Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory
By Captain Ed on National Politics
Captain's Quarters
After the story broke on the artistic license taken by ABC in its upcoming miniseries on the 9/11 attacks, Clinton administration officials and Democrats in general had a good case for protesting. After all, Republicans had bitterly criticized CBS for its miniseries, "The Reagans", when it proved overly dramatized and factually inaccurate, eventually getting it pulled to another Viacom outlet (Showtime). However, not content with merely reasonably protesting questionable script choices, the Democrats in Congress have issued a thinly-veiled threat against ABC's broadcast license:
<<< We write with serious concerns about the planned upcoming broadcast of The Path to 9/11 mini-series on September 10 and 11. Countless reports from experts on 9/11 who have viewed the program indicate numerous and serious inaccuracies that will undoubtedly serve to misinform the American people about the tragic events surrounding the terrible attacks of that day. Furthermore, the manner in which this program has been developed, funded, and advertised suggests a partisan bent unbecoming of a major company like Disney and a major and well respected news organization like ABC. We therefore urge you to cancel this broadcast to cease Disney’s plans to use it as a teaching tool in schools across America through Scholastic. Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children would be a gross miscarriage of your corporate and civic responsibility to the law, to your shareholders, and to the nation.
The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events. ...
Should Disney allow this programming to proceed as planned, the factual record, millions of viewers, countless schoolchildren, and the reputation of Disney as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress will be deeply damaged. We urge you, after full consideration of the facts, to uphold your responsibilities as a respected member of American society and as a beneficiary of the free use of the public airwaves to cancel this factually inaccurate and deeply misguided program. We look forward to hearing back from you soon. >>>
The Democrats do not do subtlety, or do not do it successfully. They plan on using the power of the federal government to demand political changes to a program before it airs, a dangerous precedent and a completely different problem than what existed before. Presumably, this would become yet another fruit of their takeover of the House should they succeed in the midterms. It makes an excellent argument for extended Republican control.
If the Democrats do not like what ABC wants to broadcast, they have every right to protest it -- and in this case, they had a point. They can organize protests and boycotts, letter-writing campaigns and so on. What they cannot do is to threaten a broadcast license for political differences, regardless of the situation. It violates the spirit of free speech and makes the Democrats look like Big Brother.
Many people have pointed out that conservatives protested the factual deficiencies in "The Reagans" three years ago and wonder why they suddenly consider criticism invalid. The Democrats also appear to have completely changed their position as well. This is what they said about conservative criticism of CBS three years ago, and without a Republican threat against their broadcast license:
<<< "No, there are no First Amendment violations here. The RNC protested the content of a program, which is its right, and CBS voluntarily pulled that program off the air, which is its right.
"But the decision makes it very easy to imagine a future where representatives for the Bush administration have the power to disapprove of any content that touches politics, policy, or history — including news programs." >>>
It's certainly easy to imagine it now -- the Democrats have delivered it. Welcome to the Enforced Perspective Party. It's a staggeringly dumb political mistake, and if it's not withdrawn quickly, will do real damage to the Democrats for years.
See also Stephen Spruiell and Hot Air for more.
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