RNC asks to review series "The Reagans"

[jobycom]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/31/reagans/index.html

Gillespie said that if CBS denies the request, he will ask the network to run a note across the bottom of the screen every 10 minutes during the program's presentation informing viewers that the miniseries is not accurate.

CBS spokeswoman Dana McClintock said Moonves received the letter, but neither he nor CBS had any comment on it or the miniseries.

------

Guess they got bored reviewing Lebanese films.

I hope NEIL BOORTZ is visiting tonight, so he can explain again how liberals want to block free speech and Republicans are all for dissenting opinions. Of course, any honest portrayal of Reagan would be exactly the OPPOSITE of what any Republican would want.

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. A ticker tape at the bottom of the t.v. screen claiming the show is

inaccurate? If they force the miniseries to do it, FoxNews should be forced to do it too.

[Scurrilous]

7. CBS ought to..

..call the miniseries 'A Fair and Balanced Look at Ronald Reagan.' How can anyone complain when all CBS is trying to do is be 'fair' and be 'balanced.'

[Dover]

25. LOL! Now THAT was funny!

,,,,,,,

[leetrisck]

14. Chilling is the word that comes to mind

for this outrageous request - probably more of a demand. Can newspaper articles be far behind and we know the powers that be already put the pressure on for those.

[truthisfreedom]

15. hahahahahaha. chilling? comic is the word that comes to mind.

these guys are bumbling all over themselves in an attempt to rewrite reagan's history. it's another perfect example of how they want to create an illusion of sanity to their party's recent history, instead of allowing people to see it warts and all, as a basically twisted, lie-infested pile of crap.

just exactly like the faux v. Al Franken law suit, this is going to completely backfire on the repugs. all it will do is make more and more people tune into CBS, fascinated by the possibility that they'll see something revealing about reagan.

[screembloodymurder]

43. I don't see what's so funny

about these fascist bastards.

[Demobrat]

2. Screw that. All they have to do is take a cue from

the credit card companies. A nice long legalese disclaimer in nine point type about halfway through the closing credits and voila, problem solved.

[drscm]

3. Sure, if we can run a ticker tape across the bottom of the Bush-9/11

movie saying it is pure cr@p.

[Tuttle]

45. CBS might get sued by Fox if they do the ticker thingee

Fox Almost Sues Self

Tut-tut

[Rose Siding]

4. You KNOW Fox will let the DNC 'review' Clinton's movie...

RIGHT?

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

5. The Original RNC Press release

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=193773

I love this selective first amendment paradigm they seem to have.

[bluestateguy]

6. idea

CBS should send the RNC a tape marked "The Reagans", but it would be a gay porn tape.

[ForestsBeatBushes]

26. I believe Ron the younger already did that.

[grytpype]

8. This is really scary.

Another step forward into fascism by the GOP.

[young_at_heart]

9. What are they afraid of?

Their ultra-right Christian boy has no skeletons in his closet, so whats the big deal?

[grytpype]

10. This Reagan show is bad news for Duhbya, isn't it?

Seeing an idiot in the oval office will resonate with people today, don't you think? And is Bush Sr. in the show?

[ForestsBeatBushes]

27. Ah, yes; it's Morning in America again.

[Bozita]

11. Moonves will be on the Charlie Rose Show tonight

Here's the Rose daily email:

The Charlie Rose Show
----------------------------------
Friday, October 31, 2003 at 11:00 p.m. ET. (Topics subject to change.)

- Tonight's Show


LESLIE MOONVES
Chairman and CEO, CBS

[Military Brat]

12. What is it with the right wing skin ...

... that it's so damned thin?

[rocktivity]

13. Well, I hope CBS told them that they can take their review and...

But seriously folks, where were these people when that crap HBO movie about Georgie was going around? A lot of inaccuarcies in that one, too, I understand. But that was a drama, not a documentary, so there had to be a little room for artistic license, right?


rocknation

On edit: It was Showtime? I stand corrected. I had to make a decision between premium cable and a high-speed Internet connection. I decided I'd rather hang out with you guys than Tony Soprano.

