Kucinich Excluded Yet Again...

Here, for what it's worth (and I suspect that's not much), are a few links followed by the full text of an e-mail I sent to MSNBC's "Countdown" yesterday. NBC/MSNBC had decided to bar Dennis Kucinich, who is on the ballot and has placed very well in several national online polls, from this week's nationally televised Democratic debate in Las Vegas. The network gave no substantive reason for its decision and never contested the fact that Kucinich met the criteria the network had initially set for inclusion in the debate. When a county judge ruled that the network had to include Kucinich in the debate if it was to air at all, the network--which is, it must be mentioned, owned by defense contractor General Electric--appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court, which overturned the earlier decision, holding that forcing the corporate network to include Kucinich would result in unconstitutional prior restraint of journalistic First Amendment rights.

Here's an AP piece about the higher court's decision.

Here's Kucinich's statement (on YouTube) about the decision.

Here is the Nevada Supreme Court decision granting the network's appeal. Note that the decision purports to be on contract grounds but, in a footnote on the last page, also states that the lower court's decision was invalid on First Amendment grounds. This latter part is the only aspect of the decision I've yet seen discussed in the news media.


To Whom it Concerns,

My husband and I watch "Countdown" every night. We count on Keith (my use of his first name is intentional, to show much a part of our lives he has become) to bring us truthful, thoughtful coverage and analysis of stories that don't get adequate treatment anywhere else in the mainstream media. He has become a hero to us by relentlessly reporting on desperately important issues like voting rights, election fraud, war based on lies, and the perfidy and Constitutional violations of the Bush administration. He has kept shining a light on these issues even when nobody else in his position will acknowledge them.

All that ended last night when, with heartbreak and disbelief, we watched Keith go through the show, and the post-debate analysis, without once addressing the unfair and profoundly undemocratic decision of NBC/MSNBC to exclude Dennis Kucinich from last night's debate in Las Vegas for no apparent reason, and despite his earlier inclusion. Keith merely mentioned the status of the legal proceedings involving the network's appeal, with no mention of the implications of NBC's decision on the democratic process and the special, sacred role of the news media in covering electoral politics.

Aghast and profoundly disappointed, I have concluded that Mr. Olbermann must have been instructed to keep his mouth shut on this issue. The problem is, every interview I've read, every article quoting Keith, and Keith's own writings are replete with references to his refusal to be gagged by his corporate masters when he feels that an issue is of vital importance. Keith even thanks Dennis Kucinich in the acknowledgments section of his new book, "Truth and Consequences." Much has been made of Keith's new, more powerful voice in determining the content of his show since the network became aware of the reason for the show's skyrocketing ratings...namely, KO's outspokenness and refusal to kowtow to corporate and political power.

Keith's exercise of this power has been particularly apparent when the subject is the arbitrary use (and abuse) of powers unjustly derived, which is demonstrably the case here. General Electric does not own the public airwaves. NBC and MSNBC are licensed by our government to transmit programming in the public interest, and subject to numerous restrictions that are at least arguably in furtherance of the public good. This role is singularly important when coverage of electoral politics is at issue.

Most importantly, I believe that Keith Olbermann knows all this and much more. This makes his decision to go along with NBC/MSNBC directives to keep his lip zipped on the Kucinich debate exclusion (if my suspicions are correct and this is indeed what happened) all the more heartbreaking. Keith has let us all down, hugely, either because he suddenly doesn't care anymore about these issues or because he has decided to finally sell out completely to his corporate bosses. He has certainly let himself down, as well, and I hope he realizes this before it's too late. Whatever the reason for Keith's silence as a huge, powerful corporation inserts itself into the democratic process in an effort to narrow political discourse and deprive the American people of a full, fair choice in the upcoming election, I will never be able to trust him again to maintain the high standards he himself has set.

What a sad day, and what a huge loss. I sincerely hope that Mr. Olbermann, whom I didn't know so well after all, will break his silence and include Rep. Kucinich on the program as soon as possible, to fulfill the obligation of his position and his profession to the American people and the institution of democracy.

Sincerely,
Susan Beal
Brooklyn, NY