Obama Declares War on Conservative Talk Radio

Barack Obama sought to silence his critics during his 2008 campaign. Now, with the ink barely dry on this November's ballots, Obama has begun a war against conservative talk radio. Obama is on record as saying he does not plan an exhumation of the now-dead "Fairness Doctrine". Instead, Obama's attack on free speech will be far less understood by the general public and accordingly, far more dangerous. The late community organizer Saul Alinsky taught his followers to strike hard from an unexpected direction, an approach known asAlinsky jujitsu. Obama himself not only worked as an organizer for an Alinsky offshoot organization, Chicago's Developing Communities Project, but would go on to teach classes in Alinsky's beliefs and methods.

"Alinsky jujitsu" as applied to conservative talk radio means using vague rules already on the books to threaten any station which dares to air conservative programs with the loss of its valuable broadcast license.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule in question is called "localism." Radio and television stations are required to serve the interests of their local community as a condition of keeping their broadcast licenses.

Obama needs only three votes from the five-member FCC to define localism in such a way that no radio station would dare air any syndicated conservative programming.

On September 20, 2007, Obama submitted a pro-localism written statement to an FCC hearing held at the Chicago headquarters of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.'s Operation Push.

Furthermore, the Obama transition team knows all about the potential of localism as a means of silencing conservative dissent. The head of the Obama transition team is John Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress.

In 2007, the Center for American Progress issued a report, The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio. This report complained that there was too much conservative talk on the radio because of "the absence of localism in American radio markets" and urged the FCC to "[e]nsure greater local accountability over radio licensing.

Podesta's choice as head of the Federal Communications Commission's transition team is Henry Rivera.

Since 1994, Rivera has been chairman of the Minority Media Telecommunications Council. This organization has specific ideas about localism:

In other words, it would not do for broadcasters to meet with the business leaders whose companies advertise on their station. Broadcasters must reach beyond the business sector and look for leaders in the civic, religious, and non-profit sectors that regularly serve the needs of the community, particularly the needs of minority groups that are typically poorly served by the broadcasting industry as a whole.

Rivera's law firm is also the former home of Kevin Martin, the current FCC chairman. Martin is himself an advocate of more stringent localism requirements.

It was on Martin's watch that on January 24, 2008, the FCC released its proposed localism regulations. According to TVNewsday: "At the NAB radio show two weeks ago, Martin said that he wanted to take action on localism this year and invited broadcasters to negotiate requirements with him."

Remember that an FCC license is required for any radio or television station to legally operate in the United States. A single complaint from anyone can significantly hinder a station's license renewal process or even cost the station its FCC license entirely.

There have been some attempts to utilize the FCC complaint process for partisan political ends, most memorably in 2004, when Sinclair Broadcasting agreed to air a documentary questioning Senator John Kerry's war record:

Poised to pre-empt programming on its 62 television stations to run a negative documentary about Sen. John Kerry, Sinclair Broadcast Group has come under fire from critics calling it partisan and questioning whether it is failing federal broadcast requirements to reflect local interests.

Members of Congress and independent media groups have questioned the company's willingness to respect "localism," a section of federal law that requires media companies to cover local issues and provide an outlet for local voices.

But what isn't done a lot which requires the broadcaster to rack up expensive legal fees, is to challenge every one of their affiliates' FCC license renewals as they come up this year and next. ... [T]here still is time to organize and file Petitions or objections by November 1, 2004 for Sinclair stations in North Carolina and South Carolina, and for Florida by January 1, 2005.

More recently, the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium issued a "fill in the blanks" official FCC complaint form which begins "Anything that you feel is offensive is worth reporting."

These random efforts could be far more effective at silencing conservatives if they could only be systematized and institutionalized. That is exactly what the FCC proposed on January 24th. Every radio and television station would be required to create:

[P]ermanent advisory boards comprised of local officials and other community leaders, to periodically advise them of local needs and issues, and seek comment on the matter. ...

To ensure that these discussions include representatives of all community elements, these boards would be made up of leaders of various segments of the community, including underserved groups.

The "community advisory board as permanent complaint department" model may well be based upon the 1995 revisions of the Community Reinvestment Act, as described by Howard Husock in City Journal:

[T]the new CRA regulations also instructed bank examiners to take into account how well banks responded to complaints. ... [F]or advocacy groups that were in the complaint business, the Clinton administration regulations offered a formal invitation. ...

By intervening-even just threatening to intervene-in the CRA review process, left-wing nonprofit groups have been able to gain control over eye-popping pools of bank capital, which they in turn parcel out to individual low-income mortgage seekers. A radical group called ACORN Housing has a $760 million commitment from the Bank of New York...[emphasis in original].

