Let’s start this week with some fantastic news. Ballots are arriving. Joe Biden, the man I‘m voting for, was superb last week. The ex-VP’s speech at Gettysburg was inspiring and magnificently delivered.
Sen. Kamala Harris, an ex-prosecutor with smarts and gumption, won her debate easily. She had the powerful and pleasant demeanor of Samantha Stevens. Did she subtly twitch her nose to make that fly nest in the VP’s hair? Perhaps she also caused the Pence pinkeye.
If that VP debate were a fight, they would have stopped it. Unless the refs are Pence pro-lifers who think their ends justify Trump’s means. They do not. What can explain Amy Coney Barrett’s White House introduction becoming the world’s most famous super-spreader? Science. Who’s to blame? Trump.
President Trump proceeds contrition-free as those around him fall ill to the coronavirus he has spread. POTUS disgustingly blamed Gold Star families he crowded mask-less into tight White House quarters, where they were infected, along with America’s military leaders.
Because President Trump caught COVID, must all Americans get sick? Trump has a macabre herd mentality. Stay away, we shout, as we follow better leaders such as Biden and Polis.
Too many Colorado Republicans accept Trump’s craziness even during this dangerous third wave. Lauren Boebert and an increasingly petulant Cory Gardner spread Trump nonsense about the pandemic ending Nov. 3, because it’s driven by a lying, leftist-complicit media.
Shame on you, senator, for repeating that anti-media tripe at the Steamboat Institute. This pandemic is no hoax. The hoaxer is Trump with his non-stop lying.
America’s finally figured Trump out. The Trump train may soon be crushed. Patriotic Republicans, realizing Trump is crazed and corrupt, are jumping off. Elected leaders should have good judgment. Backing Trump now demonstrates bad judgment. On steroids. Why vote for anyone in Trump’s political party?
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Trump tweet-bragged last Monday about his COVID infection. “As your leader, I had to do that. I knew there’s danger to it. But I had to do it. I stood out front. I led. Nobody that’s a leader would not do what I did.” Say what?
Trump wants political opponents, including Biden, charged with treason. Our president threatens violence unless he wins.
Trump realizes he must cancel or delegitimize this election. As Biden accurately recounted in Cleveland where he trounced Trump, presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway proclaimed chaos and violence in American cities helps Trump’s political chances.
Downtown Denver had been calm this autumn until things got stirred up by a so-called Patriot Muster. My life dramatically improved when I stopped listening to Denver Trump Radio. But someone suggested I listen to Friday’s morning show on 710KNUS to assess its awfulness. What I heard was alarming.
First, Pat Neville announced he’s stepping down from state House Republican leadership (before he got shoved) while still soliciting money for his PAC. The host and Neville ritualistically slammed Kyle Clark and 9News. The host blessed his great pal Neville’s efforts, and castigated non-Neville Republicans for insufficient allegiance to Trump.
Next up was 710KNUS’s primetime promotion of the Patriot Muster. John “Tig” Tiegen, of Benghazi fame, along with Neville’s ally, radio host Randy Corporon, were provided free rein to demand fellow “patriots” assemble downtown Saturday at Civic Center park for a non-permitted rally to reclaim the Greek Amphitheater. Anticipated counter-protesters were black-clad antifa commies responsible, Tiegen claimed, for killing 100 million people.
Saturday’s violence near Civic Center park was predictable after listening to that hour on KNUS. Even the rabble-rousing morning host, declining Tiegen’s invitation to attend the Patriot Muster, seemed to sense a violent showdown.
710KNUS hosts constantly attack 9News. Did Lee Keltner, the Brighton man killed on Saturday, share that KNUS animosity toward 9News?
Matthew Dolloff was hired to guard 9News personnel and equipment. Dolloff was in an altercation with Keltner, who sprayed mace in Dolloff’s face, before Dolloff fired his weapon, police said. Denver DA Beth McCann, and perhaps a Denver jury, will decide if Dolloff was the initial aggressor and whether deadly force was reasonable. This will be a difficult prosecution because self-defense must be disproved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is the alleged intended victim of a right-wing attack fortunately disrupted by the FBI. Whitmer holds President Trump accountable for his incitement of white supremacist Proud Boy types. She brands Trump as complicit.
We confront a crazed and desperate president with backers willing to do anything to avoid looming defeat. This October will be full of surprises. And not the happy kind. Stay strong. Stay safe. Vote.
Craig Silverman is a former Denver chief deputy DA who also has worked in the media for decades. Craig is columnist at large for The Colorado Sun. He practices law at the Denver law firm of Springer & Steinberg, P.C. and is host of The Craig Silverman Show podcast.
The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggested writers and more to opinion@coloradosun.com.