Colorado's Owens: Trampling the First Amendment on His Way to the White House
Reported by Marie Therese - February 8, 2005
"First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist - so I said nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat - so I did nothing. Then they came for the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew - so I did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left who could stand up for me."
Those words were uttered shortly after WWII by Lutheran activist Martin Niemoeller after being released from a concentration camp where he had spent seven years because he dared to take a stand against Nazi racial ideology. His words are a searing condemnation of fence sitters.
Professor Ward Churchill of the University of Colorado was deliberately targeted by the reactionary right simply because his views are controversial. They've bet the farm that our side would just sit back, make a few clucking noises and shake our heads, but in the long run would do nothing.
Bill O'Reilly was back yesterday on The O'Reilly Factor to pound a few more nails in the coffin of academic freedom of speech. This time he was joined by Colorado's Republican Governor Bill Owens, rumored to be considering a run fothe White House in 2008. Owens has demanded that the Board of Regents of the University of Colorado fire Ward Churchill, if Mr. Churchill refuses to resign. If the Governor's words are to be taken at face value, it would seem that the fix is in over at the University of Colorado and Ward Churchill will be dismissed. All that's left is for the him is to clean out his desk and sue the University.
If this happens, in essence, the radical conservatives will have won. They are obviously willing to face years of litigation and the possible loss of millions of dollars in settlements just to send a chilling message to every faculty member at every public university in every state in these United States - if you make waves or step out of line, you'll suffer Churchill's fate as well.
Here's my transcript of the Talking Points Memo and the O'Reilly-Owens interview. At the end there are some links to other articles on this topic and to Gov. Owens' office. We encourage all our Colorado residents (and others, too) to drop a note to the Governor expressing support for the First Amendment.
O'Reilly: The O'Reilly Factor is on. Tonight, the Denver Post reporting that radical Colorado professor Ward Churchill says more 9/11 attacks are needed. We'll talk with the Governor of Colorado about the situation.
Patriotism and Dissent. That is the topic of this evening's Talking Points Memo. Two very patriotic moments during the Super Bowl yesterday. First was the excellent rendition of the National Anthem by the choirs of the five military academies. It was a terrific moment for all of us who respect the USA. The presentation was dignified and heartfelt.
The second moment occurred during a beer commercial, if you can believe it. The scene was an airline terminal and folks applauding the American soldiers walking through it. Again the message is that America is a good country and great sacrifices are being made by our military, which we all should admire. It wasn't until the end of the commercial that the words Anheuser-Busch appeared on the screen. It was a great spot.
Now, you may remember that Anheuser-Busch made a big mistake by hiring gangsta rapper Ludacris to push its products. The company got out of that situation, but never acknowledged rewarding bad behavior. However, this commercial makes up for that lapse in judgment.
[COMMENT: O'Reilly is patting himself on the back here. He was largely responsible for Ludacris losing a Pepsi contract as well as the Anheuser-Busch contract. Check out his TPM archive for March 1, 2004.]
O'Reilly: Now, I believe about 80% of Americans truly revere their country and realize we're basically a good nation. The other 20%, however, get a lot of attention.
[COMMENT: O'Reilly offers no statistical proof for these numbers. I guess either he's resurrected the Iraqi election figures or perhaps he's implying that the alleged 80% of America that is Christian "reveres" the country while the non-Christian 20% does not. How does he get away with stuff like this? And what's worse, why don't his loyal viewers catch on and start questioning the veracity of his information more often?]
O'Reilly: Over the weekend, the Denver Post reported that radical professor Ward Churchill has actually called for more 9/11's. It's now apparent that the State of Colorado will have to take action against the Professor who has deeply embarrassed the University of Colorado. But not everybody feels that way. The personal attacks on me have dramatically increased since we broke the story nationally and some sympathetic newspapers columnists, like Richard Cohen of the Washington Post, have even chastised Factor viewers and listeners for wanting to hold this Churchill guy accountable. There's no question that, if Churchill attacked a minority group or women or religious institutions and wished them ill, he would have been shoved out of CU a long time ago. But attacking America is now acceptable in many circles, even if the attacks condone violence against U. S. citizens.
