Posted on 09/12/2003 9:36:34 AM PDT by truthandlife
If some House and Senate Republicans have their way, the voices of top conservative talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Reagan will be muzzled.
That's the warning from the Wall Street Journal, which explains that the attempt to block the Federal Communications Commission's new rules, which would permit TV station owners to add a few more stations to their networks, is gaining strength in the House and Senate thanks largely to the aid of Republicans.
Leftist elitists claim the new rules threaten "diversity" and our republican system of government (or, as they incorrectly call it, "democracy"). Their drive to block the the regulations has the backing of many Republicans who seem to have forgotten that the GOP's victory in 1994's congressional elections gave their party control of both houses of Congress was in part due to Limbaugh’s broadcasts, which whipped up the fervor of conservatives and got them out to the polls to vote Republican.
As the Journal notes: "Republicans love to complain that they don't get a fair shake from the elites running the nation's airwaves and newspapers. Which has us wondering why they're helping their political opponents muzzle the likes of Rush Limbaugh."
Moreover, for the first time conservatives have been able to have a voice in the political debate, voices that for years were stifled by the so-called Fairness Doctrine which frightened broadcasters into denying airtime to conservatives.
The elimination of that doctrine has long rankled leftists because it opened the door to diversity of thought.
As the Journal points out: "Liberals know what has happened since the FCC abandoned the 'Fairness Doctrine' in 1987. That rule required radio and TV stations to provide "balanced" news coverage. In practice, it discouraged stations from touching controversial subjects, so that in 1980 there were a mere 75 talk radio stations.
"Today, thanks to the end of that doctrine, there are 1,300 talk radio stations. But to the horror of the political left, the hosts who have prospered on radio are the likes of Don Imus, Laura Schlessinger and Sean Hannity. The most popular of them all is Rush Limbaugh, no doubt because of his humor and optimism, with 20 million listeners a week."
The reason listeners tune into the conservative broadcasters is because they want to hear something other than the leftist drivel they had been hearing for years thanks to the so-called Fairness Doctrine.
Hardly anybody want to go back to the oppressive regulations Congress wants, except the elitists who adore taxpayer-subsidized National Public Radio. "Americans like their media choices and would rather not go back to the days when Walter Cronkite was their main, scintillating news source," the newspaper explains. (Interestingly, now that he is safely retired, Cronkite admits that most journalists have a leftist bias.)
During the debate in the House in July, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., explained that once the "liberals" roll back the FCC's ownership expansion they can reverse another recent FCC decision to allow companies to own TV stations and newspapers in the same market.
"At least the White House seems to understand the stakes, and President Bush has suggested he'll veto any bill that rolls back the FCC rules," the Journal reports. "But House Republicans are said to be about 40 votes short of the 146 or so needed to sustain [the President’s threatened] veto. If Republicans can't rally behind their President on something so clearly in their own interest, they deserve to suffer the bias of Dan Rather and Katie Couric."
And, hopeless as this point might be, the Journal says "they might also consider that standing up for free-market principles and deregulation is one reason they came to Washington in the first place."
Trent Lott Again
Opponents of a Senate resolution to reverse the federal deregulation of media ownership fear they lack votes to stop the measure, wire services reported today.
"I just hope we have enough votes to bolster the president when he vetoes it," said Sen. George Allen, R-Va.
And who is the leader of the GOP turncoats? The co-sponsor of the resolution, along with Democrat Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, is none other than Mississippi's Trent Lott, the bumbling former Senate GOP leader who used to let the Dems run roughshod over him.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who opposed the resolution, nonetheless had this to say:
"I continue to believe in the principle of allowing markets, and not government, to regulate the way businesses operate. But after chairing seven hearings on media ownership and observing unprecedented public outcry, it is apparent to me that the business of media ownership, which can so affect the nature and quality of our democracy [sic], is too important to be dealt with so categorically. As a result, I have come to believe that stringent, but reasonable, limits on media ownership may very well be appropriate."
Broadcasters are looking to the House, where the bill faces more obstacles.
Yes, I am in an ill-a$$ mood today.
I guess Lott didn't learn anything huh?
Mo, who was Lott's biggest defender on FR last December?
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