There’s a downside to being the editor of a newspaper. It seems like every political organization in the state — including front groups for both major parties — feels compelled to send me its 10 favorite press releases every single day including Sundays and holidays.
It’s not the 200 times a day I have to hit delete that bothers me, it’s reading the darn things and realizing what a bunch of manipulative, fear-mongering liars these organizations really are that makes me mad. And I have to admit that it’s the Democratic front groups that make me the angriest because they pretend that they are above such trickery.
“Quick, Boehner is going to sue Obama, so we need you to send us at least $10 before 5 p.m. today.”
“Emergency! One of the Koch brothers scratched his nose so we need you to send us $100 to stop the total destruction of our way of life.”
Laughable, right?
There are other forms of such political porn that are just as deceptive and infuriating even though they aren’t trying to extort money from the politically naive.
For instance, a recent report by the local Fox News affiliate noted that Colorado’s newly elected Republican Sen. Cory Gardner had voted against an amendment that stated that humans contribute to climate change.
Oh my, this is so horrible, how can it be? Someone save us.
“We are surprised and disappointed that Senator Gardner chose not to join 13 of his Republican colleagues in voting to agree that humans are having an impact on climate change. This is an established fact in the scientific community,” said Conservation Colorado’s Pete Maysmith according to the Fox report.
Sounds like a reasonable reaction by Maysmith, right? Not really. It was just more tired, old, Democratic party theatrics.
The amendment in question was attached to the Senate vote on the Keystone XL pipeline. Over the course of the day, knowing the bill was going to pass, Democrats attached a few politically motivated amendments such as the one mentioned above so that Republicans would have to vote them down, giving Democratic front organizations a bullet point for a press release that says Republicans are horrible so send us money to fight them. It’s boilerplate stuff. Both parties do it everyday. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come at a price. It often obscures the real, more important issue.
We don’t need Conservation Colorado to waste our time playing politics, although politics does seem to be the organization’s primary purpose for existing.
Why point out Republican Gardner’s vote on a staged amendment written for show? Why not spend time and money where it might make a difference? For instance, informing the unfortunate souls on your email list of progressives how Colorado’s Democratic Senator Michael Bennet voted right alongside Gardner to pass Keystone XL. Are we to believe that Bennet’s voting for the phony “human caused” amendment somehow gives him cover, even though he voted to help destroy the planet with the pipeline? And why did your parent organization, the League of Conservation Voters, fund the campaign of a guy who supports Keystone XL and a bunch of other stupid environmentally challenged issues?
And how about Mr. Fracking, Gov. John Hickenlooper? Conservation Colorado actually endorsed him and LCV financially supported the campaign of this climate change-denying pitchman for the oil and gas industry. Why not talk about that instead of this contrived “Republicans are the bogeyman” crap?
Note to all the Democratic party front groups who keep sending me your stupid fear-mongering press releases: stop.
Otherwise, I may have to start telling people just how deceptive your organizations really are.
Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com