Well, how have we gotten to this place? The answer lies in the clustering of anti-American voices in academia and in the media. It's chic again to blast America, much like it was in the 1960's. The intelligentsia is more aligned with France than Washington. President Bush is seen as a barbarian and anyone who gives Mr. Bush a fair hearing is scorned. Now, that kind of lemming-like mindset rules on many college campuses, in Hollywood, in much of the publishing world and, to a lesser extent, in the broadcast industry. There are powerful people who see America not as a victim of terrorism but as a cause of it.
Ward Churchill is the extreme in this misguided club but, up until a few days ago, even he was acceptable. Now, he is not, thanks to you. But there are those who do not like that one bit.
And that's the memo.
O'Reilly: Now. for the top story tonight. The fate of Professor Churchill. Joining us now from Denver is the Governor of Colorado, Bill Owens. Alright now, you've called for his resignation. Do you think that's really going to happen?
OWENS: You know, I don't think he's gonna resign, but I think the University of Colorado and it's Board may very well fire him after they do the 30-day review. I think they should and I've called for him to actually be terminated, because of his words and his actions, which I think are inconsistent with what we stand for in Colorado and at the University of Colorado.
O'Reilly: Now, there are more revelations over the weekend by the local press in Denver. Apparently, he wrote an article for Satya Magazine - I have no idea what that is - but
OWENS: Uh-huh.
O'Reilly: ... and he says "one of the things I've suggested is that it may be that more 9/11's are necessary ..." clearly he does a dance by saying "I'm not really calling for the death of anybody," but he calls - you know, that, that's pretty clear.
OWENS: He does. He does.
[Comment: Not exactly true.
SATYA Magazine, April 2004: What are some of the solutions? Extreme events, like 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq, have mobilized people out of such complacency, albeit temporarily.
CHURCHILL: I don't have a ready answer for that. One of the things I've suggested is that it may be that more 9/11s are necessary. This seems like such a no-brainer that I hate to frame it in terms of actual transformation of consciousness. Hey those brown-skinned folks dying in the millions in order to maintain this way of life, they can wait forever for those who purport to be the opposition here to find some personally comfortable and pure manner of affecting the kind of transformation that brings not just lethal but genocidal processes to a halt.' They have no obligation - moral, ethical, legal or otherwise - to sit on their thumbs while the opposition here dithers about doing anything to change the system. So it's removing the sense of - and right to - impunity from the American opposition."
You can read the complete interview here: Dismantling the Politics of Comfort - The Satya Interview with Ward Churchill. According to Satya Magaine's website, the magazine "is a monthly publication focusing on vegetarianism, environmentalism, animal advocacy, and social justice. In Sanskrit, "satya" means "truth," and formed the basis of Mohandas Gandhi's Satyagraha or "truth action" movement for Indian self-sufficiency. Satya Magazine is committed to continuing Gandhi's legacy by increasing dialogue among activists from diverse backgrounds and engaging readers in ways to integrate compassion into their daily lives."
It took me about a minute on my nine-year-old MAC to find this information, yet O'Reilly is clearly befuddled by the exact nature of the magazine!]
O'Reilly: But, here's the deal, Governor, here's what disturbs me. The University of Colorado has become increasingly radical in Boulder. You know, I worked out there in the late 70's.
OWENS (shakes his head in agreement): You did.
O'Reilly: But now you have football scandals. You have beer, kids drinkin' beer til they die. Is it out of control up there?
OWENS: No, I don't think so, but I think that this is a good warning for all of us who care about higher education. I think it's time for citizens to be more involved in terms of the governance of their universities. In Colorado the Board of Regents is independently elected and then runs the University. I happen to appoint all of the other Board members for all the other Universities in Colorado.
Here's what I think's happening and you really outlined it well in your memo. For too long, we've allowed the universities to really function in a vacuum, because they're professors and because they're well educated, they can rule themselves.
[COMMENT: Duh, and the Governor isn't "well educated" and capable of ruling himself??? Listening to this, you'd think Owens was a high school drop-out who repaired cars for a living. Instead his official bio claims he holds a "Master's degree in public administration from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas."]
OWENS: And I think that we, as Americans, in terms of the dollars we send in their fundraising, in terms of where we send our children, we need to do a better job of making sure that - that our mores, our cultural norms, are also available on these university campuses. In too many cases, they're not, as outlined by Ward Churchill.
O'Reilly: Now, let me get this straight. All of the other colleges - state colleges - you appoint the Board of Directors as governor?
