43% of Republicans say Trump should be allowed to shut down media

What I could get behind is a law allowing for more accountability.... relaxed civil slander laws, and even criminal penalties for purposely false reporting.

So.. no more tabloids huh? There goes our entertainment!

Slippery slope - free speech allows just that. You can choose to read other sources to verify or follow. If they fined those with false reporting, Fox would be just as fined (if not moreso) as CNN. How about we do it like we've always done it - check multiple sources and make up our own minds.

Also I am getting tired of the "Trump as a citizen is just expressing his opinion" angle. He is NOT "just" a citizen. He is A citizen, but he is also the most powerful person in the country. As the POTUS, his words hold great power, leverage and force. So him just casually suggesting media sources be shut down is not as if Joe the bartender says the same to you on a slow Thursday night.

And he has gone beyond that, refusing entry into press conferences solely to the sources that dare question him. Not coincidence, not constitutional, and a hell of a lot worse than some corporations banning one obnoxious fool with hateful and utterly ridiculous takes. But hey.. let's ignore that, and concentrate on a single guy that is known to manufacture bullcrap on a daily basis. The guy that has forced grief stricken parents to MOVE away from their homes into locked-down communities to protect themselves from Alex Jones groupies who harass them with death threats. Yea.. that makes a lot of sense.. there is the real threat to free speech. O.o

a reply to: fleabit

Yep trumps brash words have real impact on businesses and the economy. Its too bad people worship him.

Then what if he did shut down media that he dislikes(is not in favor of him)? You have state run media. As some may know it was close to that with the last administration.

Someone mentioned about Alex Jones replacing news if that happens, not a far off comment. I bet they(Jones and co.) are thinking about it right now.

a reply to: dreamingawake

It was never close to state run media under the last administration!

a reply to: Joecanada11



Obama's Media Machine: State Run Media 2.0?

But some say the current dynamic is different, and dangerous. "They're opening the door to kicking the press out of historic events, and opening the door to having a very filtered format for which they give the American public information that doesn't have any criticism allowed," said University of Minnesota journalism professor and political communication analyst Heather LaMarre.

Source

a reply to: fleabit

So.. no more tabloids huh? There goes our entertainment!

So, you get entertainment from watching other people's lives damaged by false stories? That explains a lot.

Slippery slope - free speech allows just that. You can choose to read other sources to verify or follow. If they fined those with false reporting, Fox would be just as fined (if not moreso) as CNN.

No. You appear to be confused.

No one has a right to damage someone else falsely... not you, me, or some media hound-dog reporter with a political axe to grind. If someone puts out a false story on someone else that damages their reputation, they should be allowed to recover damages. They would be if someone not hired by the MSM slandered them.

Also I am getting tired of the "Trump as a citizen is just expressing his opinion" angle.

Well, then, we're even. I'm getting tired of the "but it's Trump so it's the end of the world" angle. Guess what, buddy: your gal lost. She's not President. Someone else is, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. And he's going to be President for two more long, long years, and quite probably four more even longer years after that.

Heck, if you folks don't get your act together, we may never see another Democrat in the Oval Office again. In 2052 we can just elect President Barron Trump!

TheRedneck

a reply to: Dfairlite

Well I guess you agree with me on the part of Trump having a narcissistic personality, bigotry and lack of credibility since you conveniently ignored those comments. So addressing basic American values, are values protected by our constitution and written in the Declaration of Independence. American values also include Core Values. All Americans should be aware of our historic values starting from a 4th grade history class and stories handed down by our immigrant grandparents.

-Basic American Value 1 = The Declaration of Independence clearly states "all men are created equal." Trump has time and time again has referred to blacks who criticize his rhetoric as having low IQ's. I can make a huge list of his racial comments and actions but for the sake of space i'll leave you with this link. There are numerous links, tweets and documented quotes that proves he believes blacks are less intelligent than whites.

Racial Views of Donald Trump

-Basic American Value 2 = The first Amendment states - Freedom of the press in the United States is legally protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. This amendment is generally understood to prevent the government from interfering with the distribution of information and opinions. Yet trump continues to declare the press is the enemy of the people.

-Core American Values - We are a country of immigrants. Were not considered a melting pot of immigrants based upon a fictional story! We have a statue that welcomes immigrants in the New York Harbor that clearly welcomes immigrants of all nations.

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

Unless you're a native Indian, you are an immigrant just like the majority of Americans. Immigrants made the U.S. what it is today! Ever hear that the U.S. is a melting pot of immigrants? America has never treated immigrants to this country as cruel as Trump has. Our immigration problem can be handled in a way where we can do it much more humanely than separating young children from their parents. This immoral policy does not represent the historic values America places on immigrants. Here's a link that explains more of American Values Trump has stepped on. Google American Values, it shouldn't be that hard, lol.