[grytpype]

16. It was Showtime, I think.

[benfranklin1776]

28. Oh but you see the Showtime excrement was hagiography of Junior.

As engineered and approved by Rove and company. Thus they were sure that the story would "turn out right."


http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16735

Here of course they did not have that editorial control and they are undoubtedly worried that some of the upleasant unfiltered truth will be told. What we have here is nothing short of a political party attempting to exercise prior restraint over the activities of the media. That is as unAmerican as you can get. Naked, brownshirtism at its lowest. CBS should slap their fascist asses
down hard not just for their own sake but for the sake of all broadcasters and creative artists everywhere since this is nothing short of a direct assault on freedom of expression. If they are allowed to get away with this there is no limit to what they will try to suppress. Favorable biography of Jimmy Carter or Harry Truman, uh uh suppress it or run a disclaimer they will demand. Favorable coverage of the Democratic convention, uh uh suppress it or run a disclaimer they will demand. There is no end to the level of media suppression they will attempt to achieve if CBS and others similarly situated do not stand up to them.

[otohara]

17. If The Media Didn't Give The GOP So Much Power

this wouldn't be happening.

They fucking control 89% of what we watch and listen to. The GOP cowed the media into silence since Jr. stole the presidency. Every wingnut on TV & Radio has already screamed for a boycott and massive e-mailings.

Blowback baby, blowback

[loudnclear]

18. Scarborough says Nancy Reagan was one of the greatest First Ladies...

I guess her fortune tell told him this. I am getting sick and tired of the RWing bellyaching about the CBS mini-series. If CBS can't put this series on, unedited from their original intended series then we may as well call this democracy the sham that it really is.

[stevedeshazer]

22. Every response I will ever have for Scarborough is:

What happened to Lori Klausutis?

[leesa]

19. Can't risk any truth coming out about Saint Ronnie

After all the bribe money, time and energy spent getting him out of criminal charges for Iran-Contra

[jeanmarc]

20. Franken Effect

Thanks for the free pub, Ed.

[0007]

21. Oh goody goody!

I hope they get into the Iran/Contra thingy. And all the main players that are still active in today's world.

[trapper914]

40. From what I've read...

...Reagan gets a pass in the miniseries on Iran/Contra. Is this one of the inaccuracies they're screaming about?

[Rex]

23. This just in...

-Repukes hate freedom of speech-

EOM

[johnfunk]

24. RNC should be allowed to review series "The Reagans" under THIS condition

... namely, that the DNC gets to review the last four years' worth of FOX News morning memos. Sounds fair to me...

[dobak]

35. hmm...

posted a response to Reina's note that appeared to be from Sharri Berg, a vice president for news operations at Fox. The response called Reina a "disgruntled employee" with "an ax to grind."

Sounds like Bernard Goldberg?

[UTUSN]

29. Fuck'em- GILLESPIE Sed Repukes Will PAY

to "correct" the record. Let'em PAY and FUCK'em!!!!!!

[TheWebHead]

30. we need to turn the tables

and start arguing about what the CBS series is not including that is damning to Reagan. I'm sure their are many negative aspects about him that will be left out of the miniseries... though until we see it, it'll be tough, but it hasn't stopped conservatives.

[ForestsBeatBushes]

32. From what I understand,

Miss Nancy has already had a pass at it; an old family friend, Merv Griffin, was blabbing about it on some CNN show the other night.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

33. Mer Griffin is a right wing Shill!

.....a "POS" if you will.

[young_at_heart]

31. If HALF of what Kitty Kelly said is true, then

The "tell-all" of the Reagans is worthwhile.

[jobycom]

36. Yeah. I wonder who will play Frank Sinatra

,

[Bozita]

34. Gillespie was an Enron lobbyist before taking control of the RNC

Now he wants to edit your television viewing.

