ABC Responds To "False" RNC Attack On Planned Health Care Special

An executive from ABC News has responded to a letter from RNC Chief of Staff Ken McKay that criticized a planned ABC series about health care, set to be broadcast from the East Room of the White House.

In the original letter, McKay wrote he was "deeply concerned and disappointed with ABC's astonishing decision to exclude opposing voices" on the issue.

Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our Party's views to those of the President's to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented. Our request was rejected ... I find it outrageous that ABC would prohibit our Party's opposing thoughts and ideas from this national debate, which affects millions of ABC viewers.

ABC Senior Vice President Kerry Smith responded, calling McKay's arguments were based on "false premises." Smith said that the health care specials are "devoted to exploring and probing the President's position and giving voice to questions and criticisms of that position," and he dismissed charges that the program would feature a partisan, one-sided message.

ABC News is looking for the most thoughtful and diverse voices on this issue. ABC News alone will select those who will be in the audience asking questions of the president. Like any programs we broadcast, ABC News will have complete editorial control. To suggest otherwise is quite unfair to both our journalists and our audience.

The healthcare special is set to air on June 24.

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Comments

[dancucich]

11:57 PM on 06/17/2009

If the GOP wants equal time, they should support the fairness doctrine
instead of opposing it. I have no sympathy for them on this issue.

[MSG001]

07:19 PM on 06/17/2009

ABC should re-think their postion. The practice for opposing views has precidence.

[audadvnc]

04:11 PM on 06/17/2009

The RNC is demanding equal time on ABC to spill their lies and dissembling? How quaint. It appears that Pox News isn't getting enough ratings coverage...

I can't wait to see the request to Pox from them:

"Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our President's views to those of our Party's to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented."

[raker]

12:19 PM on 06/17/2009

Yesterday, NPR's Talk of the Nation did an hour on how doctors are blameless in our disastrous health care non-system. It's patients who've mucked things up by demanding care and suing negligent doctors.

Today, NPR's Here and Now is doing an ad for Pfizer disguised as a story. (Pfizer is giving away Viagra to some unemployed people.) The host carried on like this was the heartwarming story of the year, as though Pfizer were adopting orphans. The upshot: the pharmaceutical companies aren't the bad guys either. As NPR asserted yesterday, the problem is patients.

[Pretrib]

10:32 AM on 06/17/2009

The Demarxists-Liberals want a dictatorship and state sponsored press (with a minor few exceptions that include Fox News) and they now have it. Welcome to Iran. Nationalized banks, nationalized businesses, government controlled press, and nationalized health care around the corner. The naive liberal sheep continue to march to the slaughter. All swayed and mesmerized by a good speech maker. I understand Hitler gave good speeches too. Here's to believing in unaccountable and undefined "change".

[fuxxxor]

10:40 AM on 06/17/2009

Call the Wahmbulance. Also Godwin's Law FTW.

[hrholmes]

11:36 AM on 06/17/2009

uh.... dude hitler also took away all citizens guns... just sayin, maybe you could maybe read a history book or something and faux rewrite history really doesn't count.

[zest]

10:09 AM on 06/17/2009

Gee, no one is approaching the minority party for their plan for healthcare reform; probably because the is no there there.

[Grunty1]

10:31 AM on 06/17/2009

I'm expecting them to put out a health care plan soon. It will be 10 pages long, 9 of those pages being typed sounds of laughter and the last being tax cuts.

[MaeScott]

01:44 PM on 06/17/2009

good one!

[MsJoanne]

11:23 AM on 06/17/2009

This reminds me of the GOP's big budget plan, er, blueprint, er, whatever. They talked about healthcare and how bad it was elsewhere, using Ian Dobbin as their example (in the UK). Except that Ian Dobbin, within 30 days, got his experimental therapy, which was needed before he got a transplant. Six months later, he had the transplant (once a donor was found) and it cost him ZERO pounds...courtesy of his UK nationalized healthcare.

