Ted Cruz Has Real Concerns About Sohn Nomination

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Gigi Sohn, nominated by President Biden to the FCC, was on Capitol Hill Wednesday answering questions from lawmakers who will determine whether she’s confirmed to the Commission or not.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas accused Sohn of supporting free speech only if it involves speech by liberals.

Several times Wednesday Sohn was called out by Republicans for negative tweets she made about Fox News. Everyone knows Fox leans conservative.

Sohn responded by saying the criticism was unfair. “I’ve been characterized unfairly as being anti-conservative speech. I think my record says otherwise.”

Sohn mentioned she’s worked successfully with Chris Ruddy from Newsmax, also a conservative organization. Cruz said he had a conversation with Ruddy, who confirmed Sohn would be an advocate for additional voices, and Cruz said that was an encouraging sign.

Sohn did acknowledge her criticism of Fox News, saying it was in the context of a hearing where big tech was being blamed for misinformation — as it deserves to be, she said. “I have been critical of Fox News, because if you’re going to be critical of misinformation, you have to look at the entire ecosystem.” Some might take from the tweet that Sohn was saying the conservative network was spreading misinformation.
Cruz pointed out that there are people watching her confirmation hearing who watch Fox News, and he asked Sohn how they can be comfortable that she wouldn’t use the power of the government to silence conservative voices. He also brought up another Sohn tweet that read, “Do you still want me to believe that social media is more dangerous to democracy than Fox News?”

Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, also referring to Sohn’s tweets aimed at Fox News, said, “I think that disqualifies you completely.”

Sohn answered by saying she takes every allegation of bias very seriously and that she has also been critical of liberal media. She also said she signed an ethics agreement and she doesn’t believe she is biased.

Cruz said Sohn is an advocate for more censorship.

Earlier this week the NAB said it had concerns about the Sohn nomination.

10 COMMENTS

  1. Ted Cruz?!? He’s a national disgrace. No one with any credibility gives a flying f*&k what Ted Cruz thinks. And the idea that RadioInk is wasting space on his views is the final straw, I’m done. #RadicalGOP

  2. The truth is the FCC really can’t do anything about Fox News or any news network. The previous president wanted to use the FCC to take away the “licenses” of the networks. Until he found out they don’t actually have licenses. And he wasn’t able to shut them down. The previous president wanted to remove Section 230 protection from Twitter and Facebook because he thought they used it to censor conservatives. None of those things happened during the previous administration because they’re based on false narratives. Same with regards to this nominee. You can’t ban free thought. Just because someone applies for a government job doesn’t mean they lose their own rights to free speech. She is entitled to her opinions, just as Cruz is entitled to his. If he feels she has gone beyond her role as an FCC commissioner, he can have her removed. The FCC answers to Congress, and I know of several times when Congress has stepped in to reverse decisions made by the FCC. So there’s really nothing to fear in approving any FCC commissioner, as long as Congress is willing to do its oversight job.

    • Tragically, she will most likely make it. The Democrats hold all the levers of power in D.C., including the Senate, which is all she has to get past.

      Yes, we are seeing that elections do have consequences. The leftists, including Sohn, are savaging our country, our economy, the Consitution and on and on.

    • Section 230 NEEDS to go away. So does censoring by algorithm, etc. If the FCC, Congress, or the courts refuse to restore the First Amendment everywhere, turn the hackers loose.

    • Precisely, ‘Arbiter’.

      In fact, even CNN could no longer defend the liar and corruptocrat peddler that is Chris Cuomo. Cuomo lied about his whole COVID saga. Cuomo lied about how much help he was giving to his sex-creep brother, Andy. And those are just two of the most prominent examples.

      And don’t get me going on the overwhelming amount of garbage that comes out of MSNBC…including their in-house racist and homophobe, Joy Reid. Etc., etc….

  3. It’s a relief that someone in that position would recognize the devastation Fox News has had on our democracy. They profit off peddling lies to the American people and little has been done to stop their destructive actions. It’s one thing to support free speech and it’s another to lie to the point of destroying the very systems that were put in place to protect all Americans.

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