Free Republic

RUSH: Okay, I'm going to bow to pressure. I'm going to bow to popular demand and I'm going to share with you the op-ed today that I wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "Mr. President, Keep the Airwaves Free." It's an open letter to President Obama. (interruption) What are you mouthing at me? What are you...? (interruption) Well, it's tough to prove, Dawn, but it is strange. I submit -- by request, by the way. The Journal asked me for this, so I said, "Okay. I'll set something up and I'll get it to you on Wednesday night." Let's see....

(link to Poll PDF and a Wright video compilation in the article) According to a recent poll (view PDF of poll here), Rush Limbaugh is one of America’s the most unpopular political figures. Calm down, relax, take a deep breath. It’s all nonsense. The poll, conducted by the research firm Greenberg-Quinlan-Rosner, says Rush’s public-approval rating is just 21 percent among likely voters. That’s seven points lower than Reverend Jeremiah Wright and eight points lower than domestic terrorist and Obama pal Bill Ayers. Here’s why it’s bogus. Greenberg-Quinlan-Rosner is a Democratic research firm run by Stan Greenberg. You remember Stan Greenberg....

Among Democrats, there are two views as to how to pull this off now. The popular view is the one that looks to Bush making mistakes and, perhaps, to an economic downturn that will make swing voters long for the days of Democratic prosperity under Clinton.

Congressman Phil Gingrey, MD (R-GA) made the following statement in response to an article that ran in Politico Newspaper about comments he made regarding conservative commentator, Rush Limbaugh and the Republican Leadership: Because of the high volume of phone calls and correspondence received by my office since the Politico article ran, I wanted to take a moment to speak directly to grassroots conservatives. Let me assure you, I am one of you. I believe I was sent to Washington to fight for and defend our traditional values of smaller government, lower taxes, a strong national defense, and the lives of...

The term "fairness doctrine" is a leftist term that hides the true meaning of the legislation. Leftists are good at framing the issue and use words that manipulate.... such as calling a lockdown of dissenting opinion "fairness." Conservatives often slavishly follow along and find themselves arguing against "fairness." STOP LETTING THE LEFTISTS FRAME THE STORY! Always refer to the issue for what it truly is: CENSORSHIP! Use the term CENSORSHIP DOCTRINE and correct anyone who uses any other descriptor. Conserviatives, stop allowing yourself to be against "fairness." Use the truth and be against CENSORSHIP. For Pete's sake!

Chris Matthews questioned Rush Limbaugh’s patriotism on Wednesday night’s "Hardball," as the MSNBC host wondered how the radio talk show host could dare to oppose Barack Obama as he exclaimed to his viewers: "Does Rush Limbaugh hate this country?" Matthews jumped on a quote from Limbaugh saying of Obama, "I hope he fails," apparently not understanding the concept that Limbaugh opposes any and all who would promote liberal policies precisely because he believes they will be harmful to the country. To see Limbaugh's quote in full context visit his official site. Matthews slammed Limbaugh in the following tease before going...

Although president-elect Barack Obama has stated that he is opposed to the reimposition of the so-called Fairness Doctrine, it remains to be seen if he can resist the pressure of Congress to bring back a measure that many on the left favor because they claim it will "Hush Rush." Leading the charge for bringing back the Fairness Doctrine is Congresswoman Anna Eshoo of California. According to this report, Eshoo not only wants to bring it back but to extend it to absurdly include cable and satellite where public airwaves are not even involved: Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, said Monday...

John Podesta's Media Matters is paving the way for the resurgence of the Fairness Doctrine. Podesta, a co-chairman of President-elect Barack Obama's White House transition team, and former chief of staff in the Clinton administration, was a critical player in the startup of this Far Left "media monitoring" website.Media Matters is actively pushing to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine that would essentially silence talk radio. Women, minorities, autistic children: Conservative radio's vitriol not reserved for Obama As Media Matters for America documented, the nationwide network of conservative radio hosts -- personalities without the national prominence of Sean Hannity and Rush...

President-elect Obama, The campaign is over. It is now time to focus on where our nation will go from here. We disagree on many things, but if we are to take you at your word, we agree in the fundamental importance of encouraging open and honest debate in a Democratic society. There are those in Congress, who do not seem to feel this way. We believe this to be the case due to the recent calls for reinstating the so-called 'Fairness Doctrine'. The Fairness Doctrine, is far from fair, it lies a great distance from liberty. It will be used...

