Jack & Jill Politics

So even Jesse Jackson Sr. has weighed in on this. You know, I got an email from somebody asking me what all the fuss is all about, what we’re so afraid of? FOx isn’t going to brainwash people, after all, is it?

It’s less fear than outrage. Why on earth would the Congressional Black Caucus choose to align itself with a network that has proven itself to be racist as a course of normal business operations? As part of their branding strategy? If the Ku Klux Klan or Council of Conservative Citizens had a cable news network, would it be appropriate to collaborate with them on hosting presidential debates, particularly when one of the candidates is black, a CBC member and a consistent target of the network’s hatred and misinformation? Like Jesse says, why let the Fox guard the henhouse?

Here’s just one example of Fox’s fare (thanks Media Matters):

Yet the description of Trinity as “separatist” continued. While discussing Obama’s church on the February 28 edition of Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes, co-host Sean Hannity stated that “many” call Trinity “separatist,” adding that “in some cases, even drawing comparisons to a cult.” Guest Erik Rush, a columnist for the conservative website WorldNetDaily, said that the church’s “scary doctrine” is “something that you’d see in more like a cult or an Aryan Brethren Church or something like that.”

Referring to “The Black Value System,” Rush also stated on Hannity & Colmes: “I would go beyond saying that they’re Afrocentric. They’re African-centric. They refer to themselves as an African people, and that somewhat disturbs me from the viewpoint of, well, do they consider themselves Americans? Do they consider themselves Christians? Are they worshipping Christ? Are they worshipping African things black? Well, I mean, what is it?” Later in the segment, when co-host Alan Colmes asked: “Are you questioning Barack Obama’s Christianity?” Rush responded simply: “Yeah.”

Right. Fox attacks the very roots of our culture yet they are appropriate partners? None of this makes sense given that there are other networks that would probably be eager to partner with the CBC including the major non-cable broadcasters. Cuz you know what, neither my mama nor my big mama plans to pay for TV anytime soon. They ain’t got no cable. Nor probably do the mamas and big mamas of most CBC members either. Y’all know what I am talking about. All this talk about reaching the widest possible audience is a bunch of hooey.

Tavis Smiley is hosting a presidential debate on PBS which is accessible to almost all Americans and that’s a good model. No, none of this makes sense unless there is cheddar, benjamins, gravy, big $MONEY$ involved – h/t Politico. Shame on the CBC. If they’re not careful, the black eye from this is going to leave a mark.