WOW!!! ~ the RNC seems to be running scared [with good cause] ~ this might work because the networks' bottom lines are at risk ~ but I'd dearly love both networks to publicly accuse Priebus/RNC of blackmail and tell him to go pound sand ~ ~ Sooz

TPMLIVEWIRE
RNC To CNN, NBC: Drop Hillary Films Or We’ll Pull Presidential Primary Debates
Catherine Thompson - 12:12 PM EDT, Monday August 5, 2013

Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus on Monday called on both NBC and CNN to drop their planned film productions of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or face losing their partnerships with the RNC for 2016 presidential primary debates.

In letters to the chairman of NBC Entertainment, Robert Greenblatt, and CNN President Jeff Zucker, Priebus slammed the networks' "thinly-veiled attempt at putting a thumb on the scales of the 2016 presidential election" as unfair to other potential candidates from both parties.

NBC announced last month it was planning a miniseries starring Diane Lane that would follow Clinton's trajectory beginning in 1998, the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The series was to air before Clinton could launch a hypothetical White House run. Days later CNN also announced it would produce a documentary to be released in 2014, according to the New York Times.

"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," Preibus wrote to the networks.

NBC Hillary Clinton Letter



http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/rnc-to-networks-drop-hillary-productions-well-pull?ref=fpa

but I'd dearly love both networks to publicly accuse Priebus/RNC of blackmail and tell him to go pound sand ~

Ha!
They lack the required body parts to do that.

CNN executes a very nice twist here that I'm reading as NOT backing off ~ YAYYY! ~ Sooz

TPMLIVEWIRE
CNN To RNC: ‘Premature’ Decision To Limit Debates Is The ‘Ultimate Disservice’ To Voters
Igor Bobic - 4:06 PM EDT, Monday August 5, 2013

Puzzled over what they say would be a "premature" decision to pull several 2016 presidential primary debates should a documentary on Hillary Clinton go forward, CNN on Monday called on the RNC to "reserve judgment" before committing what they call the "ultimate disservice to voters."

In letters to both CNN and NBC, Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus on Monday called on the networks to drop their planned film productions of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or face losing their partnerships with the RNC for 2016 presidential primary debates.

"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," Preibus wrote.

While NBC News said it was not involved with the project, which is commissioned by NBC Entertainment, CNN's statement to the Huffington Post was much more confrontational:


Both South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Matt Moore and Iowa GOP Chairman AJ Spiker have endorsed RNC's move.

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/cnn-to-rnc-premature-decision-to-limit-debates

I see no problem with a missing RNC candidate.
Hilary debating an empty chair marked "RNC candidate" would be sufficient.

This is gonna be a tough call for the networks, Reince. We know you would prefer not to have your candidates' primary debates televised, because that didn't work well last time. What with them tearing each other down and calling each other bad names and throwing stuff at each other and all. That definitely was entertaining, and the networks will think long and hard about not showing it, because it was better than "Survivor"! Funnier than that Honey BooBoo show. Pretty much in the unreality show genre.

But really, they didn't get the ratings, did they?

Re-runs of the last GOP disaster?

Excellent commentary, clearly stating put blame where blame is due! ~ ~ Sooz

Priebus looks to control 'traveling circus'
By Steve Benen - Wed Aug 7, 2013 10:54 AM EDT

It's been a couple of days since Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus threatened NBC and CNN, telling the networks they'll be excluded from hosting 2016 presidential candidate debates if they proceed with planned specials on Hillary Clinton. Yesterday, Priebus picked up some unexpected support from Media Matters.

But as the debate unfolded this week, the RNC chair sounded less like he wanted to exclude NBC and CNN from airing debates, and more like he simply wants fewer debates in general. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Jay Bookman flagged this interesting interview from Monday night.


For those who can't watch clips online, Priebus clearly believes NBC and CNN are "in the business" of "promoting the Democratic Party." He doesn't know whether the Clinton specials will be complimentary, critical, or some combination, but the RNC chairman said it "doesn't matter."

