Posted on 10/22/2009 10:26:16 AM PDT by markomalley
Under fire for its management of a wave of problems, the Obama administration has reached into its bag of tricks and pulled out a new bogeyman: Fox News.
Given the seriousness of the challenges our nation faces, the administration’s ploy to delegitimize Fox is nothing more than a distraction. On Sunday, the White House communications director charged that Fox is not a real “news network.” Why? Because the White House says so.
The administration repeatedly accuses Fox of lies and has urged the rest of the media not to treat it like a news organization. The White House is so angry that it has tried to “punish” the network by not doing any interviews on Fox at least until 2010.
This episode is about much more than just Fox News. Today, the administration’s target is Fox; tomorrow, it could be someone else. The administration apparently feels entitled to receive friendly (or what it subjectively deems “balanced”) news coverage at a time when it is making monumental decisions that will have sweeping consequences for years to come. Its heavy-handed treatment of Fox is unseemly in a democracy that depends on the free flow of information. Even commentators and journalists from other rival networks have expressed alarm.
(Excerpt) Read more at corner.nationalreview.com ...
I wish Cantor had such principle when it comes to the 23rd District of NY. He provided money and support to the RINO against Hoffman.
remember cantor voted for the bailout....
I have always had respect for the Office of the POTUS, but no longer as Obama has defiled it. It is an abomination.
I don’t see what the big deal about this is. President Bush and Vice President Cheney always said they only watch Fox News because it gave a better look on Republicans. Suddenly the Democrats are surprised that Fox News is a Republican channel. President Bush never wanted to watch CNN...VP Cheney never did either. Why is this a problem? The President should be able to watch the news that he likes. We make issues of some silly things.
Cantor is such a weak little puss, just like the rest of the GOP leadership.
But did Bush “punish” news outlets that didn’t report favorably on him? Did he ever say CNN was not a legitimate news organization because it wasn’t Republican? As I recall, he did interviews and took questions from reporters from many liberal news organizations.
That’s the difference.
The current question has to do with a most basic principle underlying liberty for individuals and the nation, for it is not a political squabble between equals. No matter how many viewers Fox has, it does not have the coercive power of the United States government available to it.
There is a truly principled argument to be made for the Founders' Constitution's protection of free speech and freedom of the press.
When one dimension of liberty is threatened, then all are at risk, and the blatant example of unconstitutional use of government power provided by this "battle" deserves a more competent argument than is currently being provided by either Fox or other "conservative" organizations.
It's time for a long overdue history and civics lessons, especially for the young! Tell them about why Thomas Jefferson, who was criticized by the press of his day, was so outspoken on the idea of a free press! Bet they've never heard it in school.
Claim a larger battleground--a battle of ideas. Contrast those ideas with those of dictatorships and totalitarian governments which have oppressed their citizens and controlled the marketplace of ideas by restricting the press!
Stop playing in the Administration's playpen. Force it onto an unfamiliar battleground where the ideas of liberty are presented versus the ideas of tyranny. Contrast the 200-year history of America with that of every totalitatian regime, and future generations will mark this as a turning point for freedom.
"Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it." --Thomas Jefferson to John Jay, 1786.
"No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press. It is, therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions."(Underlining added for emphasis) --Thomas Jefferson to John Tyler, 1804. ME 11:33
In 'Obamaworld' it's all about him so we're talking reign or dictatorship, not democracy and this sort of heavy-handed behavior is perfectly acceptable.
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