Dems Again Overplay Hand And Prove Projection

They plan on using the power of the federal government to demand political changes to a program before it airs, a dangerous precedent and a completely different problem than what existed before. Presumably, this would become yet another fruit of their takeover of the House should they succeed in the midterms. It makes an excellent argument for extended Republican control. – Ed Morrissey

The headline says Democrats urge ABC to withdraw 9/11 movie.

Except urge should read “threaten to take ABC’s license…”

This is very, very troubling. This is what is called “overplaying your hand,” and the Democrats do it all the time. Not content with letter writing, registering complaints and the edits ABC has already agreed to, not content with Clinton’s own work to protest a made-for-tv docudrama…they threaten to pull a broadcast license if the show is not canned. Incredible.

But others say it very well without my input:

Ed Morrissey:

If the Democrats do not like what ABC wants to broadcast, they have every right to protest it — and in this case, they had a point. They can organize protests and boycotts, letter-writing campaigns and so on. What they cannot do is to threaten a broadcast license for political differences, regardless of the situation. It violates the spirit of free speech and makes the Democrats look like Big Brother.

Many people have pointed out that conservatives protested the factual deficiencies in “The Reagans” three years ago… The Democrats also appear to have completely changed their position as well. This is what [The Democratic National Committee] said about conservative criticism of CBS three years ago, and without a Republican threat against their broadcast license: [emphasis mine – admin]

“No, there are no First Amendment violations here. The RNC protested the content of a program, which is its right, and CBS voluntarily pulled that program off the air, which is its right.

“But the decision makes it very easy to imagine a future where representatives for the Bush administration have the power to disapprove of any content that touches politics, policy, or history — including news programs.”

Concludes Ed: It’s certainly easy to imagine it now — the Democrats have delivered it. Welcome to the Enforced Perspective Party. It’s a staggeringly dumb political mistake…

See, when I read what the Democrats said three years ago, predicting the GOP would go after broadcast licenses, and then see what they’re doing now, you know what I see? CLASSIC, TEXTBOOK PROJECTION. Three years ago they fretted about what conservatives might do because it was -they have now proved – exactly what they would do, if they’d had the chance.

And never forget…these are the folks who gave standing ovations to Michael Moore’s Farenheit 9/11, which was sold as fact, not “docudrama” and which was anything but factual.

Stephen Spruiell: Who in the press will stick up for ABC’s right to air this miniseries without having its broadcast license threatened?

Good question…what was that saying about, “first they came for these folks, and no one stood up to them, then they came for those folks…”

Blue Crab Boulevard: I am absolutely stunned at this. I think this may be the biggest miscalculation I have seen this election season. I mean this one is positively biblical.[…] Do they have any idea what they look like to the average American? They look not like defenders of the truth, they look exactly, precisely, like they are trying to hide something. This is an absolutely stunningly stupid move.

AJ Strata:”…while calls for boycotts, etc are one person’s free speech colliding with another, the calls of censorship have been basically over the top. Until now that is. In an emotional and angry response to a TV Movie the Senate Dems are trying to repeal the First Amendment and destroy our Right to Free Speech by a real true act of censorship…”

I’ve visited a few lefty blogs and they’re loving it. As I’ve said many times, they are not really liberals. Classical liberals would never love this, could never love this.

Brrrrrrrr….I feel Tim Robbin’s “chill wind” a-blowin’ But it’s coming from the left…the far, far left.

Rush Limbaugh: “…the Clintonoids all upset that they didn’t get advance copies of The Path to 9/11. Albright didn’t get one. Sandy Burglar didn’t get one. Richard Clarke didn’t get one. So what? When do they ever? Did George W. Bush get a copy? Did Condoleezza Rice get a copy, in advance?”

It’s a fair question.

Dems again overplay hand and prove projection