LOCAL MEDIA LAP DOGS NOT WATCH DOGS

Brashier and Buchanan: "Two Peas in a Pod"

The local media continue to be lapdogs for most of the Democrats despite the results of the last election and the last two primaries which have indicated a significant shift toward the Republican Party by the people who keep them in business. Vanessa Brashier, a former employee of The Liberty Vindicator and now the editor of The Dayton News and The Cleveland Advocate, and part owner of KSHN radio, Bill Buchanan, are two peas in a pod. They have been pushing voters to vote for Democrats from the first day they hit the first letter on their respective typewriters for a media outlet. This article will give a much different account of the last forum Brashier reported on.

Vanessa Brashier appears to think she discovered some kind of 'smoking gun' to help the struggling campaign of Rusty Hight when she makes a big deal about Hight’s opponent having to be stopped after going over the allotted time. But isn’t the buzzer having to be rung on someone in a debate over who gets to be the District Judge for the next four years indicative of someone who has a vast wealth of knowledge in all areas of the law and the history of this country who is trying to fully answer a three part question? Isn’t Brashier’s “smoking gun” more of an indictment against her and her own bias in Liberty politics?

If Brashier is a watchdog like the people who founded this country and signed the Bill of Rights envisioned the press being wouldn’t she report the differences in what Hight said and what she should know he does in the courtroom? Many statements made by Rusty Hight were either deceptions or complete untruths such as:

In Hight’s opening statement he tried to distance himself from the Democrat party by saying that he was part of the Judicial Branch so if you are mad at the Government, don't be mad at him because he has nothing to do with it. UUGGHH!!! If Vanessa Brashier hasn’t been asleep the entire time she has lived in Liberty County she would know that Rusty Hight, his brother-in-law Zeke Zbranek, and his two nephews, Zeb and Zack, have all been standard bearers for the Democratic Party...big time supporters of the left leaning candidates, past and present, nominated by the Democratic Party. It is deceptive and not very loyal to desert a lifetime of work in his party just because (for the first time in Liberty County) being a Democrat may not be popular with this community. Shouldn’t Brashier have pointed this out – and in all fairness pointed out Mark Morefield is a long time Republican.

When asked about "morals clauses", Hight said he requires morals clauses to be in every divorce or custody order involving minor children. This is completely untrue.  Ask any attorney in town how many times they have heard him say that no one has any morals and he is going to refuse to even put it in any order. He also said he refuses to allow a parent to have any person whom they have an intimate relationship with to be in the presence of the children between the hours of 8:00 p.m. until 9:00 a.m. He has denied these kinds of request and made it later in the night.

When there was a question about religion and the role it plays in the courtroom, Mark Morefield responded first and received an immediate, overwhelming applause. Rusty responded and Mark rebutted saying "It is the Democrats who are trying to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance, In God We Trust out of our money", etc. If Rusty wants to position himself with voters as a warrior for Christ, shouldn’t he be outspoken towards his own party and issues like abortion, school prayer, or these other things Morefield has championed?

The next question was related to lawsuit abuse and Morefield answered with statistics and examples. Rusty Hight responded by discussing a commercial on television with people lined up outside a courthouse who were trying to get in but couldn't due to lawsuit abuse. Then he asked everyone when was the last time they drove by the Court house and saw people lined up outside. He answered his own question with, "Never". He continued by stating, “There is no lawsuit abuse”. Did Hight not realize the commercial is a metaphor, not a realistic portrayal? Does he know his assertion that he is a conservative begins to crumble with this kind of talk? People are tired of how much things cost because of lawsuit abuse! Shouldn’t Brashier be familiar enough with conservatism to ask about this and other departures from what conservatives believe?

Would Brashier have pointed out that Hight’s campaign finance report looks like few conservatives and that it is trial attorneys and PI firms who are contributing to him if Morefield had not brought it up? Hight's response was, "who better to pick the best judge...lawyers or people who don't know any better?" Could it be that lawyers are contributing to the Hight campaign because they all want Hight to remember their help when they appear before him? Hight has made it clear that he intends to seek retribution from people who support Morefield.

Hight in some of his comments sounded a great deal like some of the “rumors” that he denies are coming out of his campaign. Is that coincidence? Shouldn’t Vanessa Brashier ask about the rumors? If Hight continues to say he knows nothing about them, shouldn’t Brashier point out the amazing coincidences in his rhetoric?

Vanessa Brashier is not a watchdog. Some of the corruption that has been revealed publicly by officials has eventually been reported by Brashier, but Republicans have gotten as much negative from her as Democrats and until recently there had been no Republican officeholders for 100 years. Is that equal treatment? Is that a watchdog looking out for the community? Or is that a lap dog, Vaness. waiting to do what the powerful people in the courthouse tell you to do?

Let’s unchain Vanessa Brashier and Bill Buchanan from their roles as lapdogs and vote their masters out of office. Maybe then they will report these meetings more fairly and balanced.

LD Comment: We doubt either one of these profit motivated news outlets will ever do the right thing for the Republican Party...