Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

About That Campaign to Censor Trump's Comedy Show
Townhall.com ^ | October 30, 2015 | Brent Bozell

Posted on 10/30/2015 7:45:41 AM PDT by Kaslin

Weeks after NBC granted Hillary Clinton the favor of appearing on "Saturday Night Live," playing a bartender to the actress who impersonates her on the comedy show, the same leftist activists who adored that routine are trying to prevent Donald Trump from hosting the show on Nov. 7.

A group called "The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda" has written a letter to NBC objecting to the booking. MoveOn.org has organized a "Dump Donald Trump" petition drive with hundreds of thousands of leftist signatures. Another petition on Change.org also drew a leftist throng through social media, aided by the hashtag RacismIsntFunny.

The Hypocrisy Caucus in Congress has joined the fray. Rep. Luis Gutierrez took to the House floor to compare Trump to all kinds of racists and "homophobes," saying those people should always be censored or canceled. "You don't deserve, right, to get aired on a program. And people have lost their programs. TV networks and the American public has [sic] said, 'You know what? You're too extreme for us.'"

NPR television critic Eric Deggans openly agreed with Gutierrez on national radio and objected that a "bigot" like Trump would be welcomed by NBC after the network dumped his Miss USA pageant. He lamented the invitation as a failure of NBC to hire enough Latino staffers to lobby internally against it.

"It's hard to imagine [executive producer Lorne] Michaels forcing star Kate McKinnon, who is gay, to perform alongside a guest host with a history of making bigoted statements about gay people," Deggans editorialized. "Or pushing black cast members like Kenan Thompson to yuk it up alongside a celebrity guest who had expressed bigotry about African-Americans."

Even Obama's Federal Communications Commission has gotten into the act, implying that Trump's hosting could violate their "equal time" rules for candidates. "The rules are pretty clear. Rules are rules," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told reporters on Oct. 22. "I hope that we have developed a reputation as folks who enforce the rules."

Donald Trump is such a threat he merits federal intervention. Where is the laugh track, if not a bucket of rotten tomatoes? This is the same Obama FCC that runs for the tall grass rather than enforce existing federal law forbidding profanity on broadcast TV. This is an FCC that regularly ignores the petitions of millions of parents - but suddenly is wracked with worry because a couple of leftist groups snap their fingers.

FCC watchers easily admit that equal-time rulings are rarely requested by presidential candidates, and for what? To ensure that all 17 Republican contenders get to host "Saturday Night Live"? Wheeler is merely pushing NBC to back out on Trump. Over the years, the biggest effect of "equal time" agitation has been to convince stations to avoid any headaches by leaving out all the candidates.

These "equal time" rules do not apply to news programming, which is where the vast majority of candidate air time is logged. So you can demand equal comedy time, but not equal substantive time.

Don't you just love liberalism?

Lawrence Lessig, a radical Harvard law professor running a quixotic presidential campaign to draw attention to the notion that Big Money is ruining politics, has already filed requests with a pile of NBC affiliates demanding he receive 3 minutes and 12 seconds of local air time to match the length of Hillary's Clinton's skit on "SNL." Lessig wants that time for a socialist lecture, not to play a bartender like Clinton did. MoveOn.org, Rep. Gutierrez, et al -- where are you now?

It's not likely that NBC will dump Trump, but the effort displays all the usual liberal "free speech for me, but not for thee" hypocrisy. NBC knows it would be buried by public outrage were it to cancel Trump. But make no mistake: They'd cancel him in a New York minute if they felt they could get away with it.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Mexico; Politics/Elections; US: California; US: Illinois; US: New York; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: 2016election; california; censoship; defundnpr; defundpbs; donaldtrump; drivebymedia; election2016; elections; embarcadero; ericdeggans; fcc; franciscosanchez; harvard; illinois; jorgeramos; katemckinnon; kathrynsteinle; lawrencelessig; lornemichaels; luisgutierrez; mexico; nbc; newyork; newyorkcity; sanfrancisco; saturdaynightlive; saturdaynightvile; snl; stumpfortrump; stumpfortrumpgirls; texas; tomwheeler; trump; univision

1 posted on 10/30/2015 7:45:41 AM PDT by Kaslin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

The majority of legal Americans agree with Trump!


