The FCC Should Be Banning More Politicians From Talk Shows |
Earlier this week, Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico had his interview on Stephen Colbert’s late-night talk show on CBS yanked due to concerns it could violate the Federal Communications Commission’s “equal time” rule.
But while the FCC rule—a de facto mandate that if a broadcaster gives one candidate airtime they have to offer the same to that candidate’s opponents—is an anti-free speech monstrosity that freedom-loving Americans should loathe, we should at least thank it for one thing: Killing what was overwhelmingly likely to be yet another not-very-funny appearance by a candidate that, yes, the left really likes, but who, at the end of the day, is a politician, not someone who actually earns his money (or even his social media views) by making people laugh.
Or at least not that way, I should say. Plenty of right-wingers I know consider Talarico a jokester for trying to pass as a Texas-acceptable moderate when he’s made a variety of comments that look entirely in keeping with Kamala Harris’ philosophy. Texas wasn’t Harris country in the last presidential election—nor has it voted for a Democratic presidential nominee at any time since 1976; even if the state’s Republicans nominate Attorney General Ken Paxton as their candidate and Talarico........