.

Logan Schwarz, Huey’s partner on their Major League Liberty show, announced that the show would be moving to KNUS in a Facebook broadcast (at 4 minutes).

Marble Says She “Liked” Bigoted Facebook Post As Part of Her Job to Listen to People

9
  by: Jason Salzman September 12, 2019 at 12:58 PM MDT

(A like-ly story – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Colorado Sen. Vicki Marble (R-Ft. Collins) “liked” a Facebook post this week with an image of the burning twin towers set in the middle of this statement:

“Every time a Moslem (sic) stands up in Congress and tells us they will change the Constitution, impeach our President, or vote for Socialism, remember you said you would never forget. They said they would destroy us from within.”

The Colorado Times Recorder asked Marble why she “liked” this post.

Marble: Good morning, Jason. Thank you for calling. As we discussed before, the ‘like’ on FB can mean many things. For example, I find many posts interesting, not that I agree or disagree with them, but ‘Like’ is a way to say thanks for posting or let the person know I read it. I respect their right to say what’s on their mind…

Colorado Times Recorder: Thank you very much. Yes, I agree about Facebook likes. Fair point. Why did you like the post in this case? …To me, it suggests U.S. Reps. Ihan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are terrorists. Can you explain why you like it?

Marble: I ‘Like’ your point of view on this. I don’t think many people agree with you, but this is how you perceive it to read. I find your point of view interesting, but I don’t read things into this the way you do.

Colorado Times Recorder: I see. So in the case of the Muslim meme, why did you ‘like’ it?

Marble: I like hearing people express their views. I need to know what is on their minds. It is part of being a legislator.

Asked about the post “liked” by Marble, Amanda Henderson, Director of the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado expressed concern about “cavalier posts on social media that incite hatred and division.”

“In this case, we are one day from grieving the attacks of September 11, 2001 and stirring this kind of thing up demonizes people simply for their religious tradition, said Henderson via email. “What we really need to do as a country is build relationships across our differences and communities where all people are able to thrive.”

The bigoted post aligns with statements from talk radio hosts and other right-wing Colorado conservatives who regularly denounce not just Muslim extremists but the entire religion of Islam.

For example, in a radio interview shortly after Trump was elected, KNUS radio host Peter Boyles denounced Islam and said Muslims are incapable of respecting the U.S. Constitution and the fundamental values of the United States, due to their religious beliefs, essentially saying there is no place for Muslims in our country. He stood behind the comments.

Colo Republican Ted Harvey Cites Abortion As a Root Cause of Gun Massacres

8
  by: Jason Salzman August 8, 2019 at 3:55 PM MDT

(Huh? — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

A former Colorado Republican lawmaker is arguing that it’s not guns but video games, music lyrics, divorces, and other issues that are the root cause of gun massacres, like the murders in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

“Something has drastically changed in our society,” Ted Harvey, who represented parts of Colorado Springs at the Capitol from 2001-2015, told KNUS radio Wednesday, explaining that when he was growing up in Texas, citizens carried guns into schools and “there was never significant issues down there.” “The disrespect for life,” said Harvey, who currently heads up the Committee to Defend the President. “We are promoting abortions up to infantacide, after the child has been actually been delivered. And you have the Democrat Party saying you should still be able to kill the child even after its born. You have assisted suicide in states around the country.”

The Democratic Party does not say a child should be killed after birth.

Harvey did not return a voice message asking for evidence for his contention that abortion is a motivating factor for gun massacres.

(more…)

Bob Beauprez is Joshua Hosler’s “Puppet Master,” Says Dudley Brown

2
  by: Jason Salzman July 10, 2019 at 12:04 PM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Dudley Brown.

Dudley Brown jumped on a conservative radio show this morning to respond, for the first time, to a Republican’s accusation that his organization, which is aligned with the right wing of the Republican Party, is “Colorado’s Taliban.”

