Media Vindication?
by Jon Caldara

So how does the media work?

For the last four months Colorado residents have read articles referring to so-called "secret donors" to the Independence Institute, which according to the media  covertly funded an illegal war against anti-spending referenda propositions C and D. Truth was the first casualty. To perpetuate these myths, the proponents of Ref C and D harassed the Independence Institute with subpoenas and depositions, one for me personally which resulted in seven hours on the witness stand. The proponents' objective was to keep us from exercising our First Amendment right.

Throughout the battle, we articulated our point, that the Independence Institute produced, paid for and aired radio ads as part of our educational effort to inform Colorado voters about the dangers of Referenda C and D. Much to the dismay of the C and D supporters, Judge Michelle Norcross articulated her position: "The Independence Institute produced, paid for and aired these ads as part of its educational efforts to inform Colorado voters about the dangers of Referenda C and D." Now, that sounds an awful lot like what we've been saying for four months.

How were we vindicated in the press? With one story on page eight of the Rocky Mountain News...after the election.

What did it say? “An administrative law judge ruled Friday that the Independence Institute does not have to disclose who gave it money to fight Referendum C, prompting a bittersweet ‘I told you so’ from think tank president Jon Caldara. He said he wished the decision had been made before Tuesday's election, in which voters statewide approved the tax measure. They narrowly defeated a companion measure, Referendum D. ‘This was nothing more than legal harassment,’ Caldara said of the complaint filed against his group with the secretary of state by a Ref C supporter. ‘We've been completely vindicated, which is no surprise,’ he said. For months, Ref C supporters, including GOP Gov. Bill Owens, hammered Caldara for refusing to reveal his donors. And for months, Caldara argued that the Independence Institute legally was not required to release that information because it's not an issue committee. Judge Michelle Norcross sided with Caldara, ruling the Independence Institute was not an issue committee and its primary mission was not Refs C and D. ‘The institute . . . aired these ads as part of its educational efforts to inform Colorado voters about the dangers of Referenda C and D.’ Norcross added that if the institute had been required to report its donors, ‘the same standard could be applied to a myriad of other similarly situated groups, ranging from the Children's Campaign to Bell Policy Institute to the Red Cross, simply by undertaking efforts to support or oppose ballot issues or questions.’"

So not only did Independence's educational efforts help derail Referendum D, saving our children billions of dollars worth of debt, but the Independence Institute won one for the First Amendment ruling: organizations actually have a right to speak in Colorado. I don't expect praise from the left.

To compensate for the verbal bludgeoning we took in the press during the campaign, it would be fair for the press to grant us four months worth of stories about how we were completely within our legal rights. But I won't hold my breath.

Jon Caldara is the President of the Independence Institute.

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