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.”
During the 90’s when I lived in Houston, the big talk radio station had a liberal talk show on in the afternoon. He wasn’t shrill, and a lot of the time his approach was to simply play the devil’s advocate. And while the approach seemed fair, it was quite frankly, a bore.
Negativity doesn’t sell. And neither does a talk show host who essentially has no real opinion.
I think the only reason he survived as long as he did is because this station played Rush twice. You could listen live, then this guy’s show came on for a couple of hours, and then they replayed Rush right after.
Typically I’m a “glass-half-full” guy but I find myself wondering how 115 people actually voted in favor of this unconstitutional aberration. These people have to know that this could cut both ways.
Please accept my sincerest apology for the term I’m about to use, but as a resident of Wisconsin and having viewed first-hand the hypocrisy and listened to the venom spewed by Obey, I have concluded that he is truly a scumbag of the highest order.
I find sarcasm entertaining only when it is utilized by an individual possessing intelligence and credibility.....Obey has neither.
EODGUY
“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.”
I have this old fashioned attitude that there is truth and spin. Those are what is called two sides to a story. Both are important, as hearing one generally gives major clues as to which is which. If you want to hear spin, vis-a-vis truth, you know where to go.
Truth detectors are becoming more and more important with the passage of time. Hiding, or distorting the truth is very very important to those with a certain agenda, and those attempts are usually so blatant that it soon becomes obvious who is the spinner and who is the truth teller.
When Jesus said “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. He wasn’t just whistling Dixie.
LOL....now that's funny. Ok, keep thinking that way. However, I can't say they influence me as much as inform me and parrot what I've believed for more years than I can remember, and I highly respect the hosts I listen to.
Just remember this is ONLY half the battle. Congressman Pence got it done from the legislative end, but there is a Republican FCC Commissioner whose term ends today. Whether President Bush can nominate someone and have the Senate approve before the end of President Bush’s term remains to be seen.
Now, we MUST make sure we retake the WH in ‘08. Because if the Senate filibusters any FCC appointment and hedging on a Democrat administration, the FCC would swing 3-2 Democrat and the FCC could without any legislative action - reimplement the Fairness Doctrine on a regulatory basis. You know any appointment of Her Thighness would absolutely support government censorship of CTR.
It was good timing while the senate spent all their time and focus on shamnesty yesterday.
Hang on to them, we aren't out of the woods yet. There will be several more tough battles ahead.
“”We ought to let right-wing talk radio go on as they do now,”
Sheesh. No kidding. Thanks for allowing us our God-given and first amendment guaranteed right to free speech.”
What a concept, Jim, legislators “granting” the unwashed our Constitutional rights !!!
Prior to leaving college to enlist, classes were interrupted constantly by those who professed that “the man” and “no one over age 30” should be never be trusted. Those same punks are currently in positions of power and attempting to enact laws governing every facet of our lives.
Why should I be surprised?!?!?
God bless our country and the finest, most dedicated and most selfless members of our military who have stepped forward to protect all of us !
EODGUY
Dosen’t anyone on the Democrat side have an ounce of common sense.
The Democrats treat their politics like immature kids fighting over the playdoe.
We didn’t throw pies at anyone.
We didn’t deface the Capitol.
We didn’t hold signs containing vulgarity in proximity of children.
We didn’t disrupt speeches.
I’m VERY proud of conservatives today.
***
Excellent points.
May I add?
We did not ask to be given any special privileges not accorded to any other American.
Kennedy: Where’s my buddy Chris Dodd. I have a hankerin’ for a Paris sandwich.
“well is this not a agaood day? first the immigratio thing went down to defeat and now this. I liked this quote but it is very scary as well.
“there is little danger of the FCC restricting conservative radio while George W. Bush is president.”
Important observation.......this vote doesn’t mean the fat lady has sung. I liken it to a referendum......it can be rekindled whenever those in favor of this Constitutional abomination feel they have the support to secure passage.
EODGUY
But...but...Rush is the man running this country. You know it and I know it. /sarc
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NEVER FORGET
.
The same people who are now trying to kill Freedom of Speech in America...
...sure succeeded in doing it to a then Free South Vietnam during the Vietnam War =
Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education (SLAVE LABOR) Camp
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts
What price now to pay by the still Free (that’s US)...
...with our own Freedom of Speech directly at stake right here at home in a new time of war..?
.
NEVER FORGET
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‘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. ‘
I’m very surprised by the wide margin of the vote.
Happily surprised.
The dems apparently attempting to ape Hugo Chavez.
"just about as important in the scheme of things as Paris Hilton".
Interesting choice of words. How did Paris Hilton ever become that important.
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