Posted on 09/15/2004 11:39:33 PM PDT by kattracks
September 16, 2004 -- WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders yesterday put the kibosh on demands from a powerful House Republican for a probe into "evidence that CBS News has aided and abetted fraud" by peddling suspect documents critical of President Bush.Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, sought the investigation "given the shortness of the time between now and the election, which the apparent fraud is meant to influence."
He complained the network has declined to give the source of the documents.
But fellow Republican Joe Barton (Texas) rebuffed Cox's demand, saying an investigation "hardly seems appropriate or necessary."
Barton, who heads the House panel that oversees the telecommunications industry, said the court of public opinion will issue the best verdict.
"I do not personally believe these documents are legitimate, and it seems clear that the press and the two presidential campaigns are properly dealing with that issue," Barton said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
What about the FCC?
CBS's behavior increasingly makes them look worse. The wide consensus now is that the docs are fake, and the talking head actvity is "what is CBS doing?"
I know I know.... to many it is obvious, but do you realize how many people don't have cable or internet access? Many folks BELIEVE this crap! And they vote.
I think we can trust at this point that the Old Media will be hastened to irrelevance sooner because of Rathergate. (Someone teach me how to make the "th" superscripted.) But this stopped being about Dan Rather a while ago. A somewhat major news agency, operating on airwaves you and I own, has attempted to throw an election for the office of President. While at war. Economic punishment isn't enough. The people who did this need to go to jail, not just retire with their reputations in tact with their elite liberal pals.
I guess he's right, the maindream media is showing its true colors and even ignorant people can see that. Rather will go down in history as being the liberal bias slanted puppet that he is.
Well, he has a point there.
It sure would be nice however to see the fear of God in the eyes of those elitist MSM people who consider themselves the 4th branch.
That would at least make them think (term used loosely for some of them) twice before promoting shenanigans which could have an effect on our country which could cause change to be felt for decades to come.
Major newspapers have reported this story, and the other networks have not been kind to their pals at CBS.
Many folks do beleive this - looking at the polls, it seems that number is around 25-30%. They are in the 'hopeless' category, anyway.
The media is doing a good job with this story. If you have any doubts, catch the last 20 mins of Brit Hume on Fox, and watch Juan Williams try to make sense out of it - he looks rediculous. That is how most of the CBS apologists look.
Don't sweat it and stay on topic.
As it is, all the heels are spinning nicely in the wind. Let them continue.
I have noticed that around these parts, in the local coffee shop people just aren't talking about it anymore. I think people are getting sick and tired of the Democrats and their dirty politics, and Kerry not releasing his files and avoiding the questions. I think minds are already made up. Bush is the only one actually talking about real issues, kerry has nothing to offer that makes any sense.
...they accuse the President of committing a crime, disobeying a direct order - UCMJ...
...then they accuse him of dishonorable conduct, failing to show up for his duties...
...then they accuse him of destroying Nat Guard records to cover it all up...
...this forgery is a very serious crime and CBS may be complicite in this case...
Could someone please explain the legal, moral, and ethical differences between this and the Watergate investigation. Why wouldn't this warrant a congressional investigation? This was an obvious attempt to subvert and malign the President of the United States at a time of war. The fraud they attempted to perpetrate on the American people could very well undermine and change the outcome of the war in Iraq, subsequently costing the lives of service men and innocent Iraqi citizens.
To me this in not merely about the partisanship, bias, fraud and incompetence of Dan Rather and CBS, but it is also about subverting American president and subsequently our military in a time of war. In my humble opinion, this is far worse than anything Richard Nixon did, and President Nixon was humiliated and disgraced by the righteously indignant media to the point of resignation. There were hearings after hearings after hearings about Watergate. Where is the righteous indignation of the MSM today. The best we can get out of them about these forgeries is statements like "alleged" forgeries or "seemingly" forgeries, but no one is calling for congressional hearings or demanding CBS reveal its' sources.
If Congress had gotten involved the left and media would ignite and claim this was the White House censoring it's critics.
Didn't you get the memo? Those laws are for us little people. Dan Rather and his co-conspirators at the CBS network can engage in massive fraud to influence the outcome of a national election and they get a pass. But if you or I stand within 100 feet of a polling place with a sign telling people to vote for Bush, federal agents whisk us away to Leavenworth. Welcome to the two-tiered system!
The FCC has the power to take all the O&O CBS stations away from CBS. The surpreme court in the Red Lion VS FCC case ruled that the FCC has the power to take a companies station licenses away for failure to present both sides of a controversial issue. It apears that CBS is guilty of the same violation that of which Red Lion Broadcasting is guilty.
Congress can expose but can not fine or punish a company or a person. The FCC can, if they wish, Destroy CBS and Dan Rather.
I would much "Rather" the FCC take the case "Rather" than congress.
We can always freep Barton and let him know that charges should come- eventualy.
Even if you thought otherwise, though, notice that it would be a giant mistake for the Congress to do this on political grounds alone. The last thing the Republicans need is for CBS to be object of sympathy, so that the *other* news agencies who are savaging Rather so gleefully rally to his defense.
I would be amazed and delighted if the FCC took any substantive action on complaint against CBS, anything beyond a piddly 2 million fine and a "stern admonition." To do more than that would require someone with balls and I don't think anyone of that description is currently sitting on that commission.
You have a good point there, Tator Freep the Fcc!
There are federal laws against a network grossly violating its compulsory public interest obligation while operating under a federally granted broadcasting license. The laws are meaningless because they're essentially never enforced. But they're still the law and if the feds were doing the job we pay them to do, they would enforce the law.
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