Back then CBS said the show's criticism of the Vietnam War and government policy was too controversial, there were frequent battles over censorship and the network regularly edited or deleted portions of the show they deemed offensive. Now they're saying Colbert's show isn't profitable.

There was no the threat then that it was the beginning of a string of firings and the end of free speech.
Johnson was not using his power to influence the sensoring of the Smother's Brothers to end democracy.
Walter Cronkite was safe.

when the Smothers Brothers were canceled.

Even Nixon wasn't trying to end democracy, as crooked as he was

and power but he didn't aspire to permanent dictator status. It wouldn't have occurred to me to give him credit for that back then.

"big fool." What support did LBJ provide? Why was the show cancelled anyway?

My political awareness began a little after that, though I did go to a Pete Seeger concert in San Jose in 1968 where he debuted the song
"Waste Deep in the Big Muddy". It was lost on me then, but I learned later that importance of that song and the impact it had on Peter Seeger's career, The Smother's Brothers, and the Viet Nam war.

Johnson did complain about some Smothers Brother's criticism, such that Pete Seegeer's "Waste Deep in the Big Muddy" which was critical of Johnson was erased from the taping when it aired. There was so much controversy over the censorship that Seeger was allowed a few months later to come back on the show and sing the song. Two days after that Walter Cronkite called on Johnson to pull out of the war in Viet Nam.

Yes, it was under Nixon that the show was cancelled. I don't know if Johnson would have forgiven given that it influenced him pulling out of the race. Given Nixons shenanigans would Johnson have come around by then?

Great article about all this:
https://prospect.org/culture/recalling-pete-seeger-s-controversial-performance-smothers-brothers-show-50-years-ago/

Thanks to the OP to all of you who remember.

by a government that could not abide criticism of the Vietnam War. Not even an anti-war folks song by Pete Seeger. The song didn't even mention Vietnam by name - although everybody knew who he was talking about:

"We were waist deep in the Big Muddy, and the Blg Fool said to push on."

For the who don't know, the song referred to the Ribbon Creek Incident in which six Parris Island Marine Corps recruits died during a night march through a swamp due to the negligence of their Staff Sergeant Matthew McKeon. McKeon was found guilty of possession and drinking alcohol on duty and of negligent homicide.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribbon_Creek_incident

. . .the more they stay insane.


(Quote attributed to Tom Weller)