PBS Caves Into Right Wing Propaganda Machine in Airing Film on Florida Election Fiasco

by Louis Posner, VoterMarch.org, October 10, 2002

A new PBS (Public Broadcasting System) special is airing next week,  October 17 around the country called "Who Counts? Election Reform in America."  The show combines humor (Darrell Hammond from Saturday Night Live) along with serious  journalistic elements.  The program is airing on Thursday, October 10 at 9 PM  on Wisconsin Public Television and on October 17 in the rest of the nation (8  PM on WNET in NYC, 10 PM ET in most of the other markets).  The program is the  only show on the topic that is being broadcast nationwide.   For more information, you can go to Who Counts.

Look at how "Who Counts" characterizes the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore:  "On December 12th, the United States Supreme Court issued a momentous ruling, holding that Florida's citizens would be denied equal protection if the recounts proceeded, because ballots conceivably could be interpreted differently in different parts of the state."  The Supreme Court decision was anything but "momentous."  According to legendary LA prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, author of  "The Betrayal of America  - How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose our President.",  the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore was nothing less than partisan legal reasoning deserved of an indictment for treason.

To add insult to injury, "Who Counts" uses "Comedian and 'Saturday Night Live' cast member Darrell Hammond" to use "original comedy" to portray the Florida election fiasco.  Comedy certainly has its place in society, but not in a film on the theft of Democracy.

The reality is that "Who Counts" represents PBS caving into the right wing propaganda machine.  This is simply PBS's excuse to not air the excellent documentary films that tell the true story of the Florida Presidential election fiasco.  It is no coincidence that PBS is not viewing "Counting on Democracy"  by Danny Schechter or "Unprecedented:  The 2000 Presidential Election"  directed by
Richard Ray Perez & Joan Sekler.