For Latino Guv "Judas" Has More Legs than "Candidate"

Haussamen's analysis on the Big Bill's Obama endorsement over at NM Politics isn't horrible. One thing it points out is Richardson has been in the press a lot these last few weeks when his endorsement caused James Carville to blow a gasket and call the Guv Judas, just when it seemed like the Guv was irrelevant.

The popular online research engine Nexis/Lexis found 62 stories (GoogleNews brought back 279) using the search terms "Bill Richardson" and "Judas".

Mediaaccuracy.org's analysis of the Democratic Primary adds to the discussion.

Perpetuating Racial Divides: Media Coverage of the Democratic Party Nominees and the Latino Vote

While mainstream media have covered candidates’ pursuit of the Latino vote, the mostly white pundits on MSNBC, CNN, and other networks now articulate a narrative that sows racial division by explaining Obama’s lower Latino vote percentages as evidence of racial division and tensions between African Americans and Latinos.

The 2008 election has made history with the racial and gender diversity of the Democratic Party’s presidential candidates: a white woman, Hillary Rodham Clinton; an African American man, Barack Obama; and a Latino man, Bill Richardson. From the beginning, the media have promoted a two-person contest between Clinton and Obama, virtually excluding all other candidates.

...Coverage of Richardson’s campaign reflects how the mainstream media generally cover Latinos and issues affecting Latino communities: They ignore them. The 2006 "Network Brownout Report" of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists reports that less than 1% of the national newscasts discuss Latinos, and when they do, most of the coverage is negative and revolves around crime and “illegal immigration.”

...Meanwhile the mainstream media also fail to note the many examples of Latino voters supporting African American candidates in past elections. During the 1988 presidential primary season, for example, Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition won a majority of the vote in Latino enclaves in New Mexico and a substantial minority of the vote in Latino enclaves in California.

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This post is far from a defense of Richardson, most know we've had more disagreements than agreements with the Guv over the years. Just more evidence that a movement for media justice and vigilance are essential if all social movements are to expand the public debate in the service of democracy, equality and justice.