HeyNext, Kyle Clark should not be our yardstick. Armstrong's "Horseshoe Theory" is my "two sides of the same coin". Know the Assembly's committee makeup for the coming session.
"[Fill in the blank] is so bad that even Kyle Clark called it out."
As Prop HH wound its way toward failure, I heard (more times than I can count) the oft-repeated phrase above, with Prop HH filling the blank of course.
I have, more and more, started to hear its pseudo-corollary, the idea that Kyle Clark is not biased; that he calls ball and strikes as he sees them. An example of this would be at about the 18:00 mark in his show linked below. Listen to the bit of viewer feedback Mr. Clark chose to read*. About himself (well, and his show).
This too, has come lately in the context of what Mr. Clark has said about Prop HH and Polis himself.
Kyle Clark is neither saint nor devil, and, while I have my own personal views on some of what drives him,** I do not personally know the man, and so I'm loathe to speculate too much on what goes through his head. Some things, however, are fair to discuss.
Understand that Mr. Clark makes his living by monetizing your attention; he earns his pay by selling space to advertisers. That doesn't necessarily mean that he decides on his coverage based on who is paying 9 News for ad time.
It does mean that what he shows, what he doesn't, what he says, and what he doesn't are influenced by the things that keep you watching. And Kyle Clark is a master at that.
I say he's a master because there are two broad classes of people that tune in to those that make themselves media "lightning rods": those that tune in so they can nod emphatically, pound the table, and say "hell yes", and those that tune in so they can scoff and jeer at what this idiot has to say this week.
That is, in pro wrestling terms, a good heel gets as much attention from fans as does a good hero. Oh, and they do so even when they switch roles from heel to hero.
Revisit Mr. Clark's coverage of Prop HH and comments about Polis now. Think about what you saw him cover and, just as importantly, what you DID NOT see him cover.
Revisit Mr. Clark's coverage of any other thing about Polis across time. Has his coverage of Polis changed over time? Was his skepticism of what Polis said and did always as scrupulous as it has been lately?
Revisit Mr. Clark's coverage of Republican extremists vs. Democrat and Democrat-Socialist extremists.
Total up the above and a clear picture emerges. There is a mix, but it's nowhere near 50/50 on any timescale. It is not balanced or evenhanded coverage.
I'm glad he covers some of the things he does because he has a large audience and it's a good thing for a large number of people to, on occasion, see things that I feel are important for them to know.
Let us be sober and realistic in our assessment of Mr. Clark's coverage, however. He's not out for informing people. He's not calling balls and strikes as he sees them, providing balanced coverage of our state.
He's following the market. And thus we shouldn't be paying so much attention to what he calls out or doesn't.
*Another great opportunity to remind you to think through and ask what you're shown and what you're not AND THEN THINK WHAT CAN BE GLEANED FROM THAT. Do not forget that Mr. Clark is in charge of picking the things he says and what he doesn't say. They're not randomly chosen.
**An overweening love of self
Related:
Kyle Clark did a sit down with Governors Polis Cox (CO and UT respectively) to discuss their "Disagree Better" initiative.
I've written about this in the past re. Gov Polis' role in it, but this time I want to touch on a couple of things relevant to the post above.
I would recommend watching the whole thing, but the parts that touch on the media broadly and Kyle Clark specifically happen at the 9:00 mark and again at the 13:20 mark.
I know from seeing other things with him that I don't agree with Gov Cox on everything, but I do on his thoughts here about the media.
One, that in general, what the media thrives on is division. Not for its own sake but because division and controversy sell. This includes the product Mr. Clark produces.
Two, that Kyle Clark in particular is masterful at what I've heard called "nutpicking" or to use the words of Gov Cox that the media "tend[s] to elevate the most extreme voices". That is picking one weirdo who says something (and perhaps happens to be Republican) and then extrapolates from that to the party as a whole.
And notice too that on his show this only happens in one direction.
The "horseshoe theory" is another term for something I've always phrased as "two sides of the same coin".
The op ed by Mr. Armstrong presented below was an interesting read, mainly because it gives me a dressier way to express something I've already felt and pointed out: that those that hold to the extremes in life are more like each other than not.
I linked to both the op ed and the little Wikipedia explainer page on the horseshoe theory below if you'd like to read up, but the conclusion, for me, has always been simple.
The extremism is a human tendency. It's a personality trait that latches on to an ideology as opposed to an ideology that becomes extreme.
That is, if you see no grey but only black and whites, it's just a matter of picking which you prefer.
What do you think? Do you hold to this theory? Do you think extremism is something you slide into or is it inborn with a choice of its expression?
p.s. I think that rule-followers and rebels are also an example of a "horseshoe". Both behaviors are expressive (again, to me) of an abundance of attention paid to rules with the difference being whether you like them or not.
https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2023/10/31/armstrong-playing-political-horseshoes-in-colorado/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_theory
Committee makeups have a tremendous effect on policy from the Assembly. And from the looks of the article below, I think it's fair to say that some chess pieces are being lined up.
For what? That's the big question..
After some Assembly Democrats left for other jobs, the Democrats had an election and voted in Sen Rodriguez as the Majority Leader. As majority leader, Rodriguez has the power to change committee assignments and (apparently--this was news to me til I read the article) committee sizes.
The article below details some of the changes that he's made.
While I'm not a huge fan of political machinations kind of speculation, I can tell you that some of the themes outlined in the article linked first below seem to be holding water.
In broad strokes, the idea is that the more moderate members, those would might be inclined to "pump the brakes" on more extreme policy have been put out of positions that they might have a chance to do so and affect a bill's chance of making it out of committee.
There is more speculation on bills returning and not returning, but the above is about as far as I'd be willing to go (and, if you're conservative or Republican, it's far enough to make one worried).
In the interest of fairness too, I want to include a quote that goes against the theme I outline above. From the article:
"Roberts [Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon, one of the senators who participated in killing some of the more extreme bills last session by voting against his party and thus forcing changes to or removing a series or progressive bills], however, will keep his chairmanship of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, and he also maintains his key seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Democrats continue to hold just a 3-2 seat advantage under the new assignments. Another moderate who has been a target of liberal criticism — Democratic Sen. Kyle Mullica of Federal Heights — also will maintain his chairmanship of the important Senate Finance Committee, which will keep its 4-3 party split as well under the new assignments."
If you're interested in seeing the Senate Democrat committee assignments, you'll find the link to the CO Senate Dem's committee page second below.
https://tsscolorado.com/colorado-senate-announces-changes-to-key-committees/
https://www.senatedems.co/newsroom/majority-leader-rodriguez-announces-updated-senate-committee-assignments