Local Rand Paul Coverage Day One: Media Lap Dogs Give Repugs a Pass

Okay, y'all, when I said "up your game," I didn't mean "get your panting lap dog on."

Both the Lexington Herald and the Courier-Journal let Kentucky repugs get away with refusing to answer questions from the press.

Really, Jack Brammer and Stephanie Steitzer? How hard did you try? Or were you under editorial orders to lay off the teabagger's almighty god?

Both Brammer and Steitzer are seasoned political reporters. They know how to do this correctly: merciless, relentless badgering, resulting in story ledes like this:

Senator Mitch McConnell, Rep. Hal Rogers and other Kentucky republican elected officials refused multiple times yesterday to address GOP Senate nominee Rand Paul's opposition to the Civil Rights Act, Fair Housing Law, Mine Safety laws and forcing BP to clean up its massive oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico.

At least eight separate times, this reporter specifically demanded that McConnell, Rogers and the others state whether they agreed with Paul's public positions.

Instead, we get kumbaya headlines like this: "Rand Paul feels the love from GOP at Unity Rally" and "Rand Paul steers clear of controversy at Unity Rally."

Rand Paul's antediluvian positions are no longer the story; how Kentucky's repug officials can support him without explicitly agreeing with those positions is the story.

The fact is that Kentucky repugs and conservadems are going to vote for Paul in November even if he advocated outlawing the horse industry. And bourbon distilleries. They always - always - vote for the republican, no matter what.

The question is whether Paul will get enough overt support from McConnell and the others to overcome legitimate fears about his Bircherism.

Right now, the Kentucky MSM is not making Kentucky's GOP officials pay any price for that support. They have to pin every single republican candidate in the state up against the wall and force them to say yeah or nay on every single racist, misogynist, anti-disabled, anti-veteran, unconstitutional, anti-american word out of Aynrandpaul's mouth, then plaster the answers in 48-point, banner headlines.

Anything less is journalistic malpractice.

Cross-posted at They Gave Us A Republic ....