Prior to its inevitable endorsement of the incumbent Democrat, the Denver Post produced profiles of Bob Beauprez and John Hickenlooper. The stories were interesting from start to finish. It was fascinating to read what was included, and what was not.
Bob’s started with his faith in G-d. Hick’s started with his new stray dog. Hick’s profile ended with him attending the book signing event of his estranged wife, Helen Thorpe. Bob’s profile ended with words of love and devotion from his biggest fan, his wife Claudia Beauprez.
Bob is described as a devout Catholic with limited exceptions regarding abortion. Neither Hick’s faith nor any limitations he would place on late term abortion were revealed.
From their Post profiles, a reader would have thought Bob Beauprez was the only wealthy candidate, when in fact, John Hickenlooper is rich, but pays an extremely low rate of income tax.
John Hickenlooper made $467,000 in 2012 and paid $60,000 in federal income taxes. Bob Beauprez made $371,000 in 2012 and paid $93,000 in federal income taxes.
In late April of 2010, as part of his first run for Governor, we learned that Hickenlooper had made almost three million dollars in charitable contributions. Such generosity! Everybody wondered who could be the recipient of his largesse.
Mayor Hickenlooper, running his first campaign for Governor, appeared (for the last time) on KHOW’s April 27, 2010 Caplis and Silverman Show. Hick preposterously claimed he could reveal none of the beneficiaries because he had so promised some of the charities. But part of the answer was sitting in plain sight.
The Post is dedicated to portraying Hick as a centrist and Bob on the fringe but the reality is the opposite. What could be more left wing fringe than the Chinook Fund? This charity Hick founded has always been dedicated to progressive causes like the Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace, Denver Cop Watch, The Boulder Living Wage Campaign, Transform Columbus Day Alliance, Colorado ACORN.
Here is part of what happened when Dan Caplis and I pressed him on the issue.
Hick: We give to hundreds of organizations so you can rest assured that there is no large contribution…Now you guys on radio can maybe say one thing and then say another thing. When I give my word, I give my word.
Silverman: It’s been publicized in the past…
Hick: What?
Silverman: …that you were the founder of the Chinook Fund.
Hick: So what more do you need to know?
But there was a lot more to know. Even the Denver Post had the good sense to demand disclosure back in early September 2010. It was later that month when more truth about Hick’s tax write-offs came out. Tony Kovaleski and KMGH broke the story: Hickenlooper Returned Tax Breaks to IRS; IRS Questioned Land Easement that Allowed Mayor to Write-Off $1.1 Million. On it, Hick made the dubious claim he initially bought the land in Park County for a second vacation home.
Why did the Post profile not mention the conservation easement tax break? Karen Crummy and the Denver Post once covered it well on September 16, 2010, IRS Flagged Tax Deal on Hickenlooper’s Land, The Valuation of Conservation Easements Donated to The Nature Conservancy was Challenged, and He Agreed to Repay $52,486. Why has the media failed to follow-up on Hick’s ongoing low tax rate?
Why did the Post profile not include Mayor Hick’s failure to warn downtown Denverites of the dangers they faced from racially motivated gang members terrorizing white and Hispanic people in lower downtown? Why no mention of the Even Ebel mistaken release from prison which led to the murders of Tom Clement and Nate Leon? Why did the Homaidin Al-Turki debacle receive zero discussion?
Why did the Post profile barely touch the Nathan Dunlap fiasco in which Hick granted an indefinite temporary reprieve? How about Hick’s claim he would leave the execution decision to the next Governor only to be contradicted by the audio recorded “lame duck death row clemency assurances” Hick gave to Robert Redford, Susan Sarandon and CNN?
Hick endorsed to CNN all the dogma, propaganda, and arguments of the far left death penalty abolitionists. CNN, hoping to protect its newfound anti-death penalty ally, has withheld the “lame duck clemency” video. Instead of demanding release of CNN’s video, the Post now also writes as if such statements were never made.
Hick has been pampered and protected by so many elements of the local media. We saw it in the Post profiles but regardless, the truth is out there. John Hickenlooper has some far left proclivities and associations.