Netflix acts as though it's losing subscriptions and is obviously in damage control mode in the wake of its decision to give President Obama a contract to produce shows.

Netflix's Chief Operating Officer Ted Sarandos has said the streaming service is not veering to the political left despite a $50 million deal with former US president Barack Obama – but people are not buying it. Speaking at an industry event in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, Ted Sarandos said that Netflix's multi-year deal with the former president and his wife, Michelle Obama, does not mean the company is leaning left. "It's not the Obama Network. It's not the MSNBC shift. There's no political slant to the programming," he said, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that subscribers may be fleeing. Obama himself has botched things for the company by admitting that his idea is to shove more community organizing on the subscription service's offerings. Customers are on to it, knowing exactly what that means, and rebelling at the politicization of more of their culture. After all, they made their wishes known and rejected the left last November 2016. So no wonder so many are now saying, "Goodbye, Netflix."

Damage control has begun, with the company's CEO stating that President Obama's content won't be "political." Over on Twitter, the claim is being met with hoots of skepticism. After all, Obama has an unprecedented history of divisiveness even as he claims to be a unifier and an unprecedented record as an ex-president taking continuous potshots at President Trump. Nobody believes they won't be insidiously political, promoting some "progressive" agenda element through (always phony) sob stories for even one minute.

It's a stupid strategy, given that no one, especially the people threatening to cancel subscriptions, believes. With the contract signed on the dotted line, it's likely Netflix is stuck with its lemon deal. So, instead of claiming that the shows won't be political, which is irritating because it's so dishonest, how about admitting that the shows will be political, a gift to liberals, and then, in an affirmative-action countermove for conservatives, giving someone like Dinesh D'Souza a similar deal?

It would be good business sense for Netflix, given that D'Souza is a lava fountain of money, with some of the highest-grossing documentaries of all time, and his popularity among conservatives is stratospheric. Just look at how many followers he has on Twitter. Or, if it can be objectively done, just look at the skill and substance and talent he brings to his work. It's all there. D'Souza has a proven record of delicious-to-watch documentaries that are catnip to conservatives, and they will make Netflix money.

What's more, it would make sense for Netflix to do it because it's well in line with Netflix's current strategy of catering to niche markets. One niche can be for leftists, and the other niche can be for conservatives, and both sets of viewers can choose to watch the things they like and decide for themselves whether to watch the other side's offerings or else ignore them.

How about it, Netflix? Turn a lemon into lemonade, restore your record for honesty, and bring Dinesh D'Souza onboard to produce the lucrative documentaries that thrill so many Netflix viewers.

Just a thought.

Image credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0.