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I've been screaming for the past couple of years about Fox News hiring almost the entire GOP field that will run for president in 2012. Roger Ailes began grooming Sarah Palin as soon as the 2008 election was over, and to me it's all a bit cheeky. While not against the law, I've always felt it's unethical. Why haven't the Beltway media Villagers complained about this? It should be baffling to most good journalists. Anyway, it does appear that Ailes is trying to push these candidates to make a move and get out there and into the primary to begin the process.
Fox News is run by Roger E. Ailes, a former Republican strategist, who was personally involved in the contracts for Mr. Gingrich, Ms. Palin and others. Although there are no federal prohibitions against people being on the payroll of a television or radio station while running for office — or contemplating such a run — executives at competing networks have watched Fox’s handling of the could-be candidates with some astonishment.
One such executive on Tuesday called it unethical to have a presidential candidate on a network payroll.
If a candidate is thinking about running, as Mr. Huckabee and Ms. Palin have said they are, they should be treated as de facto candidates, this executive said. He requested anonymity for fear of retribution by Fox.
A Federal Election Commission spokesman said the commission would not comment on any particular cases, but said, “There are some issues that a candidate should be aware of so that air time isn’t considered a prohibited contribution to his or her campaign for federal office.”
There have been indications recently that some of the could-be candidates are taking longer to weigh their options because of their Fox contracts.
Mr. Huckabee told National Journal last week: “I need to make sure I’m ready to give up my job to declare my candidacy. The day I say ‘I’m running,’ that’s the day I don’t have an income.”
And as Atrios says:
Those of us who have made attention to Fox's PR department over the years know that retribution is, indeed, likely. Say something nasty about them and they're likely to issue a press release with highlights from your divorce settlement, or whatever.
David Frum made his feelings clear about Fox News last March when he said that the GOP works for Fox News.
Frum: "Republicans originally thought that Fox worked for us, and now we are discovering we work for Fox."
Do we need any more evidence than by what just happened with Gingrich and Lil' Ricky? Huckabee and Palin have both been hinting that they are going to run for president in 2012, so why haven't they been suspended too?
Lawrence O'Donnell, in the above video segment, thinks they weren't suspended because they told Ailes they aren't going to run for president. I'm not sure that's true, but it's not beyond reason either. I think that Ailes really loves being the puppetmaster and kingmaker and he's trying to force their hands. He's as crafty as anyone in political TV, but he's also an ideologue of the highest order.
