Posted by
Tzimisce on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 3:16:16 PM
So the cloture vote has won - 64 to 35. It's being hailed as a great blow to talk radio.
Question: Does this mean we still need the Fairness Doctrine?
We've just demonstrated that talk radio no matter how much pressure they put on people doesn't always get its way. This would seem to indicate that the Fairness Doctrine is unnecessary - right?
Wrong. Liberal Democrats will still push for it. Radio goes out over the public airwaves and thus, we can determine what's said there...course, television and cable also go out over the public airwaves, but don't look for any pushes to balance Keith Olberman, CNN, MSNBC, CBS or other left wing mouthpieces any more than you can look for a push for a conservative show to play opposite "The Daily Show". Left wing PBS is safe from the push for "Fairness".
Furthermore I keep coming back to this important point: when are we going to balance out left wing schools? They might not go out over the public airwaves, but most of them take government money. Even a lot of private schools take grants and other subsidies.
Course where I come from, the government paying to influence public opinion is called "propaganda" but since that's such an ugly word, we're going to call it "balance".
Look the first amendment's speech clause is a safeguard against what people like Diane Feinstein are proposing. It doesn't matter if the politicians don't like what's being said - that's the point of Free Speech. These people are free to go out and attempt to sell their ideas to people as well, but there is to be NO government intrusion. That is the point. It doesn't matter if liberal politicians and left wing special interest groups like it or not.
It doesn't matter what arguments lefties present. The Constitution is very clear on this matter. Is this going to be a hollow exercise or not?