2 posted on 10/30/2015 7:56:04 AM PDT by PATRIOT1876 (The only crimes that are 100% preventable are those committed by illegal aliens)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

“They’d cancel him in a New York minute if they felt they could get away with it.”

Would they? Surely NBC must have anticipated this reaction. They want the ratings and revenue.


3 posted on 10/30/2015 8:06:51 AM PDT by Rennes Templar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

After having Hillary, they cannot have any ground with anyone with an IQ over 2 to say Trump cannot!

And what is what this casual statements that Trump has said “racist” stuff, and not even trying to provide this thing called AN EXAMPLE?

He has hosted a top-rated show on NBC for years, and they are telling (lying) that NBC just never heard these statements?

These people are hitting a line where Trump will not hesitate to use his army of lawyers to bury these freaks.


4 posted on 10/30/2015 8:09:17 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

bfl


5 posted on 10/30/2015 8:10:10 AM PDT by TEXOKIE (We must surrender only to our Holy God and never to the evil that has befallen us.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

They’ll use the immigration issue as a skit, you watch, or not.


6 posted on 10/30/2015 8:11:07 AM PDT by huldah1776
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: VanDeKoik
N-i-c-e rant.

Trump will not hesitate to use his army of lawyers to bury these freaks. After SNL starred candidate Hillary, they don't have any legal grounds to deny Trump air-time. Only those with an IQ over 2 say Trump cannot!

I wish Donald would figure out a way to silence dumbhead Gutierrez. Everytime he opens his yap, he spews nothing but hate-filled invective. How this know-nothing got into Congress, I'll never know...but massive voter fraud does come to mind.

7 posted on 10/30/2015 8:23:24 AM PDT by Liz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

This is a “Tails I win heads you lose” in favor of Trump. If he goes on he shows he won’t back down or be intimated by La Raza if they cancel him he uses it as a “bloody shirt” to rally against liberal bias and La Raza.


8 posted on 10/30/2015 9:10:26 AM PDT by jmaroneps37 (Conservatism is truth. Liberalism is lies.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

I don’t use Twitter; but has anybody started a #HillaryLies? or if that is too personal, how about #JailForLiars?


9 posted on 10/30/2015 9:16:30 AM PDT by NTHockey (Rules of engagement #1: Take no prisoners. And to the NSA trolls, FU)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Rennes Templar

I will truly be interesting to see what the ratings will be. As Trump has said many times :”It’s a ratings game.”And Trump knows this game better than anyone. This is his game.


10 posted on 10/30/2015 9:37:39 AM PDT by GilGil
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Rennes Templar

Of course they do. Think they aren’t pleased as punch right now.

Trump’s appearance will garner the program it’s best ratings in two decades, maybe by two or three times.


11 posted on 10/30/2015 11:10:18 AM PDT by DoughtyOne (It's beginning to look like "Morning in America" again. Comment on YouTube under Trump Free Ride.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
TV networks and the American public has [sic] said, 'You know what? You're too extreme for us.'"

If that were true, then nobody would watch Trump, he'd get no ratings, no network would want to air him, and the "problem" would be solved, now, wouldn't it?

12 posted on 10/30/2015 11:46:33 AM PDT by Nea Wood
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

"Death to America!"


13 posted on 10/30/2015 1:57:42 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Rennes Templar; Kaslin; DoughtyOne

All about the money.


14 posted on 10/30/2015 2:10:09 PM PDT by ColdOne (I miss my poochie... Tasha 2000~3/14/11 HillaryForPrison2016)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: VanDeKoik

Trump will cut off the federal money supplies of many of these bogus agitator groups. Hehehehehe


15 posted on 10/30/2015 7:45:11 PM PDT by cradle of freedom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson