Dems Want FCC to Block Conservative Co.’s Radio Station Deal after Firing of Clinton Fundraiser

April 22, 2021 Judicial Watch 

Democrats in Congress want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to block the sale of a tiny south Florida radio station because the new owner fired a Hillary Clinton fundraiser who once served as mayor of a local city. The politician turned radio host, Raul Martinez, was the Spanish-language station’s top host before a conservative media conglomerate bought it and changed the liberal-leaning programming. The deal received sparse local media coverage but earned national attention when lawmakers in Washington D.C. asked a federal agency to reject the sale for what appears to be political reasons. 

It all seems to be connected to Democrats blaming conservative local Spanish media for losing two key south Florida congressional seats in the 2020 election. In the state’s District 27, political newcomer Maria Elvira Salazar, a Cuban-American journalist, upset incumbent Donna Shalala, who served as Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. In the 26th District, Carlos Gimenez, also Cuban-American and the two-term mayor of Miami-Dade County, ousted incumbent Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a native of Ecuador. Democrats blamed it on misinformation—specifically false threats of socialism—promoted by local Spanish-language media outlets that tend to have politically conservative programming. “It was a McCarthyism type of pounding,” Shalala said in a news article after her shocking loss to a largely unknown candidate who lacks her name recognition..........To Read More....

FCC commissioner rips Democrats trying to block Florida radio station sale to conservative outlet - By David Rutz | Fox News - A commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has accused Democrats of crossing a "clear line drawn by the First Amendment" by pressuring the agency to block the sale of a popular Miami Spanish-language radio station.

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus called last week for the FCC to stop the sale of WSUA-AM to America CV, owner of the conservative América TeVé network.

Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr objected in a tweet on Monday.

"Democrats in Congress are pressuring the FCC to block the sale of a radio station based on the political viewpoints it would broadcast to South Florida’s Hispanic community," Carr tweeted. "This crosses a clear line drawn by the First Amendment and would turn the FCC into an arm of the DNC."

In an interview with Fox News, Carr said the politics of the buyer and the views of the station itself were not relevant to the FCC, calling it "none of our business."

"The argument that’s been put forward is a naked political one," ........"It doesn’t mean anything to me as a Republican if the purchaser is conservative or if the purchaser is progressive. That consideration shouldn’t be entering the fray."

................Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., said stopping the sale was necessary because "dangerous rhetoric can't go unchecked."  "It’s interesting that he’s doubled down on this claim that the FCC shoud be acting purely based on the political positions of this radio station," Carr said in response............Florida Democrats were particularly upset over the rhetoric about their party supporting "socialist" policies, knowing the word carries powerful sway with Florida residents whose families fled left-wing regimes for the United States.............