A Follow-Up to What Hurts The Most, The Obama Edition

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about the White House's private media publication of Obama's visit with the UCONN Lady Huskies? Well, it looks like I was right in that the White House's own media coverage would become more of a norm in presentday politics/life. Here is a report from Matt Drudge that is just utterly disturbing. I quote:

On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its
programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push
government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!

Is Obama making me more conservative? Because I'm looking at the response to this report that Ken McKay, the Chief of Staff of the Republican National Committee, put out last night and I am agreeing completely. What the report claims is that ABC News will be having a special broadcast dedicated completely to a 'townhall' meeting with Barack Obama that is devoid of any opposition voices. McKay claims in his complaint that the RNC requested "an opportunity to add our Party's views to those of the President's to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented" and yet this request was denied. McKay continues:

I am concerned this event will become a glorified infomercial to promote the
Democrat agenda. If that is the case, this primetime infomercial should be paid
for out of the DNC coffers. President Obama does not hold a monopoly on health
care reform ideas or on free airtime. The President has stated time and time
again that he wants a bipartisan debate. Therefore, the Republican Party should
be included in this primetime event, or the DNC should pay for your airtime.

Isn't this eerily sounding like Hugo Chavez's 14 hour ramblings broadcasted on nationalized television stations? Isn't this kind of close to the monopoly over media that we saw during the oppressive regimes not only in our neighboring South America, but also in apartheid and fascist African and European government structures? During the campaign, we saw lengthy ads from Barack Obama that detailed his plans for the economy. And you know what? We loved it. We loved that he was 'sitting down' like a little fireside chat, explaining to us in a little more detail about his plans for the economy if he was to be elected as President. It was a straight forward, to the point campaign effort that certainly paid off. But look, Mr. Obama, the campaign is over. This is America. We don't monopolize media coverage here. We don't take over news stations to promote our newest policy ideas. We debate, we discuss, we argue, we compromise. We iron things out on the big screen, in the grand stand, at the lecturn. WE do these things together regardless of one's registered voter status. It's great that he wants to promote what he thinks is best for the country and I love the idea that he himself is presenting it to our country. Yet, if he is going to go ahead and claim this is a 'townhall' production and that his intentions are to discuss the plans for the future, then the White House should not be denying representatives of the Republican Party from being present to play devil's advocate. If his plan is so perfect, if it will work so well, if it will solve all of our health care qualms, then what's so wrong with having someone from the opposition there anyway? Since when, in America, have we been so fixated on our own idea of what is right and what is wrong that we will refuse to even entertain an alternative? That is not what the United States of America stands for. That is not what the United States of America was built upon. I don't know if I can sit here and accept a President who rose to the highest realm of leadership in the world promising compromise and transparency and aisle-crossing policies, but has since moved so left, has become so cunningly opaque, and has so fervently rejected conservative ideas that it almost sacrifices the values upon which our nation was founded. I just don't know if I can do it.