It's all part of the Hope and Change... After the election Democrats plan to continue their attacks on conservative Americans. The votes haven't even been counted yet and they're already calling for the return of the Fairness Doctrine. That was nice- Schumer just compared conservative talk to pornography. Senator Charles Schumer announced today that there will be a return of the Fairness Doctrine: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday defended the so-called Fairness Doctrine in an interview on Fox News, saying, “I think we should all be fair and balanced, don’t you?”

Here is video of New York Sen. Chuck Schumer on Fox News this morning, where he talked about the need for the "Fairness Doctrine," and the chances of Democrats getting to a filibuster-proof 60 Senate seats. The "Fairness Doctrine" discussion starts at the 1:22 mark of the video. Schumer compared the need to regulate "fairness" on radio to the government's interest in prohibiting pornography . . . . . . (Watch Video)

The return of the Fairness Doctrine continues to be invoked as an argument against giving Democrats more control of the government. In an op-ed in The Washington Post Thursday, conservative columnist George Will warned that "unless [Sen. John] McCain [R-Ariz.] is president, the government will reinstate the … misnamed Fairness Doctrine." The doctrine, which was pronounced unconstitutional by the Federal Communications Commission in 1987, required broadcasters to cover both sides of controversial issues. Its decline was matched by the rise of rough-and-tumble political talk radio and the vast majority conservative, led by Rush Limbaugh. Will sees that format threatened by...

It takes some big numbers to measure Rush Limbaugh’s success — 20 million listeners, a $400 million contract. But the best index of Limbaugh’s effectiveness can be found in a much smaller figure, somewhere between a few dozen and a few hundred, which is the number of Democratic-party officials and liberal advocates who want to use the law to shut him up. Limbaugh, now celebrating his 20th year as a national radio host, is single-handedly responsible for a movement on the part of some Democrats to revive the “Fairness Doctrine.” With origins in the earliest laws regulating radio, the Doctrine...

RUSH: Grab audio sound bite number 26 first, Mike. I didn't know we'd get to this this early. I asked Cookie to put together a little montage here of all the stuttering around that Obama did in his press conference today and I want you to hear this because -- and we didn't repeat anything here. It goes 46 seconds, and we're doing this because we hear constantly, "What a great orator and a great communicator! Ohhhh, this man is smooth!" Just listen. This is a great illustration here of what happened when you take the teleprompter and your prepared...

After eight years in the wilderness, the left expects a clean sweep in the 2008 election -- the presidency (and with it the federal bureaucracy) and larger majorities in both houses of Congress. Looking ahead, liberals are determined to derail potential opposition to their plans to accelerate the deconstruction of America. Consequently, they have targeted talk radio. Bringing back the Fairness Doctrine is just one facet of their scheme to eviscerate the only part of the media controlled by conservatives. Crucial to an understanding of the jihad against talk radio is this: The left will do anything to gag its...

Democrat Representative Louise Slaughter is actively trying to revive the Fairness Doctrine. She is not alone, she has the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, along with Senators Dick Durbin, Barbara Boxer, John Kerry, and Dianne Feinstein. What is the Fairness Doctrine? It is archaic rule that forces television and radio stations to air both sides of controversial issues. If this is reenacted, conservative and Christian talk radio programs are unlikely to be aired due to the demand for equal time, which the station is forced to provide - free of charge. Proponents in the past have admitted that the...

have a story in the current issue of National Review about the debate over re-imposing the Fairness Doctrine. Among the people I talked to for the piece was Rush Limbaugh, whose success is sometimes attributed, in part, to the abolition of the Doctrine in 1987. We talked about his years in radio before that time, when he, like other broadcasters, had to steer clear of controversial issues, lest he run afoul of the Doctrine. “My first job was in 1967,” Limbaugh told me. “Every station I worked at from that point forward up until the Doctrine was repealed lived with...

The Bush Administration is commended for announcing that it would veto any legislation reinstating the so-called "Fairness Doctrine." The Administration's announcement came following media reports of support for reimposing the Fairness Doctrine by Senators Dianne Feinstein, Dick Durbin, Barbara Boxer, Hillary Clinton, and others. Rep. Maurice Hinchley (D-NY) intends to re-introduce legislation "to restore the Fairness Doctrine" in coming weeks. Hinchley's "Media Ownership Reform Act (H.R. 3302)," better known as MORA, had 16 co-sponsors in the 109th Congress, but got nowhere due to GOP control. "It's the 'Hush Rush' crowd at it again, and it has nothing to do with...

UPDATE: Rush Limbaugh 'had no illegal drugs or prescription drug obtained illegally in his possession,' source says... (All that is available at this juncture in time ... )