In the fight for limited government, even a liberal newspaper helps

Ihave been an activist fighting for limited government in Colorado for over a quarter century now. And in these many battles it seems I can count on one hand how many times The Denver Post took the side of taxpayers. It’s hard to think of a major tax hike The Post didn’t love, endorse and work for on the editorial and news pages.

I remember making a presentation to The Post’s editorial board and I joked to the late, great editorial page editor Sue O’brien, “Ya know, Sue, just because I’m taking a position on this issue, it doesn’t mean The Denver Post has to take the opposite position.” Without missing a beat, Sue returned, in the loving way only she could, “Oh, you poor boy, don’t you know our policy?”

So now that The Denver Post is being squeezed like a ketchup packet by its out-of-state hedge fund overlords, slashing its news staff from a high of around 250 to just more than 60 as of Monday, should we fiscal conservatives celebrate it as the comeuppance the liberal media so greatly deboth serves? For many of us tired of mainstream papers pushing an agenda, it’s hard not to enjoy the Schadenfreude.

But we might want to think a little before we spike the football in celebration of The Post’s challenges. We could get what we wish for.

Yes, journalists largely live in a bubble, which is one of the many

reasons newspapers are struggling. Just how out of touch are newspapers from those who used to be their readers? Out of some 1,300 daily newspapers in the country, Politico reported that only six newspapers endorsed Donald Trump for president. Trump Derangement Syndrome runs high in newsrooms.

You’d think the election of Trump would cause some real self-evaluation and reflection for those in the media. You’d think they’d ask the painful question, “Did our work play a large role in getting this man we hate elected?” (By the way, the answer is yes, thank you. Trump and his political incorrectness is a middle finger to your elitism, which, like an alcoholic denying his drinking problem, you still can’t concede you have.)

But instead of soul-searching, the media has knee-jerked to full resistance mode. And this is hastening the end of some papers. Who’d have guessed there is a growing number of Americans who don’t want to pay for a subscription to something they feel insults them?

Just as when the Rocky Mountain News folded, many conservatives can’t hide their delight, their Facebook posts and tweets show their glee at The Post being placed on a ventilator. It reinforces their view that papers are dying because we consumers want actual balance in reporting and the market is responding. There is a lot of truth in this, but it’s not the only reason.

People in the industry will rightly point to the larger financial issues: how the internet took away all their classified advertising revenue, a younger generation with no attention span who won’t read anything printed on dead-tree paper, and the odd ownership structure happy to cannibalize a once-proud flagship paper and sell off the carcass.

The latest staff cuts at The Post may result in its death spiral. Like that neighborhood restaurant that’s struggling, they cut the portion size of their food to save money, and of course fewer people go to the place thanks to the smaller meals.

Sixty weary news people, no matter their political leanings, cannot cover a metro area with an exploding population.

And I must concede The Post’s reporting is done to a high-quality, Associated Press standard. If The Post writes it, it’s true. And truthful reporting, even of stories selected to explore one side of an issue, help us all, including my cause of reining in government.

I find myself asking if my political mission in Colorado has been better served after the collapse of the Rocky. Have the 3,700 governments in our state received more scrutiny and transparency as The Post’s news pages continue to shrink? Are we winning politically now that the newspapers have been knee-capped?

From my point of view battling ever-expanding government, we have a better chance slowing it down with a vibrant, even if liberal, paper in town.

Plus, I’d get tired of only yelling at the radio when NPR is on.