Caplis claimed he puts "more facts out there about Barack Obama" than "any other show" does -- but record shows otherwise
Summary: During a March 12 discussion with co-host Craig Silverman, 630 KHOW-AM's Dan Caplis asserted, "I'm putting more facts out there about Barack Obama than you will find on any other show around here." He further vowed that he would "continue to bring [listeners] the facts" about the Democratic presidential candidate -- but as Colorado Media Matters has documented, Caplis repeatedly has misrepresented facts or smeared Obama on his broadcast
After claiming on his March 12 broadcast that he puts "more facts out there about Barack Obama than you will find on any other show," 630 KHOW-AM's Dan Caplis promised his listeners he would "continue to bring them the facts" about the Democratic presidential candidate. However, Colorado Media Matters has repeatedly documented false or factually misleading statements Caplis has made about Obama.
During a discussion with co-host Craig Silverman, who asked Caplis if he "felt intimidated from criticizing Barack Obama," Caplis said, "I'm not going to be intimidated" before later stating, "I'm throwing facts out there." He added, "I'm putting more facts out there about Barack Obama than you will find on any other show around here, and your response to that is always the Bash Barack Hour. And so that's code that there's something else going on here; it isn't really factual, it isn't legitimate, it isn't analytical. When in fact, that's exactly what I'm offering, and what I'm getting in return is name-calling."
Later in the broadcast, Caplis said, "I'm confident listeners hear through that. ... the facts I've offered on Barack Obama have dealt with a very wide range of issues," before concluding, "I trust the audience; I'm gonna continue to bring them the facts."
Contrary to Caplis' claim that he's "throwing facts out there" about Obama, Colorado Media Matters has documented the following instances in which Caplis misrepresented facts or smeared Obama on his program:
As Colorado Media Matters has noted, despite his history of providing misinformation, Caplis has claimed that he backs up his arguments with "facts, and logic, and history."
From the March 12 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Caplis & Silverman Show:
SILVERMAN: I think -- I don't accuse you of racism; I've come back at you, but you've, have you felt intimidated from criticizing Barack Obama?
CAPLIS: No, but look at my email. And I'm not going to be intimidated, and that's one reason I think it's so important in the face of that -- and you have your own subtle intimidation, Craig. You won't call it, you won't say, "Oh, you're a racist for criticizing Obama," but look at what you just did, and you do it every day. You call it the Bash Barack Hour, which is your way of saying to the people out there who, like you, have endorsed Obama, your way of saying to them, this isn't accurate, it isn't fair, it isn't real, it isn't true. So that's your code for it. I'm not done --
[crosstalk]
CAPLIS: I'm not done. But it doesn't matter, but what you're doing is, I'm throwing facts out there. I'm putting more facts out there about Barack Obama than you will find on any other show around here, and your response to that is always the Bash Barack Hour. And so that's code that there's something else going on here; it isn't really factual, it isn't legitimate, it isn't analytical. When in fact, that's exactly what I'm offering, and what I'm getting in return is name-calling.
SILVERMAN: Well, that's hardly the case; I've come back at you with facts and figures, and what comes to you being biased, yeah, you are biased; you're biased because the guy is pro-choice. And he's proudly pro-choice, he doesn't mince around it, and I will in your defense say you're similarly biased against anybody who's proudly pro-choice, so it has nothing to do with race, and I've never implied that it -- you're gonna bash Hillary Clinton the same way, you're gonna bash anybody who's pro-choice, and I expect you would've done the same thing to Rudy Giuliani, given his pro-choice --
CAPLIS: But you see, that's part of the game you're playing; and I'm confident listeners hear through that. Rather than deal with the facts -- and the facts I've offered on Barack Obama have dealt with a very wide range of issues; obviously life's foundational, if you kill a kid before he's born, the other policy issues don't matter. But I've offered facts on a wide range of issues, but part of your game is to try to distract from that by saying it's all about abortion. But that's fine, because I'm not going to be intimidated by any of that. I trust the audience; I'm gonna continue to bring them the facts.
— C.K.
Posted to the web on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 4:03 PM EST