June 19, 2013

Politics

Grassley pounds History Channel for lack of history

BY: JENNY ROGERS MARCH 13, 2012 | MODIFIED: MARCH 13, 2012 AT 12:15 PM
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Something has been eating at Chuck Grassley. It started back in February, when the Iowa senator and history lover turned on the History Channel and didn’t like what he saw. More precisely, he didn’t see what he liked: history.

“No history,” Grassley tweeted on Feb. 19. “I used to get history. Why do we h[a]v[e] such a channel when it doesn’t do history.”

A week later, the senator turned to the History Channel and found, not black and white footage of Nazis, but “Mud Cats.” Again Grassley took to Twitter to express his displeasure. “When wi[ll] they put history back on the channel,” he tweeted.

And again on March 10: “Just tuned to History [C]hannel. Once again no history.” Later that day, with increasingly erratic punctuation: “Turned to [H]istory [C]hannel. No. H[i]story again.”

Fair points, Grassley, but why the passion for the content on the History Channel? The senator replied by email to Yeas & Nays to clarify his position.

“I love history,” Grassley wrote. “A better understanding is going to strengthen our country. It’s going to strengthen patriotism.” Plus this non-history programming represents an unfulfilled promise by the network. “When I signed up for the History Channel on my satellite service, I expected to get history,” he said. “Instead, all I see are people chopping wood or driving trucks on an icy road.”

Grassley isn’t opposed to all the contemporary programing on the channel. “I enjoy watching the “American Pickers” show,” he wrote.

 

H/t: Wonkette.

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Author:

Jenny Rogers

Staff Reporter - Yeas & Nays
The Washington Examiner

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