OWENS: Yes. Yes.
O'Reilly: But at the University of Colorado at Boulder, they're elected by statewide election?
OWENS: You know, they are elected statewide, Bill, but sometimes they really fly under the radar screen. We have some good Regents.
CROSSTALK
O'Reilly (overtalks last 5 words): Yeah. Nobody knows who they are.
OWENS: They don't [?] know who they are ...
END CROSSTALK.
O'Reilly: Are these people radicals?
OWENS: No. They're ...
O'Reilly: The President of the UCs - Is Betsy Hoffman a radical loon?
OWENS: No. No. Betsy Hoffman is actually a moderate politically. But, sometimes these universities really tend to run themself [sic] - the faculty, the staff, even the administration. It's very ingrown and, Bill, this isn't isolated to Colorado. If you go to virtually any large university in our country, I believe you'd find many of the same challenges we faced at Colorado.
O'Reilly: I think you're right on that.
OWENS: Really, this ...
O'Reilly (interrupts): But this is such an embarrassment for your state, which is a changing state, but it's a traditional state. And this guy's embarrassed Colorado from Trinidad up to Greeley ...
OWENS: Absolutely.
O'REILLY: ... and over to, and over to - ya' know - Steamboat Springs.
OWENS: You've been here!
O'Reilly: They're like appalled.
OWENS: It is embarrassing ...
O'Reilly: How could this happen?
OWENS: ... and that's why we're trying to deal with it. Now, obviously, you know tenure laws and you know the First Amendment and we respect the law and we respect the First Amendment. So, we're tryin' to address this and the Regents are by - by going through that, that, that rule of law, when they make the decision - and I'm hoping it's to terminate him - that they can have it withstand court scrutiny.
O'Reilly: Do you think ..
OWENS: How far have we gone in this country that you're able to call for more murder, call for more 9/11's, say that the United States should cease to exist and that we sit around and we're gonna hafta spend probably several years going through a process to ra - so this guy can't speak as a professor of the University of Colorado.
O'Reilly: And he's also makin' $100,000 or close to it...
OWENS: He is.
O'Reilly: ... of the taxpayers' money. One more thing. I have - I'm revising my opinion based upon this new information that he thinks more 9/11's are necessary. But last week I said, look, don't fire him, because the message it sends to our enemies is we oppress people we disagree with. Our country's strong enough to put up with even him! But now, he seems to have gone over another line. You know, if he's calling for the murder of American citizens, you simply can't have him. I'll give you the last word.
OWENS: Bill, I know. I know he's gonna be a hero, even if we fire him. I know in Amnesty International and the salons of Europe, he'll be toasted. But, I'll also know that we're not paying him here in Colorado and that's my responsibility. It's to remove that venue from him and that's what we're tryin' to do here in Colorado.
O'Reilly: Alright, Governor. We appreciate it. We might tell everybody he was supposed to ...
OWENS: Thank you.
O'Reilly: Churchill was supposed to speak tomorrow night on the campus. he is not going to do that. That has been canceled and we appreciate your time very much, Governor.
COMMENT
Churchill's appearance on the University of Colorado campus was canceled because the administration was concerned by threats made against the students and the university. O'Reilly neglected to mention that rather critical information.
To read more about this go to Denver Post: Officials cite security worries; prof's defenders blast decision.
Governor Bill Owens contact information: Gov. Owens e-mail
The Governor is an arch-conservative, up for reelection in 2006. Vote-Smart.com had this to say prior to his last election:
"Over the course of several weeks this candidate repeatedly refused requests by citizens in the candidate's own state, leaders of both major political parties, major news organizations and Project Vote Smart staff to provide voters with essential issue information in the National Political Awareness Test. This candidate would not provide this information to citizens in the candidate's own state - no matter who asked them, when they were asked or how they were asked."
Other articles of interest on this subject:
Paul Campos, U of Colorado law professor and one of the chief architects of this whole smear campaign published an article today in the Rocky Mountain News setting forth some of the legal arguments that that will undoubtedly be used against Ward Churchill: Truth tricky for Churchill
Ed Quillen, Denver Post columnist, on Governor Owens, 2/8/05: Those outrageous opinions
Diane Carman, Denver Post columnist, on University of Colorado, 2/3/05: Churchill brouhaha echoes previous dissent at CU