Understand that even allowing conservatives to be radio talk show guests may provoke a FCC licensing complaint. Just ask "right wing hatchet man" Stanley Kurtz.

For Obama, when it comes to radio talk, silence is golden, at least when it comes to conservatives.

FCC observers agree that the outpouring of complaints from groups like the National Religious Broadcasters during the original comment period helped delay matters.

However, Kevin Martin's determination to enact a localism regulation has led him to ask the broadcast industry to accept a voluntary standard that the FCC would then enact. If industry failed to agree now, Martin warned, "a future FCC may be less willing to compromise than the current one."

This scare tactic -- agree to our demands today or suffer dire consequences tomorrow -- is having an impact.

Radio and television station owners need to become engaged in the localism issue and then take the time to educate their own Congressman and Senators about the dangers of the FCC's proposals.

If broadcasters get involved, it just may be possible to block implementation of any localism rules during the few months remaining of the Bush Administration.

This delay is critical, since once it is the Obama Administration leading the fight for rules which would shut down conservative talk radio, Republican Congressmen and Senators will find it easier to fight back.

While President Obama will have the authority to name Commissioners as their terms end, these nominations must be confirmed by the Senate.

A few pointed questions on localism to FCC nominees during their confirmation hearings would be useful. A filibuster of any and all pro-localism FCC nominees would be even better.

Any Senator leading such a filibuster would earn the gratitude of millions of fans of talk radio as well as everyone who believes in free speech..

Jim Boulet, Jr. is the founder of the anti-localism web site, KeepRushontheAir.com. Research assistance for this article was provided by Richard Falknor of Blue Ridge Forum.

Fellow FReepers,

Given the Despondency apparent in the 1st part, please read though to the more hopeful 2nd part. I offer a strategy to win with reason.

1st

Offer Conservative policies that work. Naked socialism and capitalism are as oil to H2O. They can not coexist. No pale pastels. We must be loyal opposition, but wholly separate in ideology. No co-mingling.

We now know that Conservatives will always be blamed for the failures of the left. They are good at their projection and those in power at the GOP, are wholly ineffective at defending Conservative honor.

We must not get infected with poison from the left. It will be our death. Offer only clean bills with the proper solution and vote nay when in disagreement with the filth being offered up by the left. No more compromises.

Let them take it over the cliff as fast as they can, they sooner the better. The sooner will allow freedom’s adults to regain the national stability.

Overreach is their nature. This will give them berth so as to fully illustrate their evil. In addition, their forked-tongue infighting should be given as much air as possible. We are already seeing signs of their back-biting. Thus is evil’s nature. Their soft violence must be given face.

If we rope-a-dope with them, the national suicide will become ingrained, ever so slowly, in the American psyche over the next 50 years. It’s result will be much more severe and permanent to boot. Civil war by then will not be an option. All rights will be subverted and forgotten.

Resist with superior ideas. Compromise is their vehicle for total subjugation.

Most FReepers will not agree with my next thought. By allowing the lurch left quick, but with our full throated opposition, the pendulum will swing quickly back to our direction. Hopefully.

That being said, Our 1st & 2nd Rights and border security/legal immigration must not be subverted, at ALL costs.

With great trepidation within the soul that God lent me, marriage and abortion may have just taken a temporary sabbatical from a national stand point. However, we must maintain clear opposition to these abominations and fight them tooth and nail by legal measures and in the state legislatures. I fear they will get what they desire on these sacred issues, albeit temporarily.

Once we re-conquer and have the pre-requisite Super Majorities, then solidify, by Amendment, their absolute standing within God’s law, by Caesar’s law. It will then be complete.

We must maintain no compromise and maintain God’s honor in the swing back to a national righteousness. Firm agape for our misguided brethren will be a necessity, lest we follow their suit of evil.

Clear differentiation is critical to this stratagem. This metaphorical 2x4 is the only medicine that will break this national communist fever.

People must be subjected to a wholly different circumstance from one day to the next. White to Black. It must be stark. Routine has to be shaken violently. An awakening ‘WTF’ moment must be experienced by the legions of myrmidons. A clear, common sense solution must then be waiting and willing to explain their err with shattering clarity. The slow boil will kill us. We will jump from immediate heat, I hope.

Civil disobedience must also be our charge. Drain the blood and energy from the Beast. A weak Beast is not a strong Beast. If an arrest is that disobedience, it must be done. Credit histories be damned. Overload the system. Keep them busy from implementation of laws that have been passed. This will highlight the obvious profanity contained within their idiocy. Kicking and screaming, carried off into the night, will give rise to the correct explanation of their harsh insult of man. Daniel in the Den will be your solace.

