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Fairness Doctrine

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Obama Speaks Out, Fairness Doctrine Paranoia to Continue Unabated

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on February 18, 2009 - 4:14pm

What is it about the Fairness Doctrine that is causing the Religious Right to lose their minds?  As Marin Cogan pointed out last year, the more she searched for actual evidence that anyone intended to bring it back, the more she had to conclude that it wasn’t going to happen.

But still the Right is up in arms and vowing to do all it can to prevent its return. Christian broadcasters are warning that their programs will be under attack and the word of God is being “opposed at every quarter.” The Family Research Council declares that it would “silence conservative and Christian broadcasters” while Concerned Women for America claims that it would “jeopardize our freedom to share the Gospel.” Focus on the Family says that liberals are trying “to take a huge bite out of the First Amendment” because they are “highly intolerant." The Traditional Values Coalition released a report [PDF] alleging that liberals “want to kick conservative and Christian talk show hosts off the air altogether in order to suppress what they view as ‘hate speech.’” The Media Research Center formed something called the “Free Speech Alliance” for the sole purpose of fighting the Fairness Doctrine and Republicans in Congress even went so far as to introduce legislation that would prevent its return, for which they were hailed as heroes by the Right. And, just in case that fails, the ACLJ announced that it is “formulating our litigation strategy in the event this discriminatory regulation is put in place.” 

As The Politico explained just last week, every time any Democrat so much as mentions the Fairness Doctrine, the Right completely flips out, despite the fact that even supposed supporters of the doctrine have “no plans to introduce any legislation on the issue, nor is it even on the radar”:

But for even the casual listener of conservative talk radio this past week, it would be assumed that federal agents were already en route, pulling radios out of cars or snapping antennas … The passionate reaction on talk radio on this topic, though, reflects a familiar dance between left-leaning politicians and right-leaning talkers.

Every few months, another Democratic leader praises the Fairness Doctrine or talks off the cuff in the Capitol hallway about the government needing to play a role in what’s heard on the public airwaves. Conservative talk show hosts then respond aggressively, rallying the troops from coast to coast with the idea that their favorite shows are about to be taken away by meddling Democrats in Washington.

The Right’s paranoia is so rampant and pervasive that it has now compelled the White House to declare that, even though there is no effort to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, President Obama would oppose it:

President Obama opposes any move to bring back the so-called Fairness Doctrine, a spokesman told FOXNews.com Wednesday.

The statement is the first definitive stance the administration has taken since an aide told an industry publication last summer that Obama opposes the doctrine -- a long-abolished policy that would require broadcasters to provide opposing viewpoints on controversial issues.

"As the president stated during the campaign, he does not believe the Fairness Doctrine should be reinstated," White House spokesman Ben LaBolt told FOXNews.com.

So congratulations to all of you on the Right who have managed to propel this issue all the way up to the highest levels of government and forced the President of the United States to state that he does not support the non-existent efforts to re-institute a doctrine that nobody has any intention of trying to re-introduce.  

I’d like to think that this will finally put an end to this nonsense, but knowing how the Right operates, the only thing that is certain is that they are not about to let a little thing like the facts get in the way of their fear-mongering and fund-raising.  

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Fairness Doctrine Causes Collective Insanity

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on January 8, 2009 - 4:47pm

We already mentioned earlier today that several Republicans have introduced legislation designed to "bar Congress, President-elect Barack Obama and federal media regulators from bringing back the Fairness Doctrine" despite the fact that there are currently no plans or efforts underway to actually bring it back. 

But that didn't stop these Republican legislators from taking "preventive measures" just to be sure ... for which they are now being hailed by right-wing groups:

The Family Research Council

Trying to hedge off an inevitable attack on free speech, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) introduced the Broadcaster Freedom Act at a press conference today on Capitol Hill ... We applaud Pence, Walden, and DeMint for their work to protect the airwaves from government control and pledge to join them in this fight.

The American Center for Law and Justice

A return of the Fairness Doctrine would be devastating to Christian broadcasters by putting the federal government in charge of telling broadcasters what to air,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. Such a move would put the federal government in control of dictating the content of what’s aired effectively muzzling Christian broadcasters. That’s precisely why the Broadcaster Freedom Act is so important. We applaud the many House and Senate members who have introduced and co-sponsored the measure. We believe passage of this measure is paramount to protecting free speech.

