On Monday, August 5th, 2013 Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, released a statement regarding CNN’s & NBC’s plans to release a documentary & a mini-series on the life & times of Hillary Clinton. His statement was not of support. The RNC’s problem? The networks flagrant “support” of a Democratic candidate for President of the United States of America. Has she announced her candidacy? No. Is either program about a possible run for the nation’s highest office? No. Both networks have said publicly that their programs will depict her life as First Lady & her tenure as Secretary of State. Reince & the RNC are concerned nonetheless & have stated they will boycott any debate schedule for Republican primary debates on both networks. By now this is old news to you. An appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” gave him 10 minutes to state his grievances & set the record straight.Sean soft balled in the question,

”In 2012 you had all these liberal networks with Republican primary candidates. Pitting one against the other, asking wedge question issues, then would later be used by the Democratic candidate. Isn’t that right?”

Uh, Wha? I thought the point of primary debates was to find the differences in potential nominees. Of course they’re asking wedge type questions. Who stands where and for what? Isn’t that why we tuned in at all? Apparently not. Personally, I didn’t watch to see Bachmann’s talent (which to this day I have yet to figure out) or Ron Paul in a swimsuit. But we did learn that Perry couldn’t juggle 3 things at once & Romney had no sense of touch. Priebus, in typical Republican fashion, again showed us why it’s of utmost importance that we, as voters, pay particular attention to, not only, what is being said but how it is presented. He said,

“The problem we have now is we’ve got a bunch of moderators in the business of making news at the expense of the party and our candidates and we just can’t do it anymore.” He continued to comment “ The moderators pushed the candidates in hypothetical directions that would never be reality.” I remember one of those hypotheticals. The question posed was , “What would you do in your first day of office?”

It’s easy to see why the RNC is up in arms as demonstrated by his first quote of the interview.

“ I think it’s just about time that our party stands up and protects the party and our candidates from networks that are not in the business of promoting our party. They are not in the business of promoting our candidates.” He continued with, “They are not in the business of doing anything but promoting the Democratic Party.”

It sounds as if he wants a fair & balanced approach. And this is what he said about that very thing.

“Part of the problem too is that we need to control the debates. The party needs to control the debates.”

The RNC has a problem with, not only the networks but, the moderators as well. He wants the Republican Party to have control of the type of debate, the questions & who is asking them. In regards to demands of who moderates, and how, his comment was.

”I think I’m being very reasonable here.”

Really? Reasonable? To debate is to discuss a question by considering opposed arguments. It’s not a packaging of a puppet product for display and then to ask which model are you most attracted. The Republican bubble has gotten so big that they no longer veil their attempts of manipulating the public. It’s right out in the open.The proof? The RNC chairman finished his commentary succinctly.

“My point is this. We have to control the referees that we’re bringing into our playground.”

He then goes on to dictate business policy of both CNN & NBC by stating that if they want the Republicans then they will wait 2 or so years until after the election to release anything on Hilary. Ok Reince, sure. No need to strike while the iron is hot. It’s not like CNN films or NBC’s programming is in business to make money or anything. Not like we are promoting the Republican values of a free market system. The following day Reince Priebus appeared on CNN’s Up Front with Erin Burnett. The talking points were all the same. Most of the quotes too. He was prepared for verbal warfare but no attacks were made. Only calm questions. Give him just enough rope to hang himself. But Erin and the folks at CNN did catch him off guard at the end of the interview when they showed him a video from Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes in a statement he made in defense of his organization back in 2008.

“Any candidate for high office of either party who believes he can blacklist any news organization is making a terrible mistake about journalists. And any candidate who cannot answer direct, simple, and even tough questions from any journalist runs a real risk of losing the voters.”

On Wednesday, August 7th, New York Times op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd (to whom Fox News described as liberal) wrote a piece called “Reince is Right” in which she is quoted as saying,

“Films can dramatically alter the way famous people are viewed, making them cooler, more glamorous, more sympathetic- and the reverse. Clever filmmakers can offer up delicious soufflés of propaganda & storytelling, putting a new imprint on the historical record.”

