GOP Senate Candidate: I Earned my Money the Old-Fashioned Way: I Inherited It

This post originally appeared at Think Progress.

Following the death of Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) this summer, a special election was called to serve out the remainder of his term in the Senate. The November contest will pit Gov. Joe Manchin (D) against perennial candidate John Raese (R). Recent polling has shown a competitive race in the Mountain State.

Yesterday, Raese appeared on the Matt Lewis show, a conservative talk radio program. When Lewis asked Raese about his background and his life experience, Raese offered this straight-faced response:

LEWIS: Tell us a little bit about you and your business experience and how you got here.

RAESE: I made my money the old-fashioned way, I inherited it. I think that’s a great thing to do. I hope more people in this country have that opportunity as soon as we abolish inheritance tax in this country, which is a key part of my program.

Listen here:

Last year, all persons inheriting less than $3.5 million (99.75% of all Americans) were not affected by the estate tax. Apparently, Raese is also campaigning the old-fashioned way: catering to the ultra-rich.