Two GOP congressmen are opening a new front to “fight back against cancel culture” by working to ensure several cable networks, including Newsmax, remain available in the U.S. Capitol as some Democrats push to rid them from the air.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis on Tuesday sent a letter to House Administration Committee Chair Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., after attempts by members of her own party to pressure cable providers to drop numerous news networks.
“The House of Representatives can fight back against cancel culture by ensuring that Members and staff have access to these targeted news networks on the House’s internal television system,” Jordan and Davis wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Newsmax’s Logan Ratick. “We therefore ask you, as chair of the committee responsible for internal House operations, to reject cancel culture and ensure that the House’s television system carries Fox News, OANN, and Newsmax.”
Newsmax in a statement lauded the letter.
“The House Democrats’ continuing support of Cancel Culture is a cancer on society,” the statement said. “Free Speech, the free exchange of ideas, and First Amendment rights are foundational to our nation, and our courageous servicemen and women have given their lives protecting these rights. We strongly support the letter from Representatives Davis and Jordan.”
Davis is the ranking member on Lofgren’s committee, while Jordan, a staunch and vocal opponent of “cancel culture” is the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee.
The letter added: “This attempt to cancel Fox News, OANN, and Newsmax is not just a radical attack on the First Amendment’s freedom of the press. It also blatantly ignores how left-wing news outlets regularly pushed false narratives about President Trump and the Trump Administration, including debunked allegations of Russian collusion.”
Jordan and Davis sent their letter in response to a series of Feb. 22 missives from Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Ca., and Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Ca., who urged twelve “cable, satellite, and streaming television providers” to “disassociate with Fox News, OANN, and Newsmax.”
“The House of Representatives must stand together in rejecting cancel culture and fighting attempts to restrict the freedom of the press,” Jordan and Davis wrote.
They added: “Even in the face of our sharp disagreements on policy, the House should always promote the free exchange of ideas rather than cancel the ideas with which we disagree.”
Right-leaning politicians and conservatives have been chief among those who’ve increasingly found themselves silenced by media, corporations and big tech as “cancel culture” takes hold. Just in the last two months, former President Donald Trump was booted from Twitter and Facebook and countless news organizations have found themselves victimized by often controversial “fact checks” that rely on liberal experts or assessments.
Source: Newmax
