If you see an editorial from the Colorado Springs Gazette, owned by GOP billionaire Phil Anschutz, it’s probably because some extreme or ludicrous opinion has viralized into your inbox, not because you make a point to read the newspaper’s positions.
For example, you may have seen the Gazette’s 2020 editorial swooning over upstart GOP candidate Lauren Boebert, stating, “In addition to movie star looks, she exudes passion for freedom, capitalism, and the United States that makes the socialist, anti-America sentiment of AOC + three look gloomy and sad.”
Another eye-popper emerged 2022, when the Gazette endorsed Boebert over moderate GOP lawmaker Don Coram in an editorial titled, “Boebert Exhibits Traits of Legacy Leadership.” It called Boebert “mildly bombastic” and stated, “Boebert relates to average, hard-working Coloradans like no one we have seen. Boebert’s newest campaign ad features her winning a recent demolition derby in a pink sedan emblazoned with ‘1776.’”
On Sunday, avoiding becoming another viral joke, the newspaper flipped on Boebert, endorsing her primary opponent, Jeff Hurd.
“Incumbent Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert has little chance of winning, even with her district’s 9-point Republican advantage and the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who polls as the district’s favorite for the White House in 2024,” states Sunday’s editorial.
“The trajectory is largely Boebert’s fault,” the editorial continues. “She was in trouble with constituents when she and a date were ejected from a “Beetlejuice” performance in Denver in September for vaping and disrupting the show.
“Western Slope voters value statesmanship, moderation, diplomacy and soft-spoken strength — none of which defines their member of the House. They perceive Boebert as seeking celebrity status, more than results, which they frown upon.”
One sane editorial isn’t going to stop the Gazette’s editorial page, directed by right-winger Wayne Laugesen, from being an embarrassment to the serious journalists who work there and a far-right drag on the Colorado GOP statewide, at a time when Republicans need to move in the opposite direction.
But it’s a start.
Spiked: A Conservative ‘Shadow’ Hangs Over Colorado Newspapers Owned by GOP Billionaire Phil Anschutz
