A lot of people are expected to be watching tonight’s debate among Democratic presidential candidates, and the FCC will probably be watching too.
They’ll be watching to see if the candidates do what the Democratic National Committee has told them not to do.
The national party sent out an email to the presidential candidates not to use "foul language" during the debate.
The email apparently was obtained by CNN and Axios, and in it, they reminded the candidates that because the debate is on broadcast TV on ABC News, and not on cable TV, the debate will be under Federal Communications Commission regulations that can issue fines to networks for excessive swearing on the air.
Now if you’re thinking that a memo like this to presidential candidates in a debate is unusual, you’re not alone.
But in politics these days, what was once unusual and frowned upon, like using profanity, is no longer unusual.
As a story in the Business Insider described things, “President Trump has drastically changed the norms of what is acceptable behavior for politicians.”
At his campaign style rallies, for instance, Trump has used the BS word and the GD word, for which he has been criticized by evangelical Christians.
And as the story points out, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke has become known for “his liberal use of the F-bomb, so much so that it even became the subject of an attack ad against him during his 2018 Senate run in Texas.”
The FCC won’t be happy if they hear some of this profanity during tonight’s debate.And voters should not be happy that our American politics has sadly, become R-rated.
(Photo credit Getty Images)