Immigration and American Values
Immigration and American Values

a reply to: WeRpeons

The only tangible assault on basic American values is coming the left. They use left leaning tech companies as Trojan horses to suppress and eliminate freedom of expression of different poltical views. Antifa are nothing more than fascist domestic terrorist thugs out to destroy freedom of speech and expression through violence. All anti American anti constitution sentiment comes from the left.

originally posted by: Southern Guardian
a reply to: rollanotherone

Great turn out for my threads.... as usual. 43%, such a concern ya know. What do you have to say to your fellow Republicans?

Ahh. I'm a republican. I didn't know that. Thanks for putting me in my proper category. I'm Hispanic, I thought I was supposed to be a La Raza loving Democrat? Oh well. Thanks for showing me where I belong.

a reply to: Southern Guardian

CNN is already closing themselves down. With their bias, people are tuning out in droves and Nick at Night reruns are beating CNN for ad revenue.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: Southern Guardian

I sure hope all the people arguing with me about Alex Jones getting kicked off of Apple and Facebook will be here shortly to condemn these Republicans for supporting government led censoring of the media.

So one is a poll and one is actually happening...
Your leotard is showing.

originally posted by: rollanotherone

originally posted by: Southern Guardian
a reply to: rollanotherone

Great turn out for my threads.... as usual. 43%, such a concern ya know. What do you have to say to your fellow Republicans?

Ahh. I'm a republican. I didn't know that. Thanks for putting me in my proper category. I'm Hispanic, I thought I was supposed to be a La Raza loving Democrat? Oh well. Thanks for showing me where I belong.

Quiet you!
These people like the op will designate your social standing. Most likely between an uncle Tom or a traitor. But hey the rest of us human beings will accept you.

originally posted by: thepixelpusher
a reply to: Southern Guardian

CNN is already closing themselves down. With their bias, people are tuning out in droves and Nick at Night reruns are beating CNN for ad revenue.

I bet licensing a syndicated run of 30 year old programs is a lot cheaper than producing "news" shows, too.

a reply to: RadioRobert

CNN is bleeding red ink hard these days.

a reply to: mkultra11

I guess you completely ignored the assaults by this president on basic constitutional values. You aligning Antifa with the left is like aligning the KKK with the right. You're ignoring the wrongs of your own party while blaming the wrongs of the opposite party. You're also painting people associated with a political party with a broad brush.

Anyone who can put their party bias aside can easily come to the conclusion that both parties are corrupt and definitely don't represent the interest of the American people. Congress is expected to defend our constitution and American values. They're supposed to work "TOGETHER" and represent the "PEOPLE" not their political party! The same goes for the President of the United States. Neither has upheld their oath of office.

The direction Trump is taking the United States goes against America's moral and constitutional values. Congress has a duty to check and stop government corruption and presidents who want absolute power and control. It's why our founding fathers created three branches of government. Our system is broken due to outside influences and self-serving politicians. Our political system is divided down party lines. It's exactly why we have a do nothing congress. You and many others who want to blame others and wrap themselves in party labels are causing and attributing to conflicts and finger pointing on the streets of America. We're all Americans first and we should all stand united for better and non-intrusive government in our daily lives. We should also expect them to pass meaningful legislation to help improve the lives of the people it represents.

If you and many others who continue to deny and ignore this president's poor character, his need for absolute control, his racial bigotry, his incompetency and ignorance of government and American values, than you have nobody to blame than yourselves. As an American we should be united and hold our representatives and leaders accountable no matter what party label they represent. It's clear many republicans in congress don't like Trump ignoring Russia's interference in out elections. They don't agree with how he's handled our immigration policy. They don't like him tweeting, his bullying, his name calling and racial remarks. They're aware of his business scandals and many of his close campaign associates who are involved financial scandals. This is a president who declared he would drain the swamp, yet he and his close associates are swimming in it! All of this and more and the republican house majority continue to look the other way.

Lets face it, if conservative posters in this forum were truly honest, they would at least be calling Trump out for his poor and ignorant character. If Trump was an average guy on the street and we had a conversation with him, most of us would probably walk away saying "what a conceited A-hole." LOL

When it comes right down to it, the American people are their own worst enemy. We criticize legislation that will help us, support spending trillions of dollars on the military and foreign aid, while the government continues to take our hard- earned money in the form of taxes. We take cues from these self-serving politicians and create division and conflicts among ourselves instead of defending America's values and beliefs.

In the end, nobody should be above the law, even the POTUS. As an American, we should hold all government officials accountable. After all, they're elected to represent and work for all of us!

a reply to: fleabit

So.. no more tabloids huh? There goes our entertainment!

Slippery slope - free speech allows just that. You can choose to read other sources to verify or follow. If they fined those with false reporting, Fox would be just as fined (if not moreso) as CNN. How about we do it like we've always done it - check multiple sources and make up our own minds.

The left has and is already pushing free speech to the slippery slope.

The new logic embraced by the left is words hurt, you are not allowed to hurt people, so free speech needs to be capped to prevent verbal assault....

The Harm in Free Speech
opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...

Stanley Fish on education, law and society.

