January 16, 2008
The Inconvenient First Amendment (Bob Franken)
This is going to have more disclaimers than a pharmaceutical ad.
* I have known Dennis Kucinich and been on friendly terms with him since he was a city councilman in Cleveland.
* I have appeared occasionally on MSNBC.
* For a very long time I have been part of the MSM.
* I don't know why, but the term "MSM" sounds kind of kinky to me.
You can decide whether any of the above affect my point of view here. They probably do.
Now to that point of view. Finally.
The Nevada judge who ruled that NBC must include Dennis Kucinich in the Tuesday night debate not only needs to go back to law school, he needs a refresher course in high school civics.
Happily, the state Supreme Court stepped in and overturned him. But it shouldn't have been necessary.
Whether you like the media or not, particularly the aforementioned MSM, one of our fundamental principles is that government does not dictate how it covers the news.
That judge would have ultimately relied on the power of government to shut down the debate, had he prevailed, and in the process would have demolished one of the foundations of our constitutional democracy: the freedom of the press.
As to the merits of this case: While it is certainly arguable that NBC's invitation-disinvitation of Kucinich will not win any award for gracefulness, the network, in my opinion, lurched to the correct decision.
Dennis Kucinich has had his chance. He has appeared on umpteen nationally televised debates. But in the various elections that have now been held, he has barely risen in the standings above the asterisk level.
NBC finally concluded that the time had come for an uncluttered competition between the three who have any chance whatsoever of getting the Democratic nomination.
What we got as a result was a really good, solid debate. No bells and whistles, no demagoguery, just a display of the candidates' grasp of various issues and aptitude for political maneuvering. Still, that's not the point here.
It's healthy to debate whether the mainstream media are functioning as protectors of the corporations who own them, or that they, in their zeal for profits, are not covering the news as well as they should. That's not the point here either.
The point is that Dennis Kucinich, in addition to pulling off a pretty good publicity stunt, was seeking government control of the press. He should damn well know better.
Wouldn't it be nice if the mass media were available on an equal basis to anyone and everyone who had a point of view? Obviously they cannot be. Now we have an Internet for that.
Meanwhile, those who are turned off by MSM can agitate for improvement. But that definitely does not include government control.
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You're right. The government shouldn't dictate who participates in debates. However, as far as the debate showing any difference between the candidates, the differences don't even qualify as a nuance. They are three candidates cut from the same cloth. Hillary has a difference in having an agenda for women's rights. Edwards hates corporate America which is kind of funny since he made millions in corporate America. Other than that there isn't a spit worth of difference between the three.
Comment by Robert Rosencrans — January 16, 2008 @ 10:01 am
There are a few people out there who still believe that Dennis Kucinich has more than a snowball's chance in you-know-what of winning the nomination. But NBC did the right thing, if Dennis could reasonably compete witht he three (really, two) frontrunners, then he should have been allowed to debate. He had his chance, he blew it, there's always 2012.
Comment by John Simmons — January 16, 2008 @ 10:12 am
Isn't it great to hear two crazy, crackpot neocons (RR and Simmons) critiquing the Dem debate? Thats like Ken Lay critiquing the business etiquite of a family owned automotive repair shop.
How come you two brainwashed Rush worshippers can see the flaw in a fruit fly but not the disaster you helped create in Dumbya Bush? Because you are both brainwashed, that's why.
Comment by Lester — January 16, 2008 @ 3:12 pm
I'm curious, will Fred Thompson be eliminated from Debates now? He only got 4% of the vote in Michigan.
Comment by Connie Manes — January 17, 2008 @ 10:33 am
Sure. As if the media has purity of intent. The media is a special interest like all other aspects of big business. It was not Kucinich's poll numbers that took him out of the NV debate. It was his opposition to Yucca Mountain and NBC's self interests in Yucca Mountain; that got Kucinich canned.
Comment by cyclezealot — February 17, 2008 @ 3:14 am