Competition: That is what it is about

Liberals are out to re-instate the Fairness Doctrine. It is not really fairness they are after but the shutting up of the conservatives that are speaking up and being noticed when it comes to issues that the general public is concerned about. Most of the issues are brought up by the liberals (i.e. Democrats), and they don’t want to be hit by competition from the conservatives. And, to stop that, they’ll have to shut up the conservative talk show hosts. Then, will they go after the bloggers who oppose them or conservative television?

It boils down to the fact that the liberals do not want any competition. They want to be able to voice their opinions and keep the public in the dark about the real truths surrounding certain issues. The media is mostly liberal and they keep the liberal point of view in the eye of the public. So, if conservative radio talk show hosts such as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Laura Ingraham are shut up, then the liberals have gotten what they want. No longer will you hear two sides of the issue, but a biased account. And, that is what they are striving for when they try to resurrect the defunct Fairness Doctrine.

The Fairness Doctrine was abolished by the FCC in 1987. Congress tried to resurrect it two other times: once under Ronald Reagan but it was vetoed, and again in 1991, but George H.W. Bush threatened to veto it.

Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with Representatives Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), and Louise Slaughter (D-NY) have announced their support of legislation which would reverse the 1987 FCC decision and restore the Fairness Doctrine.

This proposed legislation has been routinely criticized by both conservatives and liberals in the media as a means of keeping their views from being expressed or of deliberately cutting their available air time in half. Conservatives specifically claim that liberals already dominate Hollywood, academia and much of the mainstream media, which would not be subject to the regulations required by The Fairness Doctrine. Liberals specifically claim that conservatives already dominate talk radio, which is broadcast on public airwaves.

As Daddypundit says in his post, the public no longer has to rely on access to a balanced radio show to hear both sides of an issue. We now have the Talk radio shows, Cable news, blogs, and the Internet. And talk radio hosts allow both sides to express their opinions. None of these avenues had come along when the Fairness Doctrine came into play.

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