Jeremy Waldron’s new book, “The Harm in Hate Speech,” might well be called “The Harm in Free Speech”; for Waldron, a professor of law and political theory at New York University and Oxford, argues that the expansive First Amendment we now possess allows the flourishing of harms a well-ordered society ought not permit.

a reply to: Southern Guardian

isnt that anti american ! to shut down the free press ?

a reply to: Southern Guardian

Another poll indicates that 85% of Americans believe in freedom of the press. What was/were the question/s asked in the poll (methodology), this might help shed some light on how we can understand the answers? Like the poll does not specify what bad behaviour of the press looks like nor who determines what is fake news. What is the plus/minus error rate?

Also the percentage of republicans in the U.S. is 44%, so someone do the math here...43% of 44% of republicans - what percentage of all Americans would that be?

First off, the good news. The large majority of Americans, 85%, agree that the “Freedom of the press is essential for American democracy.” Additionally, two-thirds (68%) say that “reporters should be protected from pressure from government or big business interests.” Majorities of both Democrats and Republicans agree with these two statements signaling deep support for the concept of freedom of the press.

www.huffingtonpost.ca...

a reply to: WeRpeons

Well I guess you agree with me on the part of Trump having a narcissistic personality, bigotry and lack of credibility since you conveniently ignored those comments.

I don't, but that's neither here nor there.

So addressing basic American values, are values protected by our constitution and written in the Declaration of Independence. American values also include Core Values. All Americans should be aware of our historic values starting from a 4th grade history class and stories handed down by our immigrant grandparents.

Agreed!

-Basic American Value 1 = The Declaration of Independence clearly states "all men are created equal." Trump has time and time again has referred to blacks who criticize his rhetoric as having low IQ's.

aaaand the crazy talk begins. There are so many things wrong with this but I'm going to just touch on the two main points
1) All people being created equal has nothing to do with IQ.
2) Trump has not said black people are low IQ. He may have said some black people have a low IQ, but he also has said that about some white people as well, so that's hardly proof of racism nor an offending of this "basic american value.

-Basic American Value 2 = The first Amendment states - Freedom of the press in the United States is legally protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

3) Trump has not infringed on that freedom at all
4) The same amendment also protects freedom of speech, which trump is exercising
5) He has declared that the fake news media is the enemy of the people, are you now defending fake news?

-Core American Values - We are a country of immigrants. Were not considered a melting pot of immigrants based upon a fictional story! We have a statue that welcomes immigrants in the New York Harbor that clearly welcomes immigrants of all nations.

6) All nations are nations of immigrants, if you go back far enough into their history. At some point, each nation decided it was in their interest to slow immigration and build a cohesive society. You can agree or disagree with whether we are at the point we should follow in those foot steps, but you can't deny the basic reality of it.

7) The statue of liberty is a beacon of LIBERTY to the world. It's not a welcome mat. Have you visited the statue? If you had, you'd know the little poem you've cited is not a part of the statue. It is part of the pedestal. It was originally written and sold as part of a fund raising effort to build the pedestal (we had this statue with no where to put it. The statue was placed in 1886 and the plaque was not installed in the pedestal until 1903.

7a) Fun fact: it's also a giant middle finger to the rest of the governments of the world as it also reads: "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!"

Unless you're a native Indian, you are an immigrant just like the majority of Americans.

8) Which native americans were here first, surely not all tribes arrived at the same time. And being that they were at war with one another constantly, it's difficult to ascertain who you think owns or has right to this land.

America has never treated immigrants to this country as cruel as Trump has.

What has trump done to immigrants that was cruel??

Our immigration problem can be handled in a way where we can do it much more humanely than separating young children from their parents. This immoral policy does not represent the historic values America places on immigrants.

Oh, I see, you're conflating immigrants with ILLEGAL immigrants. I guess you need look no further than the native Americans to see why illegal immigration is a bad idea.

Also, yes, we have separated families and detained children for years. You're just being led around by your nose by a media who would rather whip you into a frenzy than actually explain what and why so that you can act rationally. Furthermore, trump ended that policy (or attempted to) with an executive order. So why are you not giving him credit for that?

Google American Values, it shouldn't be that hard, lol.

Don't believe everything you read on google....

a reply to: Dfairlite

Just like all Trump supporters, you're twisting words, ignoring numerous Trump statements that back-up his bigotry just to satisfy your bias support for Trump. The ignorance is really getting old.

As far as supporting fake news...like I said before, videos, and direct statements coming from the horse's mouth and his own tweets isn't something you can't fake! Especially when there's witnesses to speeches and the president himself backs up his words and tweets, lol. There's liberal and conservative bias in the news media. I wouldn't be surprised if you believed FOX news is above political bias, lol. Both news organizations have been called to the carpet when their reporting is wrong. However, overall the media is a checks and balance on government power, a check on constitutional rights being trampled upon, and our representatives and leaders. To believe and regurgitate Trump's constant attacks on the media, is surely going against this country's constitutional right of a free press. Calling the media the "Enemy of the People" is clearly preferring a "state Controlled News Media" which history has shown to be supported only by tyrannical dictatorships!

Be careful what you wish for.