Is Fox Silencing Its Guests' Opposition To Immigration Reform?
Fox News interviewed Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin this week -- two of the most vocal conservative figures speaking out in opposition to immigration reform -- yet asked neither guest about immigration.
Conservative radio hosts Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin have been leading the charge against the bipartisan immigration reform bill passed by the Senate and currently pending in the House of Representatives. Levin has named the potential legislation a "disgusting disgrace" and "a crap sandwich." Limbaugh has habitually misrepresented the content of the bill, which he calls "amnesty," and claimed that because some Republicans support it, "the establishment of this party is authoring its demise." Both men haveattacked Republican officials who support the bill and urged them to oppose it.
According to Limbaugh, he requested to talk about immigration and the Republican party when he phoned in to Fox & Friends on July 2, but the network rebuffed his request. Limbaugh later told his radio audience, "They asked me, 'what do you want to talk about?' ... First thing out of my mouth, 'I want to talk about immigration and the state of the Republican party,' [but Fox] wouldn't go there. I had to bring it up myself to whatever extent that I did." Limbaugh concluded, "And that, by the way, is quite telling to me."
Interestingly, the next day Levin called in to Your World with Neil Cavuto and also avoided the topic of immigration. Levin and host Cavuto spoke for nearly nine minutes, but discussed only the Affordable Care Act.
While it is unclear whether Levin, like Limbaugh, desired to talk about immigration reform during his interview, it is notable that both anti-immigration reform voices were silent while on Fox News.