Democrats are the sourest faced creatures on earth. Humorless, clueless, Godless...They walk on the dark side.
I could almost pity them - almost...but not quite
Posted on 06/28/2007 3:54:50 PM PDT by rface
At the end of Thursday’s debate, Democratic House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (Wis.) agreed with Republicans that the government should not regulate conservative radio hosts such as Limbaugh and Hannity......“We ought to let right-wing talk radio go on as they do now,” he said. “Rush and Sean are just about as important in the scheme of things as Paris Hilton.......”
The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday ( June 28, 2007 )to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from using taxpayer dollars to impose the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters who feature conservative radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.
By a vote of 309-115, lawmakers amended the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill to bar the FCC from requiring broadcasters to balance conservative content with liberal programming such as Air America.
The vote count was partly a testament to the influence that radio hosts wield in many congressional districts.
It was also a rebuke to Democratic senators and policy experts who have voiced support this week for regulating talk radio.
House Democrats argued that it was merely a Republican political stunt because there is little danger of the FCC restricting conservative radio while George W. Bush is president.
Republicans counter that they are worried about new regulations if a Democrat wins the White House in 2008.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on Tuesday that the government should revive the Fairness Doctrine, a policy crafted in 1929 that required broadcasters to balance political content with different points of view.
“It’s time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine,” he said. “I have this old-fashioned attitude that when Americans hear both sides of the story, they’re in a better position to make a decision.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, said this week that she would review the constitutional and legal issues involved in re-establishing the doctrine.
Sen. John Kerry (Mass.), the Democratic Party’s 2004 presidential nominee, also said recently that the Fairness Doctrine should return.
In 1985 the FCC discarded the policy after deciding that it restricted journalistic freedom and “actually inhibit[ed] the presentation of controversial issues of public importance to the detriment of the public and in degradation of the editorial prerogative of broadcast journalists,” according to a Congressional Research Service report.
Thursday, the House firmly rejected the prospect of requiring balanced views on talk radio.
Before the passage of the amendment, which he sponsored, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), a former full-time radio host, forecast a big majority and took a shot at the Senate, saying: “This House will say what some in the other body are not saying, that we believe in freedom on the airwaves. We reject the doctrines of the past that would have this federal government manage political speech on the public airwaves.”
Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) also sponsored the legislation.
Conservatives fear that forcing stations to make equal time for liberal talk radio would slash profits and pressure radio executives to scale back on conservative programming to avoid escalating costs and interference from government regulators. Opponents of the Fairness Doctrine argue that radio stations would suffer financially if forced to air liberal as well as conservative programs because liberal talk radio has not proven popular or profitable. For example, Air America, liberals’ answer to “The Rush Limbaugh Show” and Michael Medved, filed for bankruptcy in October.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Thursday that listeners should be able to decide if they want to hear different political arguments.
“The best way is to let the judgment of the American people decide, and they can decide with their finger,” Boehner said. “[People] can turn it off or they can turn it on. They can go to their computer and read it on the Internet.”
Flake added: “Rather than having the government regulate what people can say, we should let the market decide what people want to hear. That’s precisely why the Fairness Doctrine was abandoned, and that’s why it ought not to be revived.”
At the end of Thursday’s debate, Democratic House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (Wis.) agreed with Republicans that the government should not regulate conservative radio hosts such as Limbaugh and Hannity.
“We ought to let right-wing talk radio go on as they do now,” he said. “Rush and Sean are just about as important in the scheme of things as Paris Hilton, and I would hate to see them gain an ounce of credibility by being forced by a government agency or anybody else to moderate their views enough that they might become modestly influential or respected.”
“Except that the “Fairness Doctrine” is about anything BUT fairness”
When they come out with the “Bestest Most Wonderfulest Bill to Impove Government” bill, head for the hills. :)
What an excellent day! Prayers of thanks.....
bttt
Democrats are the sourest faced creatures on earth. Humorless, clueless, Godless...They walk on the dark side.
I could almost pity them - almost...but not quite
It wasn’t Rush and Hannity. It was really Michael Savage and his Savage Nation followers who started the movement. BORDERS, LANGUAGE< CULTURE!!!
Too bad. I was really hoping to see PBS and NPR be subjected to lawsuits over their partisan shilling.
We certainly had a wonder day. The illegal crapola...went DOWN Thank You all Americans...UN Fairness Crapola...went DOWN Thank You Mike Pence and the House...and the Supreme Court issued a supreme ruling/opinion today Thank You Roberts and the other 4 justices. What a GREAT DAY....lots prayers were answered today. ;o)
If they do anything remotely harmful to talk radio, imagine the firestorm they would receive.
Better to trash talk than get his arse handed to him by his betters.
Well said, laurie_d! (#98)
We won these battles not by insulting people.
We didn’t throw pies at anyone.
We didn’t deface the Capitol.
We didn’t hold signs containing vulgarity in proximity of childen.
We didn’t disrupt speeches.
I’m VERY proud of conservatives today.
God Bless America
Semper Fi
Looks like we need to bring down the phone lines in the senate and house on this one, too!
How can you be opposed to the Fairness Doctrine?
Rush, Sean and Marc Levin SHOULD be demanded by Gubmint edict to be co-anchors on ABC, NBC and CBS nightly news.
The folks at Heritage Foundation, CATO, NRO and Reason should be forced by Gubmint fiat to write half of the op-ed page in the NY Times and Washington Post.
Ann Coulter, Dennis Miller and Newt Gingrich must be given equal time on screen in Michael Moore's documentaries.
What the heck is wrong with you people?
Either works.
Thanks for posting the link.
I think that what happened was the the voters turned out most of the weak republicans, leaving the stronger ones in place. With the support structure provided by talk radio and the Internet, we are looking at a new majority, which does not include the reactionary 'progressives'.
Back when radio was the ONLY way to get information this law made alot of sense. You didn’t want a guy like rockafeller buying every station and then telling people what he wanted them to believe.. it would of been an incredible abuse of power.
That being said.. today it makes no sense. We have free tv with cheap sets. Cable, Satellite, internet, among other sources of information like newspapers.
With so many ways to get other viewpoints it’s just not needed anymore. This tool would simply be used to punish unliked views.
Did Pelosi by any chance resign Congress? She's not listed as voting "Aye," "Nay," "Present," or "Not Voting".
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