Joshua Hosler, the former chair of the El Paso County Republican Party, expressed the view in a Denver Post opinion piece, in which Hosler also accused the State House Republicans’ Chief of Staff of threatening to spread rumors about Hosler unless Hosler agreed to stop attacking Brown’s group, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.

“[Hosler] is speaking for the left side of the Republican Party,” Brown told KNUS 710-AM’s host, Peter Boyles. “We call that the establishment. He might as well admit that Bob Beauprez is his puppet master.”

Brown called Hosler a “very very minor player” in the Republican Party and a “failed state house candidate,” who is “a little butt hurt because we endorsed his opponent,” State Rep. Dave Williams.

The dispute between Hosler and Brown reflects wider divisions within the Colorado Republican Party over whether to moderate hard-line stances, stop using losing consultants, distance themselves from Trump, and other issues in the wake of devastating losses in last year’s election–as well as the prospect of another blue-wave thrashing at the ballot box next year.

“I think the frustration for both Bob Beauprez and little players like Joshua Hosler is that the [Republican] Party has moved pretty substantially to the right on guns, and that’s been due to us,” said Brown on air. “Setting all humility aside, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners is the group that given [Republicans] a spine. And Greg Brophy, the former state senator, has talked about that frequently.”

(more…)

These Conservative Radio Hosts Don’t Want Cory Gardner on Their Show

2
  by: Jason Salzman June 14, 2019 at 9:15 AM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Sen. Cory Gardner (R).

As the months continue to stack up since he’s held a town-hall meeting, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner continued to make time for interviews with conservative radio hosts this week, speaking at length with KNUS’ Steffan Tubbs and KHOW’s Ross Kaminsky.

But he again didn’t talk with the conservative radio hosts who criticize him the most, namely KNUS’ Chuck Bonniwell, Peter Boyles, Julie Hayden, and Randy Corporon.

In an unusual move, Tubbs actually played an audio clip from his KNUS colleague Corporon, in which Corporon asked why Gardner goes on the “radio with [Tubbs] and Caplis and Ross Kaminsky, and stays away from me or Peter or Chuck and Julie or anybody else who might disagree with some of the things that he does.”

“Look, I know Randy,” replied Gardner, saying he hoped to work something out with Corporon. “I don’t know the other folks that you’re talking about.”

And it looks like Gardner won’t be getting to know Hayden or Bonniwell anytime soon.

“In fairness, we have not asked him to be on our show,” said Hayden, who is a prominent conservative and former Fox 31 Denver TV reporter. 

Bonniwell, who’s the publisher of the Cherry Creek/Glendale Chronicle, once called Gardner a “total [whore] for the Chamber of Commerce,” and a “Mitch McConnell stooge.”

Asked if they planned to invite Gardner on the show, Hayden said, “It’s kind of like the jailhouse interview you do with someone you know is guilty, just so you can say you had the interview. What purpose does it serve?

“We know we disagree. We’ll ask him a question. He’ll give us an answer. We won’t like the answer. He’ll give us another answer. Do you know what I mean? It doesn’t go anywhere.”

Boyles, who’s been in Denver media for decades, did not return an email seeking to find out if he wants to talk to Gardner, but it’s clear Boyles doesn’t think much of Gardner, saying recently on air:

BOYLES: “Don’t kid yourself about the GOP in the State of Colorado. It’s a clown show. And Cory Gardner’s not gonna get reelected, because it’s on him.”

Nugent Once Said GOP had “No Balls,” But Now He’s Loving Trump and Sheriff Reams

2
  by: Jason Salzman May 17, 2019 at 10:50 AM MDT

(Wang Dang Sweet Poontang! – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

The Nuge.

A few years ago Rocker Ted Nugent was on Colorado radio saying the Republican Party has “no balls” and “someone extracted their scrotum with a rusty siv.”

Now he’s saying Trump is his “hero,” and Nugent is doing a fundraiser for a Republican sheriff in norther Colorado June 21.