And this was the reason why Americans should not have healthcare like other industrialized nations?

[hrholmes]

11:32 AM on 06/17/2009

oh man... why the facts ma'am? lol We all know that the GOP knows that several dozen rougue nations have better health care and complete coverage like those sneaks in Canada, UK and Japan to name a few. Socialist commies right? lololol

[disgustedbyitall]

09:36 AM on 06/17/2009

"Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our Party's views to those of the President's to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented."

Apparently, the opinion of the RNC and the opinion of the president are "all sides" of the issue.

More inside-the-beltway oligarchy.

[Knowitall]

09:58 AM on 06/17/2009

Reaping what the Rupert Murdoch's have sown. I love it!!

[Grunty1]

10:31 AM on 06/17/2009

Well, the Rushpublicans see THEIR own view as all sides.

[take10]

11:45 AM on 06/17/2009

Or, the only side that matters!

[den1953]

09:33 AM on 06/17/2009

This is why the Republican party works so great with Fox News they have there media outlet get over it !

[brt929]

09:32 AM on 06/17/2009

As someone at Politico pointed out, it sounds like the Rethugs are advocating the "Fairness Doctrine"

How about that?

[Grunty1]

10:32 AM on 06/17/2009

Just them being their typical hypocritical selves.

"Do as I say, not as I do"

[NedroidPrime]

11:11 AM on 06/17/2009

Well, we have plenty of ammo to use on them in that fight. Why should we cave and let them be heard, after the abuses we put up for the past 8 years?

[BBackSoon]

09:22 AM on 06/17/2009

Does this have any bearing on the Neilson Ratings Mistake?

I wonder?

[mcvet]

08:50 AM on 06/17/2009

After giving us the WORST President in our History and proving without a doubt that the entire party is Incompetent, the Party of De-Regulation now wants to turn ALL networks into FOX News. Right!

[nb0183]

09:03 AM on 06/17/2009

They are just insane and desperate!

[1differentdrummer]

09:30 AM on 06/17/2009

But young, bright and talented, right? Riiight.

[ditraiano]

07:23 AM on 06/17/2009

Imagine that! The DNC controlled media wil not let the RNC have a voice. This is just one more example of how liberals do not believe in the first amendment.

[We-Are-The-Ones]

07:36 AM on 06/17/2009

It is the RNC who wants to control someone else's speech. The RNC can speak, but in a different forum. The 1st amendment does not allow you to horn in on someone else's forum. Sorry ;0

There is nothing to suggest that ABC is controlled by the DNC. They just do not want to hear half-baked, ill thought out, uninformed BS from the RNC. The GOP is a party with no ideas, no leadership, and no creativity. No one wants to hear lies. ABC is absolutely correct in making sure only informed and intelligent folk are on the program, which automatically excludes the RNC.

[ditraiano]

07:43 AM on 06/17/2009

You just proved my point.

Thank you

[SteelTrapMind]

08:48 AM on 06/17/2009

Since the republicans removed teh so-called 'Fairness Doctrine', no one has to give anyone equal time. Stop crying for reaping what your party has sown.

[lcdbsez]

05:54 AM on 06/17/2009

Imagine that! Someone at the MSM actually doing an analytical piece on what's wrong with out healthcare(ha!) system . . .

And the weepublican Party's whining about why they're not emphasizing the really good things about the system THEY designed . . . which sucks, btw.

That's like the schoolyard bully complaining to the teacher that he only beat up one kid -- just look at the rest of the kids on the playground that he didn't beat up!! so, why should HE be punished -- at all!!!???

Typical weepublican "logic" -- blame the other guy for your own sins . . . and, make sure that you poison the well, first, too!

[patrickgarret]

05:42 AM on 06/17/2009

Wah! Wah! Wah! We want to hear from OUR PRESIDENT. Not the party representing 20% of the country.

[exile]

05:17 AM on 06/17/2009

the party of palin is so drama laden