The Christian Coalition

The President of the Christian Coalition of America, Roberta Combs said: "Congress should resist the urge to shut down radio talk show hosts around the country which is what the "Fairness Doctrine" would effectively do if brought back. Christian Coalition of America has begun an on-line campaign to ensure that the onerous "Fairness Doctrine" is not reinstituted by Congress or by the Obama Administration."

Christian Coalition of America commends the efforts by Senator Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and others in Congress to stop the "Fairness Doctrine" legislation from passing.

Is this really going to become a crusade for the Right: to fight for passage of legislation designed to prevent the implementation of something that nobody is planning on trying to implement? 

And to think, pundits were worried that the conservative movement was out of touch and bereft of ideas on how to deal with the various crises this country is currently facing.

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Protecting Themselves From Nonexistent Threats

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on January 8, 2009 - 10:17am

It's been more than a month since Marin Cogan explained in The New Republic that fears over the re-introduction of the Fairness Doctrine were nothing more than "Republican paranoia" because Democrats had no intention of actually trying to implement it. 

Just yesterday, Rep. Steny Hoyer told CNS News much the same thing:

The House Democratic leadership, which controls the legislative schedule, currently has no plans to bring the Broadcaster Freedom Act – which would permanently ban the Fairness Doctrine – up for a vote, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told CNSNews.com at the Capitol on Wednesday ... “That has not been discussed, and I do not contemplate it, but I have not discussed it with the committees,” Hoyer told CNSNews.com on Tuesday when asked if the Democratic leadership would schedule a vote on the ban this year. “There is a lot of discussion from the other side on the Fairness Doctrine but less discussion on our side. That has not been a major item.”

But, as the old saying goes, just because you are paranoid doesn't mean you shouldn't introduce pre-emptive legislation to block this non-existent threat - and that is exactly what several Republicans did yesterday:

Republicans introduced a bill Wednesday that would bar Congress, President-elect Barack Obama and federal media regulators from bringing back the Fairness Doctrine, which they said would all but eliminate the talk-radio industry.

...

"Freedom of speech is under attack in this country," said Sen. Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republican and co-sponsor of the Broadcaster Freedom Act. "I am just committing today to use every rule, every tactic that we have at our disposal to keep the Fairness Doctrine from moving in Congress or to overrule it if it is implemented by the FCC."

...

"Bringing back the Fairness Doctrine today would amount to government control over political views expressed on the airwaves," said Rep. Mike Pence, Indiana Republican and a former broadcaster.

Joining Mr. Pence and Mr. DeMint were Sen. James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma and Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon.

The Washington Times reports that "the group did not cite any immediate effort to revive the doctrine, but argued for the legislation as a preventive measure." So at least they are protected against this non-existent threat should it ever be re-introduced ... which it won't, as a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid explained:

"We have enough real problems facing this country that we don't need to invent ones that don't exist," Reid spokesman Jim Manley said. "This is not even close to being on our radar screen."

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Perkins and Bauer Issue a Call to Arms

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on January 6, 2009 - 11:07am

On yesterday's broadcast of Focus on the Family's radio program, guest host Frank Pastore was joined by Tony Perkins and Gary Bauer to discuss the threat that Christians will soon find themselves under in this country thanks to the election of Barack Obama and the Democratic majorities in Congress:

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Gary Bauer, president of American Values, told Pastore they are both concerned about what's on the line as Barack Obama takes office.

Perkins said the battle over marriage is on center stage.

"We have an administration that supports the redefinition of marriage in many, many ways," he said. "We’ve got a number of issues that are going to be coming out of Washington. The Defense of Marriage Act, Employment Non-Discrimination Act, hate crimes are all going to be on the table right after the Obama administration begins."

Bauer described the situation as a "witch's brew."

"You’ve got people in government, willing to use the force of law to push the radical gay-rights agenda," he said, "and you’ve got a gay-rights movement that is willing to use the tactics of intimidation in the streets of America to silence those that would dare oppose them." 

