Silverman silent on Schaffer's claim to be "toward the center of the political spectrum"

Summary: Interviewing U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer (R), 630 KHOW-AM co-host Craig Silverman and his guest host, former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis (R), left unchallenged Schaffer's assertion that he is "a little more pragmatic and toward the center of the political spectrum" than "Democrats and those on the left." Neither host pointed out that the American Conservative Union gave Schaffer a "near-perfect" ACU Lifetime Rating of 99 for his six years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In an interview with Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer on the June 30 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Caplis & Silverman Show, co-host Craig Silverman and guest co-host former Republican U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis failed to challenge Schaffer's claim that compared with "Democrats and those on the left," he is "a little more pragmatic and toward the center of the political spectrum." In fact, during Schaffer's previous U.S. Senate bid in 2004, the American Conservative Union (ACU) issued a press release headlined "Bob Schaffer: 'The Genuine Conservative' in Colorado Senate Race," which stated, "For six years in the U.S. House, Bob Schaffer complied [sic] an unabashedly conservative ACU Lifetime Rating of 99. His near-perfect score reflects an adherence to the traditional conservative ideals of advocating tax cuts, eliminating government waste, protecting the lives of the innocent, and preserving gun owners' rights."

Similarly, a July 1 blog posting on The Denver Post's PoliticsWest website by the site's editor, Stephen Keating, quoted former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Pete Coors as stating in a letter, "No [sic] only do we need to put a stop to the Democratic takeover of Colorado, we need Bob's consistent, principled Colorado conservative leadership working for us in Washington." Further, a March 9 Denver Post article (accessed through the Nexis database) cited a study by Keith Poole, a University of California political scientist, "analyzing every roll-call vote in the U.S. House and Senate since 1937, ranking each of 3,425 lawmakers relative to one another on a scale from most liberal to most conservative." Based on that study "[o]f all the senators and members of Congress to serve in Washington since the Depression, Schaffer ranked 14th from the right," making him "more conservative than Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms, Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich and Barry Goldwater." The study found that Schaffer's opponent, U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, ranked "509th from the left, more moderate than Schaffer but still well within the party's left wing."

Additionally, Silverman and McInnis failed to challenge Schaffer's attempt to minimize the potential environmental impact of oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) by misleadingly asserting that "the actual footprint that has been proposed for energy harvest... is very, very tiny, particularly in comparison to the massive acreage of the rest of the wildlife refuge." The co-hosts failed to point out that according to the federal government, the 1002 Area proposed for drilling is "the most biologically productive part" of ANWR" and is "the center of wildlife activity," as Colorado Media Matters has noted.

During the interview, Schaffer said that "Democrats and those on the left tend to think that you -- that Americans are incapable of having an American energy industry and protecting our environment at the same time." He added, "And those of us who are a little more pragmatic and toward the center of the political spectrum tend to believe that we can accomplish both." Neither Silverman nor McInnis addressed Schaffer's claim, despite his "Lifetime Rating of 99" from the ACU on a scale of zero to a "perfect" 100. According to the ACU's press release about Schaffer's 2004 Senate primary race against Coors:

ACU's Keene: Bob Schaffer "The Genuine Conservative" in Colorado Senate Race

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- American Conservative Union Chairman David Keene reminded Colorado Republicans of former Congressman Bob Schaffer's undeniably conservative rating after reviewing Schaffer's ACU rating from his three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. The ACU's Annual Rating of Congress is considered to be the "gold standard" of determining whether a member of Congress' voting record is conservative.

"For six years in the U.S. House, Bob Schaffer complied an unabashedly conservative ACU Lifetime Rating of 99. His near-perfect score reflects an adherence to the traditional conservative ideals of advocating tax cuts, eliminating government waste, protecting the lives of the innocent, and preserving gun owners' rights," said Keene.

"Among those vying in the August 24 Republican primary, it's clear that Bob Schaffer is the genuine conservative in the race and that is why the American Conservative Union is pleased to endorse him," concluded Keene.

From the June 30 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Caplis & Silverman Show:

SCHAFFER: And I think that's the big difference, is the Democrats and those on the left tend to think that you -- that Americans are incapable of having an American energy industry and protecting our environment at the same time. And those of us who are a little more pragmatic and toward the center of the political spectrum tend to believe that we can accomplish both. We can do this if we maintain high standards and best practices. And with that in mind, ANWR is a perfect place to have the discussion about real and pragmatic environmental impacts. I mean, the actual footprint that has been proposed for energy harvest in the Alaska -- in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is very, very tiny, particularly in comparison to the massive acreage of the rest of the wildlife refuge, so the impact is small. That's by design up front, and technology just improves over time, and we ought to insist on the cutting-edge deployment of it in an effort to preserve our wild places for future generations and at the same time to allow our country to be more independent and produce American energy rather than rely on foreign sources, as the liberals would prefer.

SILVERMAN: Well, Congressman Bob Schaffer, I know you have another commitment. I'm sure you're extremely busy running for the United States Senate in a big state like Colorado. Scott McInnis and I appreciate your time, and we hope you'll come back on soon with Dan and Craig.

—E.B., C.K. & J.F.B.