That same day Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) marched in lock step with the RNC on WABC Radio using almost identical phrasing as Priebus had during the previous two days saying, “The question is are you going to get a fair shake and I think it’s a reasonable question for Republicans to ask.”

Thursday, August 8th, Reince made his way to MSNBC’s Morning Joe. His message has been the same. Very tailored. Very consistent. If CNN &/or NBC continue with plans to produce films or entertainment based on Hillary Clinton they will boycott those networks having Republican Presidential primary debates. The two things surprising here was that NBC News’ Chief White House Correspondent & Political Director Chuck Todd ripped NBC Entertainment for what he called,

“ A total nightmare for NBC News.”

And Mika Brzezinski rocked Reince back on his heels when she pointed out that he had come on their show expecting to be treated fairly so why would he expect a NBC moderator to treat his candidates any differently.

As of Thursday evening, Fox News’ Brett Baier had Priebus on for his second appearance where Fox’s chief political correspondent Carl Cameron was able to bring this story full circle when he reported,

“Historically national political parties have had no control over presidential primary debates. The media, sometimes partnering with other organizations, sets the terms and lets the candidate decide it’s in their interest to take part or stay on the sidelines.”

Ladies & gentlemen what you are witness to is the machine in motion with all cylinders firing. A blitz coming upon the media to spin your view. It began with Priebus’ attack on NBC & CNN and is being picked up by all other media outlets. It began with CBS. The message has now appeared on CNN, NBC, FOX, ABC (radio), MSNBC, & The New York Times. And that does not take into consideration all the other sources that have entered into debate or reported independently.

What started as entertainment in the earliest stages has been manipulated and produced into full-scale outrage on the part of the Republican Party. It’s amazing. NBC doesn’t even have a script written yet and additionally of interest here is the revelation that CNN Films is planning a theatrical release. Not a television audience production.

You are literally being bombarded with the same message droned into your heads from all outlets at various times of the day, on different days of the week to slant your view that somehow the Republican Party has been wronged by two completely separate companies coming up with two completely separate productions that are only in the stages of consideration. We’re not even in pre-production!

And to constantly hear day after day that there is a ‘liberal’ media bias makes it all the more insane. The Republican Party is attempting to strong arm media outlets to bend to their will. And they want you to, not only agree but, feel sorry for them as they do it. Reince did relent, sort of,

“ I don’t think they are going to back down. They might try to do something where they put it on a different cable channel or something like that, but I don’t expect them to back down and I don’t expect the RNC to back down either. I expect them to move forward and we will move forward and we will cut.”

The RNC is serving up a 3 course meal for the American public over the course of a couple of weeks. To give you time to sample & digest it all. First, the appetizer, in the form of the announcement on CBS. Second, the entrée, served hot & cold on all outlets from all sides, varying in degrees of temperature & seasoning. And last? Well, you’ll have to wait for dessert but it should be rich & for the RNC, hopefully sweet. If the respective networks don’t announce to shelve their productions on or before August, 14th then Reince plans a nice flambé`as a finale.

There is no way the American public is so blind as to not see that what the Republicans want is an unfair advantage. And they believe they not only deserve, but are owed one. It is becoming clear that if all things are equal the Republicans are now at a disadvantage among voters due to their own making. They have no one to blame but themselves. Nothing to hide behind now that the curtain has been pulled back. They are self-destructing before our eyes and I, for one, am enjoying the show.

The media will still continue to report the stories as they unfold. And Reince, no matter how much you complain or threaten or boycott, the fact of the matter is, you are not going to have control over the media. Nor should you. FOX excluded of course. Then again, Glenn Beck was quoted in an April, 2010 Forbes interview as an employees of Fox saying,

” I could give a flying crap about the political process… We’re an entertainment company.”

Yes. Yes you are. And this is just another act from the three-ring circus that is the RNC, the GOP & FOX.