Raese lets his media sling his mud for him

by: Carnacki

Fri Oct 29, 2010 at 17:15:27 PM EDT

Politico covers what we've talked about for ages about John Raese:

To anyone who listens to Kercheval, that might not be a big surprise. Kercheval is an employee of Raese, a major donor to his campaign and an unabashed supporter, who takes pains to disclose his friendship to Raese early and often on the air.

"The first thing is, what I do isn't 'Meet the Press,'" said Kercheval, the dean of political reporters in West Virginia. "It's going to be an opinion-based show. The second thing is to be completely candid with the audience and not insult the intelligence of the audience. To say: 'You understand that John Raese owns our company. You also understand that John Raese is a friend of mine, and also that I have donated to him in the last two elections.'"

Manchin's campaign, in turn, is equally blunt.

"We have chosen not to go on Hoppy's show during this time because, as an employee of John Raese's and a major donor to John Raese's campaign, it's impossible for Hoppy to be unbiased during the campaign," Manchin spokeswoman Lara Ramsburg said.

It's one of the most curious aspects of one of the most competitive Senate races in the country: The Republican candidate happens to be one of the largest media owners in the state.

What Politico does not point out is that much of the rest of the media is also owned by Republicans. One of the reasons President Obama is unpopular in this state is the nonstop flow of newspaper columns and radio blaring out rightwing propaganda against him. That doesn't work against Manchin or against many local Democrats because people can see them for themselves.