I understand this is a gargantuan gamble, but we are a nation of river-boat gamblers. I am all-in. The Founding Fathers were. They had conviction in their course, too. I want this communist threat defeated and unmasked within my lifetime and extreme measures are now required to accomplish this feat.

Martyrdom is not my wish, but not beyond of my will. I will sacrifice my very soul for this country, if pushed to that request.

Any reasoned dissent is warmly welcomed.

With Love for my FReepers,
tehDeets

2nd

That being said, I offer this a solution....

From a Save Saxby’s arse thread.... It became a treatise for GOP 2.0

Huck is excellent at stating policy and the foundational reasoning. His speaking skills are yards beyond the other candidates. He was given short shrift during the primaries because he was the best candidate overall. He had good ideas that would work and save money. He has always been a strong proponent for the FairTax. He may have some ‘liberal’ sounding ideas, but those are couched in well founded reason & honest outreach to minority groups, critical for us. His positions (childrens’ health for one) are conservative in concept, but were painted as liberal to sow doubt among conservatives. He is not just another double-speak pol.

I groaned when I heard McCain was coming to Georgia.....he just lost a national election for Pete’s sake. The GOP tops are absolute idiots and must want to lose. We need to find a conservative to challenge him in Arizona in 2010 and any other wishy-washy Republican. This will be especially true if we lose the filibuster. We can then let it all hang out in our pursuit of conservative principle.

Romney is a wash and Guliani still maintains respect among those conservatives with an eye towards national security, which is the preponderance of them. Guliani is a liberal socially, but republicans have a long view on history and don’t forget a full throated defense of defense. Unlike another party we know, we realize where we are more similar than we are different. The media would like us to forget this.

Romney’s hair is too perfect. Hate to be shallow. It just disturbs people, imho. Save a funny skull, he would be more appealing with less hair.

Palin/Jindal/Huck are gonna be our best bets. Romney will be excellent in a financial post. We should have a cabinet semi-fleshed out prior to 2011. A short list for each position. All those involved in agreement, with their ego left at the door. Speak no ill of fellow Republicans. The one person that gets the strongest opposition in the MSM, will be the front runner. We can use their tactics against them since they sing from the same sheet. We need to give people a glimpse of a stark difference with real professionals and no pale pastels.

To hell with any MSM opinion. If they find serious fault in any conservative choice, it will be an excellent choice. Keep this in mind. Who or what they hate, will be good for us. That is their game. They show their hand in this respect and can’t shut up about it. They are truly Borg-like as such.

Check out HowTheLeftWasWon.com and articles by the author. His work is Alinsky dissected. This is where things started to dawn on me.

Obama will overreach in numerous areas and we need to be ready to pounce, hammer-hard and not let up. They bring a knife, you know the drill. The blogosphere and Fox (hopefully) will be our only vehicle to get our harsh critique aired. We must not let up during the off years. All lies must bevociferously met with refutational fact. As if they are not already dispatched here, but then must be disseminated more effectively....

We desperately need a RightWingPing strategy in the rightosphere to marshall our forces daily, just like Kos does for the left. FreeRepublic is more like a herd of cats than it is a daily disseminator of a singular voice. Singularity of message is required. Driving the point home, infinitum. All voices yelling logic at once, so much so that electorate ignorance will be impossible. We must pierce the cake and circuses with simple, captivating, entertaining thought and how that thought applies to daily life and how it can solve problems in the real.

True conservative principle without compromise will be easy to follow for the faithful. RINOviri will then dissent. Once exposed, they are easily dispatched, given no quarter, sent packing. Compromise is death. Go left liberal, go left. Your filth is not welcome here.

We also need to develop our own daily story line that tracks with our principles and strategies to retake the Presidency, congress, state & local. These stories should bubble up from the local and should begin with hopeful stories that are inherent within the souls of right-thinkin’ Americans. Morning in America, 2.0. People respond much more positively to hope than misery. Real, substantial hope can fill the soul easier than democratic discord. It sticks to the ribs of the soul. We can really make the most of this.

Nevertheless, these stories should be juxtaposed with stories as a result of Obama’s and other liberal bone-headed policy. This part will be easy, not if down-right fun. We can retake Reagan’s mantle at the local and solidify permanent, real change. This structure can then move forward to push much needed Constitutional Amendments such as repealing the 16th and 17th. We need to develop an AP for the right. I think Brietbart maybe a great place to start, but there are other, existing models available.

Great Guns FReepers Great Guns

tehDeets

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