On KLZ's Grassroots Radio Colorado Wednesday, a caller put the following question to Joe Coors, who's running against Rep. Ed Perlmutter for a congressional seat.
Caller Elkie: Hi Joe. I just want to call in because I [inaudible] you. And I'm a supporter. But I have a friend who said he was not going to vote for you because you're anti-Semitic. I hadn't heard anything about that, so I thought I'd ask you.
Strange question, to be sure. Here's Coors' answer:
Coors: Elkie. Thank you for the question. I can't imagine where that comes from. I'm a big supporter of Israel. I have a lot of Jewish friends. And I can't imagine that kind of--well, that's a typical misconception that's coming out of the Perlmutter camp. And it's unfortunate. But I can honestly tell you that -- and I've visited Israel. What a great place. And I just don't understand.
Listen to the audio here: On KLZ Oct 31, Coors discusses "typical" misconception spread by "Perlmutter camp"
My first thought was, had host Jason Worley read Lynn Bartels great article about the personal connections between the Coors and Perlmutter families? Perlmutter hired Coors' daughter. Coors and Perlmutter's dad were friends and next-door neighbors for 16 years. Coors' brother is the godfather of one of Perlmutter's kids.
And now Coors' is accusing the "Perlmutter camp," which would presumably include Perlmutter himself, of spreading the rumor that Coors hates Jews? I would have thought Clark would have at least asked, "Joe, why do you think Ed would spread a rumor like that? And where's your evidence?"
But later in the show, Worley and co-host Randy Corporon, who was subbing for regular host Ken Clark, raised questions about the caller, Elkie, saying she had misrepresented her question prior to coming on air.
Corporon: "We were talking off-air with our call screener about Elka who called in and sprung this phony-bologna allegation on Joe Coors. And we did call it, because Elka absolutely lied to our call screener about what she was calling about."
Worley: "Yeah. She said she was going to ask a totally different question, something about Perlmutter...."
Corporon: "This is the desperation of the left.
Worley: That's really awkward. I really do feel bad. We don't purposely ever let a candidate have something like that happen to them. And you what, I think Joe handled it pretty darn well."
On one hand, I don't blame Corporon and Worley for being upset about a caller who allegedly lies to them about what they're going to say, but the truth is, they didn't offer us any proof that she, in fact, lied. This is a she-said-he-said situation.
Still, I actually think Worley's call screener, and the KLZ hosts, are telling the truth. Why would they lie about it?
But, hey, welcome to talk radio. It's all about people lying about who they are and what they'll say. This unpredictability is part of what makes the talk medium so great. I mean, the guests, love them or hate them, are the best part of talk radio.
In any case, if Elkie's question was a set up, it was a really strange one. You'd think an operative might have asked about why ? Or why now, after being against abortion, even for rape and incest, he's now okay with letting raped women have an abortion.
But even if you assume Elkie was secretly opposing Coors, Coors' answer is still on the table. And the radio hosts should have dealt with it directly.
What evidence does Coors have to support his statement that it's "typical" for the "Perlmutter camp" to spread "misconceptions" like Coors being anti-Semitic?
If this is a "typical" misconception, what are some of the other in-the-same-ballpark misconceptions that Coors thinks are being spread by the Perlmutter camp?
Does Coors really think Perlmutter himself would spread the rumor that Coors is an anti-Semite? If not, does Coors owe Perlmutter an apology?
Worley and Corporon should have Coors back on the show to answer these questions and others.