His lobbying firm took $700,000 from Enron for its work on the California energy crisis in 2001.

Look at this from Public Citizen:

Ed Gillespie: The Embedded Lobbyist
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
... Party chairmen have a long history of ethically questionable practices. ... Public Citizen’s
Congress Watch 7 Ed Gillespie: The Embedded Lobbyist When Haley ...
www.citizen.org/documents/Gillespie_June.pdf - Similar pages

[SideshowScott]

37. So thin skinned the republicans are.......

MY GOD the Republicans are so thin skinned..If they had to put up with 1/2 of the crap the Dems and the Left had to suffer they would all be in one big loony bin..
I find it almost comical how far out of the way the republicans go to hide the fact that Reagan was a horrible pres..In fact he was not pres at all but a figurehead while others ran the country for thire own greedy means...Its the Republican way

[Voltaire99]

38. Towards totalitarianism...

It is comical. Darkly, tragically so.

We fought the Cold War for decades, only to emerge "victorious" after both we and our enemy had poured untold wealth down the rat hole of war and armament.

Now, eagerly, we crib as much as possible from the Soviet playbook: policing thought and expression from the top to the margins, the latest example of which is demanding total reverance for our gibbering Uncle Ronnie.

[ForestsBeatBushes]

39. You mean they're not in one big loony bin?

I do believe they are; it's called the RNC; and it's run by Karl Rove - talk about the inmates running the asylum!

[trapper914]

41. Where was the outrage when "Primary Colors" was released?

eom

[0007]

42. I hope they get into Nancy's love life,

Especially the time Frank Sinatra came to the White House to visit. (Guess who?)

[Changenow]

44. Ministry of Propaganda?

Think of how absurd this request is but the RNC has made it with a straight face. They are so unaccustomed to not having control over published content that this last stand against prior restraint by CBS has their panties in a knot. What would have been a paranoid rant 3 years ago is more like a forecast now; there will come a time that RNC requests like this are honored without a second thought.

[Q]

46. GOP motto: free speech for me but not for thee...

- Funny that none of these guys were very concerned when the 'Clinton Chronicles' were created by GOP hitmen.

[Snellius]

47. Republicans are so afraid of the truth about their GOP GOD

Norquist, Rove, and the rest of the Republican revisionists have been madly deifying Raygun into this rightwing messiah. What they're afraid of is not that CBS may distort the truth but that they will simply tell Americans who he really was. He really did say stuff like "If you've seen one redwood, you've seen them all." Whether they censor a few phrases will make little difference. There's so much there that's plainly true to show what a space cadet he really was. The GOP is really trying to paint the whole depiction, truthful or not, with the same critical brush and to reserve Raygun's image to themselves.

[IggleDoer]

48. Will the show address Saint Ronnie's bold and corageous actins ...

... fighting the terrorism of the Beruit marine dorm bombing by attacking Grenada?

[Bandit]

49. Is this mini-series being billed as a documentary or a movie?

I don't remember all this hubub about Nixon or JFK. I remember a lot of criticism but no attempt to actually censor them. This is blatant censorship from the free speech people.

[dArKeR]

50. Reagan Miniseries Irks RNC Chair - CBS (for those who don't click CNN)

The chairman of the Republican National Committee has told the president of CBS that historians should review the miniseries “The Reagans” for historical accuracy, or the network should run a disclaimer that the program is fiction.

“We live in a culture today of reality TV,” Republican Party chairman Ed Gillespie said in a conference call Friday. “Lines between fact and fiction get blurred. I am concerned that its portrayal of our 40th president and his wife is not historically accurate.”

Gillespie sent a letter to CBS President Leslie Moonves asking for a historical review or a disclaimer.

The Republican chairman said the miniseries may have omissions, distortions and exaggerations that may cause Americans to “come away with a misunderstanding of the Reagans and the Reagan administration.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/01/politics/main581312.shtml

Since when does the Party of Liars can about the truth?