What an opportunity Newt missed. If he had said on stage “Brian Williams isn’t your boss. If you want to clap, cheer, boo, go ahead. You’re free people, you don’t owe Brian Williams your obedience”, He’d have wrapped up the nomination right there.
Agreed.
I’m in complete agreement.
If it hadn’t been for “the cheering in South Carolina”, Newt might not have turned things around so decisively in the short time he had to do so. Like it or not, it was those who _watched_ the debate, heard the cheering, and perhaps had their logic jostled by it, who went to the polls and made the difference.
Newt has stated his thoughts on this quite well — that is, the media has no monopoly on free speech and the ability to express it.
By controlling audience response, guys like Brian Williams (and the guys behind him) are trying to control the atmosphere and tenor of the arguments. It’s like the old “Outer Limits” intro — “sit quietly, and WE will control what you see and hear.”
Newt shouldn’t have said he’d skip the debates, though. He should wait until the issue comes up again -IN- one of the debates, and then use it right then and there as a “teachable moment of truth” before the audience that is watching. To wit, the response should be something like “No, Mr. Williams, I will not accede to your demands that the audience not respond to the candidates, because for too long Americans have been told to take what government gives them and keep quiet about it!”
If the mainstream media is so out-of-joint that a conservative candidate could rouse a debate audience into cheering during a broadcast, perhaps they should only have future debates in a studio with only cameras, moderators and WITHOUT an “audience”.
Otherwise, I’d tell ‘em right on camera to go to hell.
Folks, boo and cheer away!