Here’s what Rocker Ted Nugent said on Colorado radio in 2014 when asked what happened to the Republican Party:

“Someone extracted their scrotum with a rusty shiv,” Nugent replied. “They have no balls.  I don’t know where this ‘Let’s be Mr. Rogers with a Lawrence Welk soundtrack tie adjusting’ mantra came from, but my god! If there’s a life-support system attached to the GOP, it’s flat-lining.”

Then he sang “The new American Anthem.” Here at 3 min 50 sec. “I’m heart broken,” he said.

But now things appear to be looking up for Nugent.

He loves Trump.

“Finally we have president who sounds like you and I and your dad and mom at a campfire,” Rocker Ted Nugent told KHOW’s Dan Caplis May 10.

“[Trump] is a we-the-people guy,” said Nugent, who described Trump as a “good friend” and “my hero.”

And Nugent also loves Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams, who’s been fighting against Colorado’s red flag law, which allows a judge to authorize the confiscation of guns from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others. Reams has threatened not to enforce the new law, passed by Democrats this year.

“I’m cocked, locked, and I’m ready to rock, and I can’t wait to get back to Colorado, ’cause I have a feeling if I’m with Steve Reams I’ll be in the real Colorado,” said Nugent on air.

But Nugent isn’t impressed Colorado generally.

Nugent said he’s watched Colorado turn into a suburb of San Francisco, which he described as dominated by “feces, needle Capitol, celebrants.”

“I’ve always confronted the abuse of power, and the corruption, and the cronyism,” said Nugent, who says he drives the left “berzerk.”

The Nugent/Reams event at the Island at Pelican Lakes, in Windsor begins at 5 p.m. with a barbecue. A rally follows at 7 p.m.

GOP Recall Leader Says Legislative Session Wasn’t So Bad After All

5
  by: Jason Salzman May 3, 2019 at 10:48 AM MDT

(Recalls talk, reality walks – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

A leading Colorado Republican, who’s been saying for months that Democrats should be recalled from office for proposing extreme laws, now believes the “system” worked and the results aren’t so bad.

“No, it wasn’t a complete clean sweep,” Republican House Leader Patrick Neville of Castle Rock said this morning on KNUS 710-AM’s Peter Boyles Show. “I mean, there’s a lot of bad stuff that they did get that we don’t like. A lot of climate change stuff going through. The oil and gas stuff. But even that, we were able to get some amendments to make it not as bad.

Patrick Neville

“I think the system’s working. I think we had tremendous support from you, and your station that helped got the message out. It helped get the message out and caused quite a bit of chaos down at the Capitol to make sure that they were actually hearing the people’s voice. And that was effective.”

How does this view of the legislative session square with Neville’s comments over the last few months that, essentially, the Capitol dome was melting due to “unprecedented overreach” that warranted the ousting of any and all Democrats.

“This is unprecedented overreach. We need to do something,” Neville, the state house Republican leader, said on KHOW radio March 9. “If there is a grassroots effort that starts percolating up, then I am going to help them,” he said.

Neville formed a Recall Colorado website to help fund the recall efforts, listing six pieces of “overreaching legislation.”

Here’s a recap of his list:

o An oil-and-gas bill regulatory measure was amended to the point where the oil-and-gas industry has accepted it with trepidation, and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association and oil companies aren’t supporting the recall elections.

o A bipartisan sex-ed bill will likely become law, with amendments that address some of the most controversial elements, leading Republican Larry Crowder of Alamosa to say on Facebook that the legislation “was an overreach and was brought down to Earth.”

o The national popular vote bill, conditionally removing Colorado from the electoral college passed, as did a measure allowing courts to apply guardianship proceedings to immigrant minors.

o A proposal to make Colorado a sanctuary state died.

o A red-flag bill, allowing a judge to allow the confiscation of guns from dangerous people, passed with amendments.

That’s just the six bills listed on the Recall Colorado website. Many others moved in the GOP direction, including a now-dead proposal to save the lives of drug addicts.

So you can see why Neville said the system is working for him.

Now, will he still push ahead with recalls anyway?