Posted on 10/14/2006 9:18:11 AM PDT by Ol' Sparky
Fox News bans ad critical of Clinton
Tells 'Move America Forward' rebuttal to terror war claims won't be aired
Posted: October 14, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
A new television ad that is part of a campaign by the Move America Forward organization to counter ex-President Bill Clinton's recent assertions about his administration's efforts to combat Islamic terrorism has been rejected by Fox News.
"Fox News Channel told Move America Forward that they had decided under no circumstances would they allow the organization to broadcast the ad," Debra Argel Bastian, the group's military outreach coordinator, said.
A spokesman for Fox News told WND that the advertisement made a claim about Clinton that wasn't documented, so the ad wasn't accepted.
"That's standard operating procedure for Fox News," he said. "If there's something (like that) in an ad, we ask for documentation for it."
As WND reported, Clinton erupted several weeks ago in a televised interview on Fox when he was asked whether his administration had done all it could to capture or destroy Osama bin Laden.
Jabbing his finger at his interviewer he heatedly said that he had done more and gotten closer to destroying bin Laden than anyone else. That statement has since been contradicted by former CIA experts, who said Clinton probably missed at least eight opportunities for removing bin Laden from the terror war.
That was the issue, the Fox official said, that caused the rejection. Documentation about Clinton's knowledge of bin Laden's location during his presidency was required for that ad to air, he said.
"We asked for documentation to back up that claim, and the organization was not able to provide it," he told WND.
Move America Forward's television ad campaign is to explain its criticism of Clinton, and one of those ads shows a series of images of terror attacks on the U.S. and its interests.
Over the images of the terror attacks, a narrator says, "Terrorists want to kill us. They've tried over and over again. Our president didn't have his eye on the ball. He didn't make the war on terrorism his top priority. But enough about Bill Clinton. Today our troops are fighting the terrorist threat overseas so America may never face attacks on our soil again."
With the video moving through images of the military troops to George W. Bush, it continues: "We salute our commander in chief and the brave men and women of the U.S. military for defending our freedom."
And returning to an image of Clinton, it concludes: "Even though others failed to act."
The nation's largest pro-troop organization said the ad "counters former President Bill Clinton's recent assertions about his administration's effort to combat Islamic terrorism."
The group noted the popular video-posting site YouTube recently had imposed a restriction on anyone wanting to watch a video critical of Clinton that was from Hollywood producer David Zucker.
"Now, Fox News Channel has decided to prohibit the airing of a new television commercial that is equally critical of President Clinton's efforts – or lack thereof – to fight terrorism," Bastian said.
"But the decision by Fox is most surprising given the fact that two networks considered to be more liberal in their news perspectives, CNN and Headline News, had approved the ad," she said.
An e-mail request to CNN for a comment did not produce an immediate response.
The ad in dispute can be seen at the group's website, or via YouTube.
Move America Forward said it has been broadcasting ads on the Fox News Channel for two years and was "stunned" by the prohibition on its new product.
Bastian, a Gold Star Mother whose son Derek Argel died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, expressed her disappointment.
"I urge them to reverse this regrettable decision. I do not understand why they think this message should not be allowed to be broadcast to the American people. The ad is completely truthful and it is also patriotic. Is there something wrong with either of those attributes?" she asked.
The decision on the advertisement also may be part of a larger issue: whether Fox's parent company, News Corporation, and founder Rupert Murdoch, are taking steps to realign their political position.
Fox recently had invited Clinton to appear on television to discuss the Clinton Global Initiative, and New York magazine recently ran a story, "Rupert Murdoch F.O.B. (and Hillary)" which reported that its "source" talked of further expansion of Murdoch's involvement with the Clintons as Hillary Clinton's Senate re-election campaign draws to a close in a few weeks.
"The incongruous Murdoch-Clinton romance, which has been hot for the past year or so, shows no sign of cooling down," the magazine said.
The New York Daily News also had noted that Murdoch hosted a fundraiser for the New York senator.
Reuters, too, has reported that Murdoch has been praising Clinton "as an effective leader.">P>
Move America Forward notes that Clinton initially was supportive of the war in Iraq. Earlier television ads produced by the group actually praised him for joining the war on terror.
Last year, Move America Forward spearheaded a TV ad campaign targeting the United Nations.
The Gold Star program was launched to honor parents who have lost children in the war on terror.
Political ads always have undocumented claims. It's called the first amendment.
Confidential to MAF, consider that a positive message - provide the documentation and you have Fox over a barrel. That is not an unreasonable position for a network to take: show us the proof. Of course, it means that there should be a lot of chirping crickets when it comes to the RAT ads; we'll see if the standard is equally applied. It is not a standard to be feared.
Since when did all the trash in ads have documented claims about President Bush in the 2004 election????? Political ads always have undocumented claims. Why is this now being refused???
I guess they need to change their slogan to 'Fair and Balanced, to the left' now.
The First Amendment lets anyone make undocumented claims, true. It DOES NOT, however, force the owner of the megaphone you desire to use to indulge any libel, not does it shield the speaker from the consequences of his or her speech. The latter is something most of the screaming left (e.g. the Chicksies) fail to understand. As long as the proof standard is applied without bias, it is nothing to fear. If the speaker doesn't like it, let him or her buy their own megaphone.
Hey, Fox already has a lock on the Conservative/ Libertarian audience…the only prospects they have for any growth is to start peeling off the Libs…obviously not without cost to their base…but when you consider a viewer's options, Fox seems confident you'll be back like a bad rash.
Exactly!
But .. I wonder who's going to check their other ads that have false claims against repubs .. I don't see those ads being pulled.
How about if we remind FOX of that each time they run an ad which has "false" claims - "unproven" claims about a repub ..??
I love zinging them .. they think they're the be all, end all of news .. and I've seen them lean more and more to the left .. like hiring Martin Frost - who sent his aide into Tom DeLay's office TO STEAL TOM'S REDISTRICTING MAP - and that's not a false claim - THE GUY WAS CAUGHT ON VIDEO DOING THE DIRTY ACT. Still Fox hires somebody like that ..?? Amazing!
I also wonder if FOX is just trying to bury the Clinton issue altogether. The funny part is .. it makes them look like they're leaning left when they might not mean to.
Sounds like Hitlery has some FBI files on Rupert........
Why would anyone tune in, just to get "LeftOvers"!
Left, Rateings, Droppings, DNC propoganda, ChiCom P3WNED!
Fox News is fast becoming Faux News!
President Bush spoke to every major network during the 9/11 anniversary - more than once on some, except ... . Did you see their ratings lately?
He only cares about being invited to fancy parties, and to be liked by the party in charge.
The Clinton's are bulletproof as usual. From Hillary with scripted questions and situations to the almighty Bill running fast and loose with the truth and his "used car salesman" routine. I have never seen two grifters so protected by the media and both sides of the aisle when they needed to be confronted instead.
How about this for an ad:
My grandmother (rest her soul) said, "Never trust a man who cheats on his wife and never trust a wife who tolerates a cheating man."
Fricking FOX. Time for FR to launch its own 24-hour conservative news and variety channel.
In other words, trust no one.
???
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.