Senior Energy and Commerce Committee member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Texas) speaks, with many lawmakers behind her.
Thirteen senior members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and private citizens on Wednesday (Feb. 24) criticized attempts by the House Democratic left to pressure television operators to cancel the platforms of Fox News and two conservative cable news channels. A law professor commented that the Democratic left’s move to censor press freedom is reminiscent of the Red Scare.
Cathy Rodgers, a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, condemned a letter sent by two Democratic members of the panel to 12 cable, satellite and mainstream media companies. In the letter, the Democrats accused the companies of not taking steps to combat the spread of what the left calls “misinformation. They also demanded answers from the operators about their reasons for providing service to the stations.
Rogers told a committee hearing on “Disinformation and Extremism in the Media” that “elected officials using their platforms to pressure private companies to censor media they do not approve of sounds more like the actions of China’s Communist Party and less like the actions of duly elected representatives of the U.S. Congress. behavior.”
She said, “Here [in the U.S.], we cherish freedom of speech and a free and independent media. We believe in dialogue and the battle of ideas the American way, not in censorship and silencing of constitutionally protected speech.”
The letter was sent by left-wing Democrats, California Assemblymen Jerry McNerney (D) and Anna Eshoo (D). They claim that the right-leaning Fox News Newsmax and One America News have spread “misinformation” about the election and about the Communist Party virus (COVID-19) after November 2020.
They asked the operators to provide detailed information about the ethical or moral principles they used to judge their decision on which channel to use. They also asked how many subscribers subscribed to the networks in the weeks leading up to the presidential election, and whether they took any action against any of the channels or what information was disseminated in response to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Media Spokesman Condemns Lawmakers’ Actions
Spokesmen for three conservative news organizations condemned the actions of Democratic lawmakers. A Fox News spokesman said the lawmakers’ actions set a “terrible precedent.
Meanwhile, Charles Herring, president of One America News, said, “When government officials want to silence the media, especially against those who don’t report their false narratives, it’s an attack on our democracy and freedom of the press. “
13 lawmakers sent a letter to the chairman of the Communications Committee condemning the action
McMorris Rodgers (R-Texas) sent a letter Wednesday, Feb. 24, to acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel asking her to condemn Eshoo’s and McNerney’s letters.
In the letter, Rogers wrote, “As acting chair of the committee, it is your responsibility to use your position to preserve and protect our fundamental freedoms protected by the First Amendment. You can and must condemn any attempt by government officials, at such an important Time in our nation’s history, to use their power to threaten the freedom of the press.”
The letter was also co-signed by several other lawmakers, including Bob Latta (R-Ohio), head of the Republican Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Debbie Lesko (R-Arizona) and Brett Guthrie (R-Kentucky).
At this time, Rosenworcel and her staff have not responded to requests for comment on the House Democrats’ letter.
FCC Commissioner Says Letter Is “Chilling”
In a separate statement, FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington described the pressure on the media by lawmakers as “troubling” because it seeks to “stifle political speech and independent press judgment. “
Carr said, “This is a chilling violation of the right to free speech enjoyed by every media outlet in this country.” And Symington agreed with him.
According to Symington, the demeanor of the two House Democrats is “troubling. He said, “The lawmakers are defining ‘misinformation’ with too broad and vague a label, labeling all narratives reported by the media that don’t fit their political preferences as misinformation. They are also trying to silence those who express opinions they don’t like on these platforms.”
This is particularly concerning, he said, “because the House Energy and Commerce Committee oversees the Communications Act. And their statement could be interpreted to mean that recipients of the letter will be acted upon under the Communications Act if they don’t agree to chill their speech beforehand.”
Law Professor: Reminiscent of the Red Scare
Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, said the left’s desire to censor conservative voices and reduce their influence is growing at Wednesday’s House subcommittee hearing. He said, “We’re going through a period that is reminiscent of Red Scare.”
Tulli said, “The letter is not only chilling from the standpoint of free speech and a free press. And the letter does not address the long-standing and obvious bias against media outlets such as CNN and MSNBC and their opposition to dissenting views.”
Tulli said that during the “Red Scare,” writers and others were blacklisted and prevented from getting jobs because they had “wrong” views. Now, with the new terror, not only are parliamentarians blacklisted, but writers and academics as well. Professors and writers have also been targeted. They can no longer criticize current politics, but are forced to support the government of the day.
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