One Republican Senator Wants ‘The Interview’ Screened At The White House

A Republican senator wants President Obama to screen the controversial comedy The Interview to Members of Congress at the White House, and then host a discussion on how future cyber attacks will be handled.

In a press release on his official website, Louisiana Senator David Vitter sent a letter to President Obama, calling for him to host a screening of The Interview during the first full week of 2015.

“The policy of rewarding terrorists, authoritarianism, and cruelty with concessions should not be the legacy we pursue. Therefore, I ask that you host a screening of comedy film ‘The Interview’ for Members of Congress in the White House the week of January 5th, to be followed by a serious discussion of the strong, substantive retaliatory measures we plan to take as a nation against cyber attacks.”

Vitter also mentioned that if the White House screens The Interview, it would show that the country is not afraid of North Korea.

“North Korea can’t have any reason to think that bullying and intimidation will threaten American principles like freedom of speech. Bringing all Members of Congress to watch this movie together would send a strong, clear message that America will not be intimidated.”

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus also wants The Interview to be shown without any fear from North Korea. The RNC website shared a letter that Priebus sent to the CEOs of several movie theater chains, urging them to show The Interview.

“As you know, the Republican Party and Hollywood have at times been at odds. But we can all agree that the current situation regarding the release of ‘The Interview’ goes far beyond politics. It is about freedom and free enterprise.”

Another reason why Priebus said he wants theaters to show The Interview is because it is about more than just showing a movie at their business.

“Giving in to threats from the North Korean dictatorship is ceding our freedom to the whims of a totalitarian regime. We are setting a troubling example and a terrible precedent. Today, we’re talking about the movie industry. Tomorrow, we could be talking about energy, manufacturing, publishing, or even small businesses.”

Vitter and Priebus have added their names to the growing list of people who didn’t think Sony made the right decision in canceling the release of The Interview. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Oscar winner Sean Penn sent an email to Mother Jones, saying that the decision to pull The Interview could lead to a lot more.

“It’s a case of putting short term interests ahead of the long term. If we don’t get the world on board to see that this is a game changer, if this hacking doesn’t frighten the Chinese and the Russians, we’re in for a very different world, a very different country, community, and a very different culture.”

Do you think the White House should host a screening of The Interview?

[Images via Wikipedia and Moviepilot]