LIMBAUGH WARNS OF DANGER TO FREE SPEECH

Drudge ^ | 2/26/04 | Drudge/Limbaugh

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

LIMBAUGH WARNS OF DANGER TO FREE SPEECH THU FEB 26 2004 12:28:21 ET

THE NATION'S TOP RADIO HOST RUSH LIMBAUGH WARNED OF GROWING GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN BROADCASTING CONTENT.

LIMBAUGH MADE THE COMMENTS AFTER HIS PARENT COMPANY CLEAR CHANNEL DROPPED VIACOM'S HOWARD STERN FROM ITS STATIONS.

'SMUT ON TV GETS PRAISED. SMUT ON TV WINS EMMYS. ON RADIO, THERE SEEMS TO BE DIFFERENT STANDARDS,' LIMBAUGH EXPLAINED.

'I'VE NEVER HEARD HOWARD STERN. BUT WHEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GETS INVOLVED IN THIS, I GET A LITTLE FRIGHTENED.

'IF WE ARE GOING TO SIT BY AND LET THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GET INVOLVED IN THIS, IF THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO 'CENSOR' WHAT THEY THINK IS RIGHT AND WRONG... WHAT HAPPENS IF A WHOLE BUNCH OF JOHN KERRYS, OR TERRY MCAULIFFES START RUNNING THIS COUNTRY. AND DECIDE CONSERVATIVE VIEWS ARE LEADING TO VIOLENCE?

'I AM IN THE FREE SPEECH BUSINESS. ITS ONE THING FOR A COMPANY TO DETERMINE IF THEY ARE GOING TO BE PARTY TO IT. ITS ANOTHER THING FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO DO IT.'

MORE

[Buckeye McFrog]

Rush is defending Howard Stern, and Hillary Clinton is calling to bring back the draft....did I get up on the wrong side of the looking glass this morning??

[tbird5]

"does not like women in general"

I'm a woman and I resent you saying that.

[Integrityrocks]

Totally disagree with Rush, and that doesn't often happen. Just because TV is in the sewer, doesn't mean that radio that kids can turn on ANYWHERE, ANYTIME has to also be in the gutter. I'd be happy to see BOTH radio and TV censored more. Sorry Rush. Free speech has got to be curbed with morality. Just because people are FREE to sin, doesn't mean that I have to support legislation that supports it.

[Prince Charles]

Gosh, how did radio in America survive up until 1982 without the ability to hear such things as the 7 dirty words, lesbian dwarf tossers discussing the best way to masturbate, or self-important shock jocks describing lewd behavior in detail?

[Digger]

Me thinks if conservative views get censored the conservatives will just take it & allow the loudmouth commies to run them over. They think an E-Mail here & there is the answer. Sorry but the answer is active civil disobedience. You don't win over commies with honey, you don't get Saddam to surrender terror by pleading. I have no idea of Stern's political mindset because I have only heard him a couple hours total but assume he is a dem-lib. See how these libs one day are going to be fodder for the elites but they are so stupid that they don't get it ala a John Kerry vote.

[gdani]

The government did not suspend Stern, Clear Channel did.

Clear Channel makes millions & millions of dollars off of the Howard Stern show. They would have left him alone except they have the FCC breathing down their necks.

But only after Stern mused about sex with a 'n#gger' and asking if she smelled like a watermelon.

Get your facts straight before you opine. It was a caller to the show that said that, not Howard.

Even if it was Howard, so what? Offended people do know how to use their radio dial, don't they?

[international american]

"It is inconceivable that Rush would not listen to Stern, now and then, to hear what's going on elsewhere in his industry."

Stern's show has little to do with what is going on in the industry as a whole. I don't listen to Stern either.

[holdonnow]

Actually, Stern didn't say that, a caller did.

[Ben Bolt]

Here we go again . I guess this is also for the children right ? Fricking nanny state bastards .

[gdani]

Since when is Clearchannel "the government"? Rush, pause and take a deep breath: the government is not threatening the 1st Amendment.

Sure, sure.

I'm sure the FCC threatening broadcasters left & right has absolutely nothing to do with Clear Channel - who makes a mint off of the Howard Stern show - pulling his show.

Nothing at all.

[Huck]

After years of shilling for "everything Republican", Rush comes off his Oxycondin-induced high and sees what's really happening to this country.

Because it's HIS ox being gored.

[Middle Aged White Male]

Didn't Clear Channel drop the Dixie Chicks from their stations playlist? Did Rush decry that?

No, but Clear Channel wasn't under the threat of 700K dollar fines for naughty words. This is a clear example of an infringement of the freedom of speech. Republicans need to come together as defenders of the Bill of Rights and speak out against this. I don't mean speaking out against Clear Channel per se, but instead the FCC and their big brother approach to speech on the Radio. As Rush and others have pointed out, this sets a horrible precident.

[11th Earl of Mar]

I don't have a problem with a show getting dropped for comments regarding sex with a "n#gger" and questions about whether she smelled like a watermelon.

If one of my employees engaged in that kind of conversation, I would fire them, too.

In this case, Stern was not fired. His show was only cancelled from certain markets.

What is different from this and CBS's decision not to use Janet Jackson at the Grammys, two weeks after her half-time breast show at the Superbowl?

Nobody claimed censorship there. What's the difference?

[isthisnickcool]

[BlueNgold]

IT is not the government that dropped Howard Stern, it was one of his syndicate partners Clear Channel. The company has every right to determine what it will and will not air. Just because Howard has a radio show doesn't mean that stations have to air it any more than stations have to air Rush. It is a choice, made based on business decisions. If Clear Channel is willing to sacrifice profits for higher standards tey have that right. PaxTV is a great example of quality programming making a nice profit without pandering to the lowest common denominator to increase the bottom line.

The FCC did not suspend Stern, Clear Channel did. If this is the sum of his rant then his argument is misdirected.

[contessa machiaveli]

howard didn't "muse" about it...a listener did and part of the call was bleeped.
i agree with rush, it all depends on whose ox is being gored. i was disgusted when ESPN dumped rush and i'm disgusted about howards' suspension from clear channel.
BTW, i'm queasy about the incestuous relationships which exist in washington, the kennedys, clintons, powells, bushes, daschles, etc.
that is the obscenity.

[Dane]

I'm sure the FCC threatening broadcasters left & right has absolutely nothing to do with Clear Channel - who makes a mint off of the Howard Stern show - pulling his show

Actually Clear Channel doesn't make a mint off of Stern. Infinity Broadcasting, owned by Viacom, syndicates Sterns show.

And IMO, Howard Stern is no martyr, just the definition of the term of arrested development.

[11th Earl of Mar]

Clear Channel makes millions & millions of dollars off of the Howard Stern show. They would have left him alone except they have the FCC breathing down their necks.

Documentation please.

You know the phrase... "facts before you opine."

[mass55th]

"I hope that Rush continues to come to Howard's defense."

This is interesting in light of the fact that Stern and his crew have denigrated Rush for years.

[gdani]

Republicans need to come together as defenders of the Bill of Rights and speak out against this.

Both Republican & Democrat lawmakers only defend the Bill of Rights when it's to their advantage or suits their pet issues.

If the Repubs aren't going to defend the Bill of Rights when it comes to campaign finance laws, the War on Drugs, etc why would they do so now?