I've been reading/hearing about the Democrats' desire to restore the Fairness Doctrine for some time. I would have blogged about it sooner, but it's one of those things that's so incredibly amazing, I had to spend months staring at it to even make myself believe it's real.
For the uninitiated, the Fairness Doctrine was a policy enacted by the FCC through much of the lifetime of radio, and finally killed in 1987. Under this rule radio stations were forced to cover current issues, and to do so in a fashion that the FCC deemed politically balanced.
In the current, highly idiotic and partisan climate, that would equate to requiring that Al Franken get an hour of airtime for every hour Rush Limbaugh gets.
I've said it a thousand times to Hussain, and I'm sure a million times more in my own internal monologue. I don't understand how the Democrats can so thoroughly control the public discourse, so directly dictate what Americans hear (and ultimately think), and yet still lose Presidential elections, lose control of the House and Senate for ten years at a time, etc. etc. I think it speaks to the sheer contemptibility of their candidates, the totally unAmerican nature of their ideals, that even when the deck is stacked to their exact specifications, they still can't win consistently.
They own Hollywood. They own mainstream TV and print. They own the University system and public education. Literally everything everywhere is blaring their message except FOX news and AM radio. So what do they want to do? Take down Rush Limbaugh.
Jim Hightower failed. Mario Cuomo failed. Air America failed. The Democrats saw that they simply couldn't compete in the marketplace. So now they're going to make it law that they have to be allowed to compete.
The left loves to screech about George Bush taking away their rights. They can't name one. But look at what they do... The Fairness Doctrine is a direct, transparent assault on the 1st Amendment. The most precious amendment, the one liberals claim to care about, so, so much. Until anybody but them is speaking.
It's literally impossible for me to parse this sort of thing. How can America really be THIS fucking stupid? How can the Democrats be THIS fucking crass?
Their ability to control the discourse is simply amazing. We're living in a country where a political party is deliberately, publicly attempting to attack and undermine the primary means of 'ideological assembly' of the opposition party. At the same time, this party not only manages to avoid gaining a reputation as an enemy of freedom, but manages to attach that label to the party they're attempting to silence.
It's fucking amazing.
Now look at Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, and get even more insight into the Democrats real commitment to discourse. These two puffy haired douchebags want to kick Dennis Kucinich out of the debates. They're not only interested in silencing their conservative opponents, they don't even want other Democrats, ones with actual moral consistency (if not actual good ideas) to demonstrate just what a bunch of power mad charlatans they are. They want to silence anybody who isn't in total agreement with them. Right, left, they don't care. Nobody but them should have the right to speak.
It's fucking amazing.
IT'S FUCKING AMAZING.