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Percy Conarroe of Longmont writes:

Have Denver’s major print media abandoned Colorado conservatives?
Because of their anti-Republican, “flog-conservatism” approach, little choice remains between the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News.
Almost any public figure who believes in fiscal, religious or social conservatism is fair game for hostile reporting. (Coverage of Archbishop Charles Chaput, Dr. James Dobson, Rep. Tom Tancredo comes to mind.) At the Rocky, reporters sometimes even import comments from left-leaning “political scientists” to get their point across.
The Post has slid almost completely into the liberal ditch and the Rocky is headed there. Even the Dot.Com freebie that both papers ship into Longmont carries a political column by a local socialist, nothing for conservatives.
One bright aspect of the Rocky: Vincent Carroll still has charge of the editorials and commentary. Although he, Linda Seebach and Mike Rosen champion conservative causes, running amok are left-wingers such as columnist Paul Campos whose ideas are so shallow he has to invent history (“A look back from 2017”) as he emulates the Post’s Ed Quillen, who uses fake interviews to prop up his writing.
(“The judgment of politicians.”) Garrison Keillor who has turned nonprofit PBR into a personal gold mine hates conservatives. Also wearing thin is columnist Nat Hentoff’s obsession with Guantanamo as he ignores Islamic militants who flout the Geneva Conventions. This is America and nobody has been suicide-bombed at Guantanamo.
The Post’s editorial section sports token-Republican Bob Ewegen, who has rarely seen a Democratic tax increase or liberal policy he didn’t like. A bone has been thrown to John Andrews, but mainstay conservative Al Knight apparently has been shipped off to outer Slobovia.
In the Rocky’s news pages, Mike Littwin poison-pens conservatives while Jim Spencer plays the role at the Post. Management at the Post at least had the decency to offset its news-pages hit man with a moderate column by David Harsanyi.
Obviously the Denver dailies don’t think conservatives buy goods advertised in their publications and enjoy driving them away.

This letter has not been edited.

READER COMMENTS

Yesterday, a right wing fundamentalist nutcase was arrested with homemade bombs at Jerry Fallwell's funeral, and he admitted that he wanted to use the bombs to "disrupt protestors" at the funeral. The man was a student of Fallwell's university. Had this been an Islamic person instead of a right wing Christian, it would have been all over the front of every newspaper in the country. As it stands, I would be surprised if more than a quarter of the people who post here even heard about it.

While you're whining about the raw deal you perceive conservatives are getting in the paper, a former member of the Republican controlled DOJ is giving testimony surrounding the numerous legal and ethical breaches that department has committed under Alberto Gonzales. Tomorrow, you will (I'm sure) be hard pressed to find Monica Goodling's admission of breaking the law in the first 10 pages.

If you consider the amount of lawlessness, secrecy and shady dealings this administration has actually committed vs the amount of things the press has actually been interested in reporting, a couple shots at "Dr" Dobson won't seem like such a big deal.

Conservatives are using the American press with such total success that you can't even begin to fathom what a real Liberal Media would look like.

So here's a revolutionary solution: if you don't like it, cancel your subscription. Isn't that the way capitalism works? I thought you conservatives were big on capitalist principles?

You can always subscribe to the Washington Times or Wall St Journal - or tune in to one of several dozen jabbering wingnuts that seem to blanket the whole of am radio. Or should we demand that liberal radio get "fair" treatment on the am dial?

"Have Denver’s major print media abandoned Colorado conservatives?"

No.

Fortunately, as the writer's letter demonstrates, you can still readily find a variety of opinions from Denver's print media. And unlike much of the radio and TV around here, the newspapers aren't actively trying to sell you a single point of view.

There shouldn't be any diverse opinions!! Only people who agree with me and Percy.

Gee, Percy
Maybe you should try writing a column of your own...If you have anything to say other than brainless drivel, that is.

Yes Drew a capitalist. You are correct if we dont like something we should take our business elsewhere
But since your comments are always against anything conservative or libertarian, what do you suggest other than using a conservative ideal(by the way being degraded every day)

A very good letter. I hope that readers will consider other sources besides the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post. One would be hard pressed to find anything that does not pander to its liberal readers.

Holy Cow!
I would be "hard pressed" to find any signs of liberal attitude in the RMN or DP, they look a whole lot of Conservative to me!

One wonders what kind of publication Mr.Stuckey "The Prolific" would prefer.

if I remember correctly, the Post and News both endorsed Bush for president - sounds like that famous liberal media bias in full swing.

They also both endorsed Tom Tancredo for reelection.

"if I remember correctly, the Post and News both endorsed Bush for president - sounds like that famous liberal media bias in full swing."

How does that in any way reflect a consistent bias in either paper? If I owned the paper, I would endorse the Communist candidate before I would endorse a fool who geared his campaign around not being Bush rather than his capabilities as a leader.

Well stated Percy.

Funny,

I don't recall Kerry "gear(ing) his campaign around not being Bush."

What I do remember is an unrelenting smear campaign by people like the "Swift Boaters" against a man who VOLUNTEERED to serve his country and did so honorably - unlike so many in this administration who declined the chance to serve in this country's armed forces (or in combat) but have no problem sending other people's kids off to Bush's war of choice.

And calling Kerry a "fool" in light of what we are currently stuck with seems a little ironic, doesn't it?

But the sports section is still conservative, right?

And the ads and inserts. Whooh! They're very liberal. I can never seem to shake them out of my paper without making a liberal mess.

Uh-oh, could it be that the Denver newspapers are responding to customer demand? If the consumers wanted to hear hate filled, homophobic, blame everything on secularism, anarchy before taxation opinions, then there would be more conservative opinion pieces. As it stands, most people are sane and want to read sane editorials and columns; hence the "liberal" stance.

04:36, you are quite right, a single data point cannot show a trend or a bias.

However, it would be really odd for a left-wing newspaper to endorse a rightwing candidate. To do it several times would be beyond understanding.
If they acted to endorse “the best candidate” regardless of orientation, that would strangely enough make them neutral, not liberal.

So, what evidence are you using to deny that the RMN and DP are somewhat right-wing?

Show, please do.

Poor persecuted conservatives.... (violin plays).

rich enlightened liberals....(harmonica plays).

The Rocky endorsed Tancredo, Bush twice, supported the war in Iraq, gives the lowest estimates of attendance at peace protests of major local news outlets, has a right-wing op/ed page editor, has an Independence Institute crony as a media critic and frequently gives the Institute space in its Saturday business section, where they puff up the author's credentials, referring to them as authors of "books" which, a quick fact check reveals to be an Institute Position Paper, not a lengthy, researched, scholarly book.

If that's not right-wing enough for you, you're probably going to have to go to Stormfront.

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