Eric Hovde, the Wisconsin Republican who said that the media devotes too much attention to people who can't get food stamps, isn't backing off his comments. Instead, the Senate candidate doubled down:



In a Monday afternoon interview with Hotline On Call, Hovde defended his comments, saying there is a dearth of stories on food stamp fraud and fraud in the Medicare/Medicaid system. "Poverty in America is vastly different than poverty in most of the world," Hovde added. "And we have multiple safety nets and multiple programs that are taking care of people, and yet that is where the press almost always invariably goes."

Here's a guy who's rich enough to put the money into advertising that it takes to make himself a credible Senate candidate, whining about how much attention the media gives poor people, and insisting that said media should be talking about fraud in the safety net programs, not about the gaping holes in the net or about the people who fall through those holes.

But fine, let's talk about fraud. There's a dearth of stories on food stamp fraud because there's a dearth of food stamp fraud—the error rate is less than 3 percent for overpayments. As for Medicaid and Medicare fraud, I'm all for seeing more stories about the likes of the private equity-owned dental clinics giving kids unnecessary orthodontia, pulpotomies, and other painful dental procedures for Medicaid dollars. Eric Hovde runs a private equity firm, by the way, though his campaign page bio doesn't exactly mention that. Or we could talk about Florida Gov. Rick Scott, whose hospital chain engaged in Medicare fraud so extensive it led to the largest fraud settlement in U.S. history and who went on to use his wealth to buy his way into office just like Hovde is trying to do. The Wisconsin media absolutely should ask Hovde all about stories like that, since he's so passionate about the issue. But reporters should also take a good hard look at how his claims about fraud and the "multiple safety nets" poor Wisconsinites benefit from match up with reality.