Sunday's Post Gazette disappoints w/ puff pieces on GOP's Raja & Krancer

[Divernan]

We all bitterly remember how the Post-Gazette endorsed Tom Corbett for Governor. You'd have thought they'd have learned their lesson. But today's paper has two puff pieces raving about the GOP candidate for County Executive, and allowing everyone's favorite defiler of Pennsylvania, Michael Krancer, Secretary of the DEP, to trash the EPA and everyone else concerned with the impact of fracking.

Like a rock star, "Raja" goes by a single name. He is running against one other Republican in the primary election for County Executive. The PG did a profile piece on him in today's paper with not one single negative comment or quote from anyone about the guy. Now I well understand that the paper typically endorses one Republican over another in primaries, just as they do Democrats. But they also typically point out drawbacks for every candidate. Not for Raja.

You'd have thought, for instance, that the reporter might have noted that this guy got a bachelor's in engineering in his native Bangalore, India - known internationally as the Silicon Valley of India. So when Raja promises to encourage start up businesses in Pittsburgh, I understandably worry that he will then promptly outsource jobs of said companies to his hometown in India. He was not asked even ONE question about the impact of outsourcing jobs to India on Pittsburgh's economy/workforce.


Raja touts business experience in his bid for county executive
Sunday, May 08, 2011
By Kaitlynn Riely, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Lake Fong/Post-Gazette
D. Raja, Republican candidate for county executive.

In American political campaigns, a strong personal narrative can be a powerful asset.

And D. Raja, 45, who is running for Allegheny County executive, has a compelling one.

Born in Bangalore, India, he came to the United States for graduate school in 1986, then in the early 1990s started a custom software development company in the spare bedroom of his South Hills townhouse. Eighteen years later, CEI, now headquartered in an office building in Scott, is a thriving business, with 300 employees here, across the United States and in India.

Four years ago, Mr. Raja ran for and won a seat on the Mt. Lebanon commission, and last year, the Republican Party approached him about running for state representative. He said no, because he didn't think the position was a good fit for his background as a CEO.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11128/1144774-455.stm#ixzz1LmAe6QrJ

Then we come to the happy face piece on Krancer.

"New DEP chief Krancer deflects criticism"
This article gives some of the negative aspects of DEP's actions under Corbett, but there were no tough questions about the massive campaign contributions to Corbett from the drilling industry, or the fact the overwhelming majority of Marcellus Shale Commission members were big donors to Corbett, OR any questions about whether Krancer would approve adding public health representatives/physicians and academics to the commission. (The only academic presently on the commission is a guy who's brought millions from the gas industry into Penn State for pro-fracking research.)
In other words, this reporter provided some of the negative history, but failed to ask any tough questions in a face to face imterview.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11128/1145017-454-0.stm

Time to man up Post Gazette, you screwed the state enough by endorsing Corbett.