Geraldo Rivera asked Fox News colleague Karl Rove when he would “start vetting me” as a U.S. Senate candidate through Rove's recently formed political group during an interview on Rivera's radio program. Rove replied that he would when Rivera gets “serious about being a candidate” and that it's “not enough to just talk about it, you've got to file a committee and go raise money.”
Both Rivera and Rove have been using their Fox News platforms to further their respective political interests. Rivera has said that he's seriously considering a run for the U.S. Senate from New Jersey and will continue to appear on Fox News to “hone a message” until “it's no longer legal” to do so (a move that has drawn criticism from media ethicists).
Rove, meanwhile, has used his Fox News platform to push the interests of his group American Crossroads, which recently launched the Conservative Victory Project. The New York Times reports that the group will work “to recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts.”
Rove's project has come under heavy fire from conservative pundits, including Fox News contributors, for favoring the Republican establishment over conservative principles. Rivera defended Rove, stating: “I agree with you that the Republican Party has to be a lot more open-minded and not nearly as rigidly ideological and has to stop killing themselves in the primaries.” He later added that he hopes “the GOP heeds your advice, which is stellar as usual.” Rivera recently wrote in a Fox News Latino column that he's a Republican but “voted for Obama/Biden” because of abortion, immigration reform, and marriage equality.
From the February 8 edition of Cumulus Media Networks' Geraldo:
RIVERA: My guest is Karl Rove. When are you going to start vetting me in New Jersey?
ROVE: When you get serious about being a candidate --
[crosstalk]
RIVERA: I have to be careful what I say. I'm seriously contemplating --
ROVE: -- not enough to just talk about it, you've got to file a committee and go raise money.
RIVERA: Ah, well, you know, I'm thinking about a lot of things but I agree with you that the Republican Party has to be a lot more open-minded and not nearly as rigidly ideological and has to stop killing themselves in the primaries and thinking about who's electable and who's not.
Later during the program, Fox News host Mike Huckabee told Rivera that despite their differences on issues, he wouldn't campaign against him if he ran for Senate because he's closer to him on issues than a Democrat would be: