Yesterday, candidate for Congress Paul Hackett, a Democrat, demonstrated to the people of Ohio’s 2nd District that his opponent had blantantly lied during an interview with a local television. Jean Schmidt, the GOP candidate, told a reporter that she did not know – had never met -Tom Noe, the notorious GOP donor and rare coin dealer who has somehow “lost” at least $13 million in state funds that he invested in coins.
The Hackett campaign offered documentary proof in the form of minutes from meetings of government committees on which both Schmidt and Noe served as evidence that Schmidt, reputed to have a “file card” memory, is at the very least an acquaintance of Noe’s.
Yet the Cincinnati Enquirer, the regional paper of record in southern Ohio, has buried this revelation 16 paragraphs into its main article on the campaign today – under a benign sounding headline: “Candidates take it easy in final days: Volunteers hit streets to get word to voters.”
Imagine if it had been Mr. Hackett who’d been caught in a lie! The Enquirer would have probably put out a special edition going through the issue point by point.
Tellingly, in its Sunday edition, under the headline, “Schmidt for Congress: Republican offers better experience, fit for 2nd District,” the newspaper endorsed the GOP operative:
Schmidt knows the district very well, having almost a “file-card” memory to recall details about people, places and issues she’s had experience with on the local level. As we said when endorsing her in the GOP primary in June, she’s a quick learner who knows how to make deals and get things done. Even in her relatively short time in Columbus, she proved effective in passing legislation to address her district’s concerns.
The endorsement does include a critcism of Schmidt: “She has a troubling tendency to offer superficial answers on issues she may not have carefully studied. Some of her comments can lack tact, and she relies too often on anecdotal evidence to prove a point.”
In other words, if elected, Schmidt will be just another Congressional GOoper who reliably regurgitates the party’s daily talking points.
The paper’s complaint about Hackett, a lawyer and an Iraq war veteran was just plain silly:
It seems clear that Hackett intends to use the House seat as a national platform. Schmidt would use it to help deliver services and programs to people in the district.
I’m reminded of the last days of the recall election here in California when the Los Angeles Times released a story about women who claimed to have been subjected to fondling and unwanted advances by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The echo chamber of rightwing radio went ballistic – and their anger may have actually helped get Schwarzenegger elected.
The Cincinatti Enquirer is saying to its readers, “Vote for a political hack instead of a war hero because the hack is a Republican.” Where is the outrage on the Left about this demogoguery from a rightwing newspaper?
Here is the Enquirer’s contact information:
Phone: 513-768-8220
Or you can give them “feedback” HERE.
