Caldara: Republicans "do it out of emotion"

Responding to a caller's observation that "most Republicans don't even get involved" in political campaigns, Newsradio 850 KOA host Jon Caldara claimed that when "our team" loses an election, "we get very depressed, and we get very sad, and we go on with our lives," while Democrats "become unemployed." Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, was guest hosting the January 17 broadcast of The Mike Rosen Show. He asserted, "You and I, we've got families, we've got to pay our taxes, we've got other things to do. So when we give money and when you give time, it's because of our passion, not because we'll lose our jobs." Caldara concluded by stating that "there's an incentive for the left to come out and campaign. And it's harder for us. We have to do it out of emotion."

Caldara's comments contrasting Democrats and Republicans appear to contradict statements he made before the November 7 elections. As Colorado Media Matters noted, on the October 16, 2006, broadcast of his own KOA show, Caldara told a caller that "[l]iberals like to emote" and conservatives "are more logical."

From the January 17 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Mike Rosen Show:

CALLER: Jon, how's it going today?

CALDARA: I'm great. Thank you.

CALLER: Good. Hey, just a -- I heard one of your callers calling up a little bit ago talking about what the Republican Party was and what it wasn't. I'm a grass-roots activist. I'm actually a captain in my area, and I work a lot -- really long hours when the campaigns are actually running. I think most Republicans don't even get involved, first of all. I didn't see a whole lot of them down there at the phone banks for Bob Beauprez and Rick O'Donnell. There was probably the same people over and over and over. I think the --

CALDARA: Let's answer that question, though. You've just jumped on something, and why is it that you don't see too many Republicans down there working? One: Many Republicans have felt betrayed by the Republican Party, myself included. But there's also an incentive structure. Let's put it this way: When our team loses, we get very depressed, and we get very sad, and we go on with our lives. When their team loses, they become unemployed. Democrats and special interests have a very acute reason to go down and do all the political footwork. The ugly stuff, like manning phone booths, and knocking on doors, and stuffing envelopes. That's why union membership, for instance -- they will organize. That's why government workers and those people who live off of government contracts and government spending -- they will get involved in the process. You and I, we've got families, we've got to pay our taxes, we've got other things to do. So when we give money and when you give time, it's because of our passion, not because we'll lose our jobs or we won't get as much money in our budget next time around. So there's an incentive for the left to come out and campaign. And it's harder for us. We have to do it out of emotion.

—T.S.P.