"Crunch time" for the Moobats re: ABC's Path to 911

Email f rom the DNC | Sept 8, 2006 | Tom McMahon

[Jim Robinson]

Dear Jim,

This is it: crunch time for getting the slanderous ABC television docudrama "The Path to 9/11" yanked off the air. The network schedule has this slanderous attack on Democrats slated to start on Sunday night, September 10, at 8 o'clock -- and as long as it stays on the schedule, we have work to do. Take a minute right now and tell Disney president Robert Iger to keep this right-wing propaganda off our airwaves:

http://www.democrats.org/pathto911

Here's the good news: the suits at ABC and the Walt Disney Company have started panicking under pressure, thanks to your ferocious response to the outrageous decision to put this irresponsible miniseries on the air. But until Disney quits defending its plan to broadcast conservative propaganda -- fraudulently presented to Americans as "based on the 9/11 Commission Report" -- the company should plan to keep taking every bit of heat we dish out.

Here's a quick catch-up on developments over the last 48 hours:

* President Clinton, through his attorney, rebuked ABC for producing a "factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate" miniseries -- and walked the network through three make-believe scenes in the "the Path to 9/11" that defame people and misrepresent events during his administration.

* Clinton's spokesman later stepped up the pressure, condemning Disney as "despicable" for "airing a fictional version of what is a serious and emotional event for our country. No reputable organization," he said, "should dramatize 9-11 for a profit at the expense of the truth."

* The families of September 11 victims have weighed in on the controversy, telling "entertainers" not to "promote misleading or incorrect information as fact to the public."

* House and Senate Democratic leaders hammered Disney president and CEO Robert Iger, in letters that questioned the company's commitment to its "reputation ... as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress."

* Scholastic has pulled teaching materials off its website and has scrambled to adopt a plan to help teachers show students "the differences between factual reporting and a dramatization," but is still encouraging teachers to show their students this propaganda.

We should all be deeply concerned and disappointed that ABC would air a film that has been proven to have factual inaccuracies about one of the most important events in our nation's history. It's particularly disturbing given that the producer of the piece is a well known conservative. It's incomprehensible how something like this could even get on the air.

In a few hours, we deliver letters from over 150,000 outraged Democrats to ABC's front doorstep. You still have time to make your feelings known. Join the thousands standing up for President Clinton and our party -- tell Disney president Robert Iger to keep ABC's right-wing propaganda off our airwaves:

http://www.democrats.org/pathto911

Thank you, Tom

Tom McMahon Executive Director Democratic National Committee

>>> "Tom McMahon, Democratic Party" 9/6/2006 5:53 pm >>>

Dear Jim,

Does a major national broadcast network want to stain itself by presenting an irresponsible, slanderous, fraudulent, "docu-drama" to the American public?

Not if you and I have the last word -- but either way, we're about to find out.

The ABC television network -- a cog in the Walt Disney empire -- unleashed a promotional blitz in the last week for a new "docudrama" called "The Path to 9/11". ABC has thrown its corporate might behind the two-night production, and bills it as a public service: a TV event, to quote the ABC tagline, "based on the 9/11 Commission Report".

That's false. "The Path to 9/11" is actually a bald-faced attempt to slander Democrats and revise history right before Americans vote in a major election.

The miniseries, which was put together by right-wing conservative writers, relies on the old GOP playbook of using terrorism to scare Americans. "The Path to 9/11" mocks the truth and dishonors the memory of 9/11 victims to serve a cheap, callous political agenda. It irresponsibly misrepresents the facts and completely distorts the truth.

ABC/Disney executives need to hear from the public and understand that their abuse of the public trust comes with a cost. Tell Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger to keep this right-wing propaganda off the air -- we'll deliver your message:

http://www.democrats.org/pathto911

This story is breaking quickly. The bias of the "docudrama" only became known when ABC began circulating previews recently. Less than two weeks ago, 9/11 Commission member Richard Ben-Veniste confronted a lead writer of "The Path to 9/11" after watching the first half of the miniseries at a screening, but most of what we know amounts to bits and pieces because ABC chose to screen the miniseries to conservative bloggers and right-wing media outlets exclusively. Almost none of the Democrats portrayed in the film have even been asked for their thoughts.

But we still know enough, thanks to news accounts and crack research, to fact check "The Path to 9/11" as a biased, irresponsible mess. Here's what you need to know:

* Richard Clarke -- the counterterrorism czar for the Clinton administration, now himself a consultant to ABC News -- describes a key scene in "The Path to 9/11" as "180 degrees from what happened." In the scene, a CIA field agent places a phone call to get the go ahead to kill Osama Bin Laden, then in his sights, only to have a senior Clinton administration official refuse and hang up the phone. Sandy Berger, President Clinton's National Security Advisor, called the same scene "a total fabrication. It did not happen." And Roger Cressey, a top Bush and Clinton counterterrorism official, said it was "something straight out of Disney and fantasyland. It's factually wrong. And that's shameful."

