GOP may bar journalists from convention
CNN Anchor Wolf Blitzer, for one, has stated that the Republican Party’s attempt to bar journalists from its convention is “simply unacceptable.” That’s a weak way to put it.
The GOP has announced its totally unconstitutional attempt to bar journalists from its August convention in Charlotte, an unprecedented move that party officials blamed on the state’s Coronavirus restrictions.
Amendment 1 clearly states that “Congress shall make no law … prohibiting the free exercise or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.”
Every four years, the summer political conventions serve as party pep rallies and media spectacles, with upward of 15,000 journalists swarming the speeches and delegates.
This hectic year, news organizations already planned on cutting back dramatically for this month’s scaled-down Democratic and Republican conventions because of the Coronavirus — and they may not have access to the latter at all.
CNN has reported that there will be no press on the ground when President Donald Trump accepts the formal nomination at the GOP convention, which, for the first time in the nation’s political history, will bar journalists from covering the event.
Only through portions of a livestream will the American public witness the vote, CNN noted, a decision that the Republican National Committee is blaming on Coronavirus-imposed restrictions that have forced the event to significantly limit attendance.
“Given the health restrictions in place within the state of North Carolina, we are planning for the Charlotte activities to be closed press Friday, Aug. 21 — Monday, Aug. 24” a Republican official and convention spokesperson said in a statement, first reported by the
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Saturday.
“We are happy to let you know if this changes but we are working within the parameters set before us by state and local guidelines regarding the number of people who can attend events.”
The virus health concerns have repeatedly derailed a portion of the event to Jacksonville, Fla., after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper could not promise to host the event as it would have operated pre-pandemic.
But spiking cases in Florida forced the president to backtrack again, paring down attendance in Jacksonville and then canceling that part of convention activities.
Now, a downsized number of delegates — 33%, one for every six representatives, are scheduled to vote at the formal proceedings in Charlotte.
According to the Gazette, reporters will also be barred from the room when the Republican National Committee meets to conduct official party business.
“The president is both angry at Coronavirus-related closures and using the cover they provide to bar press,” Maggie Haberman, of the NY Times, said on Twitter.
We strongly encourage every news outlet to join with the Antelope Valley Press in condemning the GOP for its unconstitutional attempt to bar the press.