Note, however, that Priebus is also clearly focused on scaling back the debate schedule itself.


Given comments like these, it's fair to ask how upset Priebus is about Clinton specials, or whether the specials are a convenient excuse to help Priebus' larger goal of few overall debates?

As for the substance of Priebus' complaints, I'm not unsympathetic to his concerns about an overly crowded debate schedule. If I were him, I suspect I'd want to crack down on the "23-debate traveling circus," too. For an RNC chair, every debate for presidential candidates is another opportunity to show a national television audience what's gone horribly wrong with your party.

I would, however, remind Priebus that blaming non-Fox networks for turning the debates into a freak show isn't entirely fair. He should probably start, for example, with the debates' audiences, not the debates' network sponsors.


For that matter, when Priebus talks about moderators pushing candidates on "ridiculous hypotheticals that are never going to be reality," it's immediately reminiscent of the moment when the entire GOP field was pressed on whether it would accept a 10-to-1 budget deal in Republicans' favor. The debate featuring this "ridiculous hypothetical" was hosted by Fox News.


http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/07/19913358-priebus-looks-to-control-traveling-circus?lite

It bears repeating...

After their 2012 loss, Republican analysts were pretty much unanimous in saying their primary process hurt them, maybe cost them the presidency. Because the candidates were observed on television being candidly loony by the non-rightwing voting public. And the non-rightwing majority of American voters observed the Republican base rejecting those who were not loony enough. Not good for general election prospects at all!

So what really is Priebus threatening? "You guys show those Hillary shows, and , by God, I won't let you televise our candidates tearing each other new assholes! Calling each other vulture capitalists and closet socialists and worse! You won't get to show them saying evolution is a plot from the pit of Hell, and that people who draw social security are a bunch of damn 'takers', and we've got to end that program. And foodstamps, too! And Student loans! We'll talk about latinos self-deporting themselves and your audience won't even know about it. Take that!"

It's gonna be a tough call for those NBC & CNN bigwigs. If they actually intended to help out the dem candidate, they'd say, "OK, Reince, no problem, we'll shelve the Hillary shows." Or they could just go for ratings, and show Mannix reruns instead on primary debate nights. How about if they aired the Hilary shows opposite the primary debates. That'd be cool.

How about if they aired the Hilary shows opposite the primary debates. That'd be cool.

Especially if she runs, though I doubt she will.

CNN/NBC need to grow a pair.
Call their bluff and tell them very clearly that if the networks are denied free access like the other networks then the GOP will be denied total access to CNN/NBC. They don't even get news coverage.

Right on absolutely! There's something very wrong about a political party trying to control what the media shows in the line of entertainment-

-for sure the RNC would not object to a documentary about GW (well they might, thinking about it) or Nixon (well, maybe they would--there's that watergate thing) oh, well Ford (well, maybe they would object to the brevity of the project) well maybe they wouldn't object to Ike! Anyway, Hillary was in fact an important woman in politics, and the RNC can lump it...

But trying to control what CNN or NBC airs smacks of something that is for sure not freedom of the press...

What I personally find "... totally ridiculous and stupid" is ... Reince Priebus ~ ~ Sooz

CNN host corners Priebus over Fox TV producing Hillary Clinton miniseries
By David Edwards
Sunday, August 11, 2013 10:51 EDT

CNN host Candy Crowley on Sunday confronted Republican National Committee Chairman (RNC) Reince Priebus and asked him why he was not pulling GOP debates off of the Fox News Channel after it was revealed that Fox Television studios may be producing a Hillary Clinton miniseries.

In letters to NBC Entertainment and CNN last week, Priebus had threatened to not allow the networks to host any Republican presidential primary debates unless plans to air shows about Clinton were scrapped.

Priebus later explained to Fox News host Sean Hannity that he as attempting to “control the referees” because CNN and NBC were “not in the business of promoting our party.”

But The New York Times reported on Friday that Fox Television Studios, the sister company of Fox News, was in talks to produce the miniseries for NBC.

