White House War on Fox News Continues
John on November 9, 2009 at 8:42 am
They called off the war on Fox because it was making them look like whiny, thin-skinned losers. But as I wrote at the time, the war didn’t really end. It was always just a change in strategy. The arm twisting and bullying continues, only now it’s going on out of the public’s view:
At least one Democratic political strategist has gotten a blunt warning from the White House to never appear on Fox News Channel, an outlet that presidential aides have depicted as not so much a news-gathering operation as a political opponent bent on damaging the Obama administration.
The Democratic strategist said that shortly after an appearance on Fox, he got a phone call from a White House official telling him not to be a guest on the show again. The call had an intimidating tone, he said.
The message was, “We better not see you on again,” said the strategist, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to run afoul of the White House. An implicit suggestion, he said, was that “clients might stop using you if you continue.”
White House Communications Director Anita Dunn said that she had checked with colleagues who “deal with TV issues” and that they had not told people to avoid Fox. On the contrary, they had urged people to appear on the network, Dunn wrote in an e-mail.
But Patrick Caddell, a Fox News contributor and former pollster for President Carter, said he had spoken to Democratic consultants who said they were told by the White House to avoid appearances on Fox. He declined to give their names.
Caddell said he had not gotten that message himself from the White House.
He added: “I have heard that they’ve done that to others in not too subtle ways. I find it appalling. When the White House gets in the business of suppressing dissent and comment, particularly from its own party, it hurts itself.”
There’s no way this is happening without Anita Dunn’s knowledge and consent. Just another day at the office really. Chairman Mao would be so proud.
Category: MSM & Bias, Politics |
When intellectually dishonest people engage in debate over issues;
The surest sign that they know they’re losing is when they attempt to limit the other side in the debate.
The surest sign that they know they’ve lost is when they attempt to prematurely end the debate.
The surest sign of an intellectually bankrupt position is the refusal to engage in debate.
November 9, 2009 @ 10:26 amFox needs to capitalize on this.
Make all interviews using electronic voice alteration and dark screens to protect interviewees from retaliation.
November 9, 2009 @ 7:07 pmWith Fox being outfoxed in their duplicitous dishonesty (or journalistic incompetence, if that makes one feel any better) by Comedy Central, perhaps the White House’s hostility is entirely justified.
November 12, 2009 @ 11:21 am