Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Why I want Republicans to make good on their threats to boycott CNN and NBC

Who is the "liberal media?" Anyone that isn't Fox News!
If you follow the Republican National Committee on facebook or Twitter, you've likely seen their campaign trying to guilt CNN and NBC, which they characterize as "the liberal media" into dropping documentaries about Hillary Clinton. Their mechanism of enforcement? They're threatening refuse to let those networks host 2016 presidential debates. 

Here's why I think CNN and NBC should air the documentaries and make the Republican Party boycott them: There's no way the RNC can do it. If the RNC prohibits their candidates from appearing on CNN, a station that Democrats trust more than most, and NBC, they'll be stuck with PBS, a station the party wants to defund, ABC, or CBS. Since neither of the latter stations have a cable news presence comparable to Fox, NBC, or CNN, what the RNC is essentially saying is the only major cable news station that can host a debate is Fox News. This presumes that a Democratic candidate will appear in a debate on that station while stations more sympathetic to him or her are blacked out. Ultimately, it makes it very easy for Democrats to not deal with Fox News, while Republican candidates would have to boycott all stations except Fox News to protect themselves from a similar kind of criticism. 

This problem for Republicans is actually based in their party's greatest strength - agreement. While there are differences within the Republican Party right now, there are constant squabbles in the Democratic Party. As a result, as the above linked article shows, Republicans overwhelmingly watch Fox News, whereas Democrats watch a pretty wide array of news stations. 

By boycotting the two big cable news channels that lean left (though honestly, if you think CNN is overwhelmingly liberal, you're kind of a brainwashed dope), thus leaving only the overwhelmingly conservative Fox News channel (which, if you don't see as overwhelmingly conservative you're definitely a brainwashed dope), they are allowing Democrats to play ball in their home park all the time while Republicans still have to subject themselves to hostile environments full or real questions and fact-checkers like those communists at PBS. 

So I say bring it on! Air those documentaries! Let the Republicans remove themselves from where a huge segment of the population gets its news! Letting Republicans close themselves off from major media outlets does nothing but help the liberal agenda. 

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