During an interview on Sunday, CNN host Candy Crowley asked Priebus if Fox News should be subject to the same scrutiny as NBC and CNN.

“First of all, our party has to quit availing our self to biased moderators and companies that put on television, you know, in this particular case documentaries and miniseries about a particular candidate that we all know is gearing up to run for president, and that’s Hillary Clinton,” Priebus explained. “And so the big question for me, Candy, number one, is which company is putting it on the air, who’s doing the work? I’m not interested if they’re using the same caterer or whether they all drink Diet Coke, or I’m not boycotting Diane Lane.”

“I’m going to boycott the company that puts the miniseries and documentaries on the air for the American people to view,” he continued. “I’m not interested whether they use the same sound studio or whether they use the same set. I don’t know the truth of anything you’re talking about. But I do know what’s very clear is that the company that puts these things on the air to promote Hillary Clinton, including CNN, is the company that’s not going to be involved in our debates.”

“So, the people that write and produce and put together the shows are not what you’re worried about?” Crowley pressed.

“I’m not going to boycott Diane Lane [for playing Hillary Clinton]!” Priebus shot back. “It’s not her fault she decided to take a script. I’m not going to boycott the food trucks that service all of the same companies.”

“Candy, some researcher at CNN or NBC worked for a few days to find some little connection somewhere down the road to bring something into this debate,” the RNC chairman insisted. “I think it’s totally ridiculous and stupid.”

Watch this video from CNN’s State of the Union, uploaded Aug. 11, 2013. [Sooz says video accessible via end link]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/11/cnn-host-corners-priebus-over-fox-tv-producing-hillary-clinton-miniseries/

Admittedly, I know VERY few Yiddish words, but the Yiddish translation of "putz" is an ignorant/dishonest/unethical jerk ~ so ... for me, that one 4-letter word precisely describes Reince Priebus ~ ~ Sooz

Fox throws Priebus 'a plot twist'
By Steve Benen - Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:30 AM EDT

Last week, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus took an unexpected stance: unless NBC and CNN drop their plans for specials on Hillary Clinton, he'll push a measure to prevent the networks from covering any of the 2016 debates for Republican presidential candidates.

What if NBC News and NBC Entertainment are entirely separate? Priebus said it didn't matter. What if the specials aren't altogether complimentary? The RNC chair said that's irrelevant, too.

The ultimatum generated some interesting discussions in the political world last week, though the New York Times reported "a plot twist" over the weekend.


As you might imagine, this isn't great news for Priebus. He just said last week that NBC News should be held responsible for production decisions made by NBC Entertainment. But if he's going to apply that same reasoning in an even-handed way, the Republican Party chair should be just as eager to hold Fox News responsible for production decisions made by Fox Entertainment.

But as a practical matter, that's not a realistic option for Priebus: Fox News is, for all intents and purposes, the single most influential arm of the Republican Party's message machine and voter-mobilization campaign. The RNC chair simply isn't in a position to threaten Fox with a debate boycott, and it's a little late for him to back down from his NBC threats.

And so Priebus yesterday came up with an exception to his own rule.

Whether this is persuasive, however, is open to interpretation.


Hmm. Fox Television can produce the Clinton special and distribute the special worldwide, but so long as Fox Television doesn't actually air the program in the United States, Priebus doesn't see the need to punish Fox News.

What a relief Priebus has this all figured out.

Also note, Priebus told MSNBC last week that he's not only interested in excluding various networks from hosting debates, he also intends to reject debate moderators unless he considers them sufficiently "interested in the future of the Republican Party and our nominees."

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/12/19988342-fox-throws-priebus-a-plot-twist

Translation: Either the debates are rigged in our favour or we're staying home.

As will Republican voters, doofus.

