Coalition Stands Strong Against the 'Fairness Doctrine'

by Bobby Eberle: There are many bills in Congress with fancy, "happy-sounding" names. When one of these pops up, you can usually bet that it's a bad bill. Take the immigration bill known as the DREAM Act. It turns out that the DREAM Act was more of a nightmare than good legislation, and it went down in flames thanks to grassroots activism. However, one of the most misleading bills out there is the "Fairness Doctrine," and a coalition of Republican legislators is working to ensure that it never sees the light of day again.

Earlier this year, during a legislative battle over the "Fairness Doctrine," opponents of the measure where able to defeat it through an amendment to an FCC appropriations bill which banned the agency from using any funds to adopt a fairness rule. However, the issue is not completely dead as the possibility still exists that a future president may take executive action to force the media to adopt "Fairness Doctrine" policies. And that's where we now see the conservative coalition in action. . . .

Accuracy in Media (AIM) issued a press release last week calling attention to the actions in the Senate. AIM editor Cliff Kincaid noted that "Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry, two prominent members of the committee, have been quoted as saying they favor governmental action through a vehicle such as the so-called Fairness Doctrine to regulate and restrict conservative talk radio." . . . We need less government, not more... and politically motivated efforts by left-wing politicians to force the media to carry programs that fit their agenda is about as un-American as it gets. The government should stay out of the free speech business. The American people are the ultimate judges of what succeeds and what fails on the airwaves. . . . [Read More]See also: Summary of the Fairness Doctrine

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