{"id":4076,"date":"2011-03-17T02:16:30","date_gmt":"2011-03-17T09:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4076"},"modified":"2011-03-17T02:16:30","modified_gmt":"2011-03-17T09:16:30","slug":"for-sale-republican-national-committee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4076","title":{"rendered":"FOR SALE: Republican National Committee"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re in the market for an antique political party that, despite having a great deal of wear, has had millions of dollars invested in it by its previous owners, you’re in luck<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“The Republican National Committee is considering sanctioning the GOP presidential primary debates and then selling the broadcast rights to news outlets.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is wrong on so many levels. First of all, it reduces the electoral process to a consumer product. If you thought that campaigning was like selling soap before, you aint seen nothin’ yet.<\/p>\n

This repulsively misguided proposal turns the debates into profit centers for the party. How exactly do they market them? Do they sell exclusive rights to media organizations they favor? Do they license the program to all takers who will pay the fee? Do they post it on eBay and sell to the highest bidder? Perhaps they could go the infomercial route and partner with retailers who can sell campaign buttons, t-shirts, and commemorative plates during the breaks.<\/p>\n

Would the fee include the right to designate debate moderators? Would the licensee be able to write the questions for the candidates? What other privileges come with the broadcast rights? Could the they compel the candidates to do promotions? Could they program the debate as the lead-in to a their new Shelley Long sitcom or CSI: DC?<\/p>\n

How would the party and the broadcaster account for the payment? Would it be considered a political donation? If so, there are Federal Election Commission limits as to how much can be exchanged. And what’s to stop a partisan media conglomerate from offering to pay a license fee for multiple stations, papers, and Internet sites, in an effort to funnel cash into the party?<\/p>\n

What’s next? How about “naming rights”<\/em> like sports arenas? Maybe the “Citibank Republican Party”<\/em> or the “GO ‘Daddy’ P.”<\/em> Perhaps they could sell product placements or get the candidates to make testimonials. Burger King could give away tickets to the debate with every Whopper in a cross-promotion with what Republicans fill their stump speeches with.<\/p>\n

Even better, why not just sell the party outright? I’m sure Rupert Murdoch would love to add it to his corporate empire that already owns notable Republican businesses like Fox News and the Wall Street Journal. Although based on their current business relationship, that may just be redundant. After all, Murdoch already employs multiple prospective GOP presidential hopefuls, as well as former House Speakers and Cabinet secretaries.<\/p>\n

If the RNC goes through with this they will be affirming their distaste for ethics and their affinity for corruption. They will be ending once and for all any argument that they are not shills for corporate cronyism and greed. Only today’s modern, tea-stained, Republican Party could even contemplate such an asinine plan. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’re in the market for an antique political party that, despite having a great deal of wear, has had millions of dollars invested in it by its previous owners, you’re in luck: “The Republican National Committee is considering sanctioning the GOP presidential primary debates and then selling the broadcast rights to news outlets.” This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[152,1],"tags":[301],"class_list":["post-4076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-election","category-general","tag-republicans"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-13K","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51785,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=51785","url_meta":{"origin":4076,"position":0},"title":"Cowardly Republican Party to Require Their Presidential Candidates to Boycott 2024 Debates","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/13\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"With the 2024 presidential election still nearly three years away, the Republican Party is already showing signs that they are afraid of engaging in a free and open discourse with their Democratic opponent. 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