LMAO!!! ~ oh, yes ~ pleeeeeeeeeease name Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Rush Limbaugh as the GOP/TP debate moderators! ~ pleeeeeeeeeease do exactly that ~ ~ Sooz

'Mark Levin should ask the questions'
By Steve Benen - Thu Aug 15, 2013 11:35 AM EDT

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus told MSNBC last week that he's not only interested in excluding various networks from hosting debates, he also intends to reject debate moderators unless he considers them sufficiently "interested in the future of the Republican Party and our nominees." I'd hoped he was kidding, or at a minimum, hadn't fully thought this through.

But the conservative Washington Examiner's Paul Bedard reports this morning that the RNC really is "looking to scrap the old model of having reporters and news personalities ask the questions at candidate forums."


This may sound like a lot of behind-the-scenes scuttlebutt, but RNC Communications Director Sean Spicer was asked about the 2016 debates last week, and he reportedly responded, "Mark Levin should ask the questions."

The RNC can obviously do as it pleases, but replacing journalists with right-wing media personalities seems like a truly horrible idea. It not only undermines party rebranding by reinforcing the impression that the party is beholden to loud-mouth extremists, but it also suggests Republicans are afraid of real questions from real media professionals.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/15/20037395-mark-levin-should-ask-the-questions?lite

it also suggests Republicans are afraid of real questions from real media professionals.

Suggests?
I think you mean confirms.

GOP/TPers look more and more like Keystone Kops wannabes ~ I'd love to see NBC/CNN run [or re-run] these Hillary specials that are causing GOP/TPers such angst during the GOP primary debates ~ ~ Sooz

RNC unanimously approves 2016 debate resolution
By Steve Benen - Fri Aug 16, 2013 12:47 PM EDT

They apparently weren't kidding.


RNC Chairman Reince Priebus added, "We're done putting up with this nonsense. There are plenty of other outlets. We'll still reach voters, maybe more voters. But CNN and NBC anchors will just have to watch on their competitors' networks."

Also note, RNC communications director Sean Spicer confirmed to Dylan Byers that this new policy would extend to NBC and CNN's Spanish-language channels -- Telemundo and CNN Espanol -- both of which will now also be excluded from 2016 events.

Presumably, Republican officials would reconsider the boycott if NBC Entertainment and CNN scrapped plans for specials on Hillary Clinton, though there is no indication the networks are prepared to pull the plug on the productions just to make the RNC happy.

NBC and CNN may try to host candidate debates anyway, but if Republican presidential hopefuls participate in events that are not "sanctioned" by the party, the candidates would face undetermined punishment, probably in the form of lost convention delegates.

For the record, the boycott will not include Fox News, despite Fox's reported role in producing NBC's Clinton miniseries. I haven't seen official confirmation that MSNBC would also be excluded, but if NBC News and Telemundo are out, it stands to reason my employer would be barred as well.

And then, of course, there's the question of debate moderators.

We talked yesterday about a report that Republicans would consider replacing journalists with right-wing media personalities like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. The unabashedly conservative Washington Times ran a follow-up report this morning, suggesting there's something to this rumor.


In case this isn't already obvious, excluding major news organizations and replacing journalists with right-wing media personalities at debates is a great idea if Republicans intend to have a nice conversation with themselves. The epistemic closure that's helped to define the party's discourse in recent years will have an even more impenetrable dome -- far-right candidates will field far-right questions from far-right loudmouths, all in the hopes of impressing far-right voters. And if the goal is to be elected the leader of a far-right club in a far-right treehouse, all of this would seem quite rational.

But I seem to recall reading the Republican National Committee's "Growth and Opportunity Project" report back in March, and this tidbit of wisdom on page 7: "The Republican Party needs to stop talking to itself. We have become expert in how to provide ideological reinforcement to like-minded people, but devastatingly we have lost the ability to be persuasive with, or welcoming to, those who do not agree with us on every issue."

At the time, this sentiment reflected sound judgment and a fair-minded recognition of the party's challenges. Five months later, it simply looks hilarious.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/16/20053005-rnc-unanimously-approves-2016-debate-resolution?lite

NBC and CNN can now refuse to air all GOP and conservative PAC ads.

One would think the GOP would be running out of feet to shoot at.