* Another scene revives the old right-wing myth that press reporting made it impossible to track Osama bin Laden, accusing the Washington Post of blowing the secret that American intelligence tracked his satellite phone calls. In reality, responsibility for that blunder -- contrary to "The Path to 9/11" -- rests with none other than the arch-conservative Washington Times.

* The former National Security Council head of counterterrorism says that President Clinton "approved every request made of him by the CIA and the U.S. military involving using force against bin Laden and al-Qaeda," and the 9/11 report says the CIA had full authority from President Clinton to strike Bin Laden. Yet chief "Path to 9/11" scriptwriter Cyrus Nowrasteh, a friend of Rush Limbaugh, says the miniseries shows how President Clinton had "frequent opportunities in the '90s to stop Bin Laden in his tracks -- but lacked the will to do so."

* ABC asked only the Republican co-chair of the 9/11 Commission, Tom Kean, Sr., to advise the makers of "The Path to 9/11". The producers optioned two books, one written by a Bush administration political appointee, as the basis of the screenplay -- yet bill the miniseries as "based on the 9/11 Commission Report."

This is a picture of bias -- a conservative attempt to rewrite the history of September 11 to blame Democrats, just in time for the election.

Tell Walt Disney president Robert Iger that you hold his company responsible -- and that this community demands that ABC tell the truth:

http://www.democrats.org/pathto911

ABC is trying to use of the airwaves -- airwaves owned by you and me, and loaned to broadcasters as a public trust -- to slander Democrats and sell a slanderous, irresponsible fraud to the American people, and they're shamefully doing it just weeks away from Election Day.

The Walt Disney Corporation could have given Americans an honest look at September 11. Instead, the company abandoned its duty to the truth -- and embraced the fiction known as "The Path to 9/11."

But ABC isn't the only company pushing this gross revision of history. ABC has enlisted the reputable education and children's entertainment company Scholastic, Inc. to send 100,000 letters to high school teachers, urging them to show students "The Path to 9/11". Scholastic has also created a discussion guide for teachers to use to encourage students and their families to watch this irresponsible fraud and then discuss it in school. The discussion guide does not in any way point out the concerns and criticisms that have been raised about the validity and accuracy of the film.

We've got to stop this now.

ABC/Disney must face an accountability moment. You can ratchet up the pressure on ABC by sending your own letter to Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger -- tell him to keep this propaganda off their air.

http://www.democrats.org/pathto911

We'll keep you up to date as this story evolves.

Thank you, Tom

Tom McMahon Executive Director Democratic National Committee

[Gator113]

Well said.... and thank you for the memories.

[pollyannaish]

I would agree with you if they didn't get caught in this same kind of trap over and over and over. It's almost more predictable than the sun rising.

[Constitution1st]

Yes they are, and the problem is that the world has already sen the clips that they want removed from the movie! The political idiocy of this move is astounding!

Fox News has been playing the clips repeatedly for two days; everyone in the press is writing about this farce, and it has flooded the internet.

What fools these mortals be!

[uncbob]

This is also a warning shot at the other networks. Notice how quiet they've been.

Anybody think MAJORITY leader Frist will make a speech in the senate castigating MINORITY leader Reid for having the audacity to threaten ABC and branding it as Fascistic

[uncbob]

Man, if they're pulling out Richard Clarke as someone who knows the real truth, they are panicing big time.

From what I have read the show makes him look like a hero type
How accurate is that ?

Tommy Franks said he wasn't even in the loop

[Shelayne]

I just heard a caller on Hugh Hewitt's show called Bob Iger's office directly. He was put right through to his voicemail. He left a positive message, telling him to please stand his ground, that the First Amendment protects him.

E-mails are a dime a dozen, maybe the phone call IS the way to go. I am hesitant to put the phone number here, as there may be nutters that do not have it. Should I list it or do it by FReepmail?

I am not exactly certain how I should handle this on FR. What do you all think?

[Ouderkirk]

Liberals will always keep one of their own flush with cash. Just look at Schrillary, what has she done as a Senator....absolutely nothing. Yet she'll be re-elected in spades, and will probably run for President. Why? just what has she done at any time in her miserable life to justify this.

Think about the cattle futures deal. It's not like she was so smart that she could turn $1000 into $100,000. It was a payoff to keep her on the reservation, and look the other way at Slick's many indescretions. The Senator thing was a payoff for her not going off the reservation with the Blue dress.

