Mean Mike Riley Demands Softballs from Dan Yorke

Just in case, after Mike Riley berated not only Jim Langevin during the WPRI debate but also the moderators several times too, you needed any additional evidence that this guy can’t get along with anyone he gave it to you on the Dan Yorke show yesterday.

Riley actually had the audacity to berate Yorke this time, the host of the radio show he was appearing on … and he did so for, among other reasons, not asking him softball questions!

“What you really should be asking me is how is Rhode Island going to do better, that’s your job,” he said to Yorke. “My job is to make Rhode Island do better.”

Yorke was asking Riley about an inconsistency between him saying in 2010 that he didn’t believe in money in politics but this time around he clearly does as he is prepared to invest more than a million dollars running for Congress. Riley dismissed the question and called it a “gotcha” question.

The two verbally spar right from the get go, but it gets really heated at about 11:22 in the podcast – when Yorke asked him about the video we dug up of his 2010 campaign for state Senate.

Riley also offered some insight as to why he developed such nasty and untrue attack ads against Langevin.

“I was actually so naive politically as to believe that my ideas would come out through the radio station or through newspapers,” he said when asked why he changed his philosophy about money in elections, “but that actually didn’t happen. I’ve learned a lot about politics.”

He also offered a little insight into what he thinks of the press, too.

“All this side story and all this stuff you hear in the media means nothing,” he said when Yorke asked him what message he wants listeners to take away about him. “What we really need to do is get Rhode Island back on track. And what you need someone to do is get someone in there and work on the economy.”

I’m pretty sure Rhode Islanders – as well as Americans everywhere – don’t think we need Wall Street hedge fund managers like Riley doing any more work on our economy.