In a recent episode of Independence Institute’s* public affairs TV show, Devil’s Advocate, host Jon Caldara sits down with Corey Gaines from the Colorado Accountability Project about outside organizations funding staff to work inside the Colorado legislature. The two also touch on progressive press bias, and the unchecked power of of unelected regulators.
The show highlights a left-of-center nonprofit affiliated with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science funding “science fellows” to work with Colorado’s legislative council staff. According to Gaines, the issue is not so much the fellows themselves, but the precedent: Colorado’s supposedly nonpartisan legislative staff should be publicly funded, not supplied by private foundations with their own values and priorities.
Gaines has previously written on the topic for Complete Colorado.
The conversation then turns to a lack of scrutiny of progressive groups by much of Colorado’s news media, especially when sympathetic advocates make serious allegations about government abuse or public policy failures. The two argue that ideological diversity in newsrooms is lacking, and that reporters often become defensive when asked about bias.
Caldara and Gaines also look at the rise of unelected boards, commissions and fee-based enterprises. They point to agencies such as the PUC and regulatory commissions as examples of appointed bodies exercising major influence over public policy with no direct accountability to voters.
You can see the entire episode here, or watch it below.