Perkins went on the warn that liberals "ultimately want to take away the voice of American citizens, primarily those of religious faith" while Bauer proclaimed that "if we lose this [fight over marriage equality], the next generation of American children will be taught about family and about normal relationships between men and women in a way that will completely distort God's plan for mankind and that is something that I think would be devastating for our culture, for our families, and certainly for our country."

After discussing about the dangers they face from issues like FOCA and the Fairness Doctrine, Perkins warned "don't let your guard down ... [or] we will lose these precious freedoms" while Bauer closed with a call to arms:

This is probably the one thing that listeners should take away from this show: you can't take for granted the right to hold these views any more. You're going to have to stand up ... if they go down the road on these issues, I believe [that] with all of our passion, all of our intelligence and all of the freedom that the founders gave to us, we need to resist.

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Protect Your Third Amendment Rights!

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on December 2, 2008 - 11:45am

I've always wanted to launch my own grassroots political organization dedicated to protecting our Third Amendment rights, collecting donations, and then just sitting back while turning out glowing annual reports about how, thanks to our tireless efforts, no citizen was compelled to house soldiers in their place of residence during times of peace for 217 consecutive years.

While it is not quite as ingenious as my idea, it looks like the Media Research Center is launching it's own version of this sort of can't-possibly-fail initiative, as Alex Koppelman points out:

Whether they know it or not, the staff at the Media Research Center -- a conservative press watchdog -- seems to have hit upon an ingenious new strategy: make a big deal about getting involved in fights in which your enemy is nonexistent. You can't possibly lose!

Monday, the MRC announced the formation of the Free Speech Alliance, a group dedicated to fighting against the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, an old FCC regulation that mandated equal time for opposing viewpoints in opinion programming. The move was announced in a post on MRC's blog, Newsbusters, that was titled "The Free Speech Alliance Declares War on the 'Censorship Doctrine.'"

The MRC is also asking people to sign a petition against revival of the regulation. "In 1987, President Ronald Reagan rescinded the Fairness Doctrine and since then, talk radio has flourished. Conservatives dominate it, and liberals can't stand it. By re-instating the Fairness Doctrine, liberals would effectively silence the conservative leaders of the day ... and would essentially take control of all forms of media," the group says in an introduction on the Web page that hosts the petition. On the same page, the MRC warns, "In recent months, the groundswell for reinstatement is intensifying. In fact, a growing number of liberal leaders in Washington, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, have openly stated their intent to do so."

...

According to the MRC, Fairness Alliance member organizations include Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, Concerned Women for America and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

Of course this sort of right-wing effort to save America from the return of the Fairness Doctrine is almost guarantee to succeed without those involved having to do anything at al since, as Marin Cogan explains, there is no effort underway or desire whatsoever to actually reinstate it:

Today, the doctrine has almost no support from media-reform advocates. According to Mark Lloyd, co-author of the CAP report, "I don't think there's any movement [to restore the fairness doctrine] at all. ... We don't support it. " Craig Aaron of the media-reform group FreePress says, "[I]n reality, the fairness doctrine as it existed is never ever coming back."

Responses from the offices of most of the Democrats who have been pegged as fairness-doctrine proponents--Schumer, Dick Durbin, Dianne Feinstein, and others--have ranged from a firm denial that the issue is a priority at all to disbelief at finding themselves at the center of a manufactured controversy. "Somebody plucked this out of the clear blue sky," says the press secretary for New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman, a Democrat who was questioned about the issue by a conservative radio-show host a few weeks ago. "This is a completely made- up issue." Senator Durbin's press secretary says that Durbin has "no plans, no language, no nothing. He was asked in a hallway last year, he gave his personal view"--that the American people were served well under the doctrine--"and it's all been blown out of proportion." In fact, as recently as last year, the House voted by an overwhelming three-to-one margin to temporarily prohibit the FCC from imposing the dead policy; 113 Democrats voted to support the move.

Meanwhile, the president-elect himself has said in no uncertain terms that he does "not support reimposing the fairness doctrine on broadcasters." Republican paranoia is nothing more than that.

 

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