Bill's intellect could fill a thimble, but the liberal establishment won't let him A) go to jail B) end up poor.

[oceanview]

I thought this story was still "hot", it seems to have waned alot on FR since yesterday.

and you are correct - the republicans won't say a word about this.

[longtermmemmory]

This shows how much they still control.

If Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday can unilaterally order a boycott of the story for this sunday.

The fact the Democrat party tendrils extend this far into the MSM that OUT OF OFFICE clintonistas can exert such "access" pressure (obey or we cut you off from reporting about us) is truly perverted and disgusting.

[BigSkyFreeper]

BTTT!

[beyond the sea]

The Democrats did control what the public knew and learned. Their control has been getting less and less. ............ Please do not believe that. ............ What?

Please don't believe that the Democrats/old media are losing their power or control. Sure, their numbers are going down as newspapers lose readership and the nightly old media newscasts are dying. But they are getting their lying message out very much the same, maybe even stronger, but in somewhat different ways.

Shows like Letterman and Leno, and Stewart's fill the young heads with constant anti-conservative jokes and propaganda. The advertising and the entertainment business in general do the same. And the old Dem/liberal media just lies more blatantly now. Look at the three years of destruction of the image of the honesty of the Bush administration from this bullsh*t investigation, Plamgate.

No, the Dems/liberal media still have GREAT CONTROL (I prefer to use the word "effect") over public opinion!

How do you explain the huge numbers of the general public who think that the economy is poor when it is actually pretty good? Answer: the constant drumbeat of negative stories by the media -- constant outright lies.

So.............. don't believe what you wrote. It's dead wrong.

I wish you were right, I've been watching and studying the media for around 45 years .

The old media is still a very effective monster.

****

The socialist/marxist/liberal media is the most destructive, relentless, and ruthless enemy of this Republic.

****

I hope that answers your question.

[MaineVoter2002]

Re: http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=22477_Path_to_9-11_Web_Address_Hijacked&only


That's terrible what they are doing!

[PJ-Comix]

I'm thinking that ABC will still air this movie because of RATINGS. The ratings for this TV movie would definitely be thru the roof. ABC can't resist something like that no matter the whining of the Democrats.

[nopardons]

bttt

[Lib-Lickers 2]

Dear Jim,

This is it: crunch time

LMAO

by God don't ever mention the flat out facts that Clinton screwed the pooch everyway but loose on getting bin Laden and taking terrorism seriously and it is those facts that ABC is wanting it's audience to know

ABC doesn't seem to get it, it's only the Bush administration who has done wrong, didn't Disney get the memo?

[Pajamajan]

"Why aren't Republican's SCREAMING BLOODY MARY about the letter that THREATENED ABC'S LICENSE!!"

Good question. And, why aren't Republican's reminding the public about Sandy Berger's STEALING OF TOP SECRET DOCUMENTS from the National archives, and his supposed "loss" of some of them, and his possible "editing" of others-Directly related to the rats near hysterical reaction to a TV show- IMO-i.e. What are they trying to hide?.

If the dems want to raise such a fuss over this-let's have an investigation into the previous administrations roll in 9/11 as a mattter of public service. The people have a right to know what happened.

HELLOOOOO! WAKE UP AMERICA!

[Yaelle]

I like the way they want to look at an "honest" picture of 9/11. But to start only ON 9/11. HELLOOO! The film is called the PATH to 9/11! And I can tell you this much: the path was not only 8 months long! Do they really think that Muslim terrorism began in late January 2001??

[Yaelle]

The show has to be at least as accurate as the CBS news story about Bush's Air National Guard service

Touche!

[Beckwith]

If one's point of view is that it would be a victory for the dhimmicrats to cause the cancellation or cutting of the Path to 9/11 film, then the dhimmicrats have clearly won.

The Clinton's and their apparatchiks have successfully demonstrated how political power can be applied to censor the filmmaker and Disney to edit scenes they didn't like or cancel the film altogether.

Members of the Monica Administration, led by the ex-president screamed indignant about the damage to history.

Liberal professors climbed down from their ivory towers to pontificate on the film's damage to history.

The DNC hijacked the "Path to 9/11"s domain name to Google bomb the Internet.

It appears the clamor worked but there are unintended consequences. The Clinton machine has poked the hornets nest with a stick.

There is now a lot of attention drawn to the issue of Clinton's failures in the 90s. It was Bush's policy, clearly articulated, that those days were behind and they pretty much were.

But now, there is going to be an intense review of exactly what Clinton did or did not do bring Osama and his merry men to justice.

Clinton won the first round on this thing. I bet he goes down in the next couple.

[goldstategop]

What's funny is the Balsa Wood Liberals declaring total war upon the MSM.

(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )