Head of RNC tries to bully media

by Dean Obeidallah,

How can the leader of the Republican Party — the political party that claims to be so concerned about our freedoms — want to limit freedom of the press?

It’s shocking, but that’s exactly what Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus wants to do. Why? Because Priebus is outraged that NBC and CNN are developing TV projects about Hillary Clinton, scheduled to air in 2015.

Apparently, Priebus thinks most Americans have never heard of this Hillary Clinton person. Consequently, he fears that these TV shows could make her a household name — almost as well-known as say, Bill Clinton.

So what did he do? He sent threatening letters to the heads of NBC and CNN, informing them that “if you have not agreed to pull this programming prior to the start of the RNC’s summer meeting on August 14, I will seek a binding vote of the RNC stating that the committee will neither partner with you in 2016 primary debates nor sanction primary debates which you sponsor.”

Bottom line: Priebus is telling media outlets that if they broadcast content that the Republican Party does not like, it will freeze those networks out of the 2016 GOP presidential debates.

Will the next threat be that the RNC will block interviews with Republican officials if it objects to a newspaper, website or network’s content? Or will some outlets be subject to greater fines for Federal Communications Commission violations or be kept from offering input on proposed federal regulations that affect the media?

We cannot allow the freedom of our media to be politicized. If the Democratic National Committee had issued a similar threat to any media outlet planning to air a TV special about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, I would be adamantly opposing its conduct as well. This is truly something that should unite all media outlets — from MSNBC to Fox News and everyone in between.

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