Newt Gingrich told FOX and Friends this morning that it was wrong for Brian Williams to “kill free speech” and silence the audience in last night’s debate.
Agreed.
It also made for a very boring debate. NBC was out of line.
CNS News reported:
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says it was “wrong” for debate moderator Brian Williams to silence the “free speech” of the debate audience in Tampa.
At the start of Monday night’s debate, Williams said, “We’ve asked our invited guests here this evening to withhold their applause, any verbal reactions to what they hear on stage, so as to ensure this is about the four candidates here tonight and what they have to say.”
Never again, Gingrich told Fox & Friends the morning after:
“I wish in retrospect I’d protested when Brian Williams took them (the live audience) out of it, because I think it’s wrong. And I think he took them out of it because the media is terrified that the audience is going to side with the candidates against the media, which is what they’ve done in every debate.
“And we’re going to serve notice on future debates, we won’t (mumble), we’re just not going to allow that to happen. That’s wrong. The media doesn’t control free speech. People ought to be allowed to applaud if they want to. It was almost silly.”
Newt’s right. If NBC didn’t want an audience they could have held their debate in a studio or hotel room.
