"Fairness Doctrine"

There's been a lot of talk lately about the rumored reinstatement of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine", which all sane people know is ANYTHING but fair...It is blatant censorship of the worst kind. The left has been rabid ever since a Reagan controlled administration lifted elements of the ban in 1987. The liberals like to argue that only one side of the story (conservative) is being offered at any given time on the radio or on other "right-wing" news outlets...They repeatedly ignore the left-wing ideologies and leaning of the government funded NPR, as well as, the vast majority of "mainstream media" outlets...But you see, this isn't enough...They won't be satisfied until ALL opposition to their left-wing agendas is silenced...And silenced for good...I too stand with Sen. Jim DeMint, of South Carolina, who says "Whose opinion will determine what’s fair, what’s balanced, what’s diverse?” This is a very reasonable and logical question. I consider myself to be very conservative in my ideology, but I would never want to silence all views that were contrary to mine...This isn't fair...Nor is it balanced...

President Obama ceremoniously stated on Feb. 18 of this year that he did not support the reinstating of the "Fairness Doctrine"...Will he be true to his word? What if the Senate and House pass bills reinstating the doctrine, which they could easily do now? The GOP is even powerless to attempt a filibuster of any bills that may be offered. Would President Obama really go against his party and veto the legislation?...My heart wants the President to be a man of his word, but my head knows that he WILL bow to his party and rubber stamp the bill...

Conservative talk show host, and legend, Rush Limbaugh began what would turn out to be a monumental effort to get out the truth about what was going on in Washington, and he began his rise to the top syndicated radio show in America...Later followed by the likes of Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, and many others, the conservative talk show scene has exploded over the last 20 years...The reason is simple. They have tapped into a segment of the population that wasn't being served. I'm convinced that the majority of the nation believes in conservative principles...How else could you explain the meteoric rise of these "everyday Americans" who take the airwaves for up to 3 hours a day?..The left will try to tell you that it's because of the "deep pocketed" conservatives who own these stations and can afford to pay the on-air talent, just because they want their viewpoint to be broadcast...But it's just not true...The left-wing Air America Radio, which sought to counter conservative talk radio, began programming on March 31, 2004...By October 2006, increasing debts forced Air America Radio into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. How could such a thing happen? They had talent such as Al Franken, a former Saturday Night Live member and currently involved in the race for a U.S. Senate seat from the state of Minnesota, Thom Hartmann, Rachel Maddow, who currently has her own show on MSNBC, and Janeane Garofalo, actress and liberal extremist regularly featured on networks such as MSNBC, NBC, and various other networks...Didn't they have all the elements of good programming?...Well, not exactly...You see, liberal ideology just doesn't sell...Couple that with the fact that NPR, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, and other news outlets are already getting the liberal message out there, and you have a recipe for disaster...You see, people like Rush, Hannity, Beck, and others have enjoyed success, in large part, due to the fact that there were nearly NO conservative viewpoints being broadcast...

Today, though, I am pretty optimistic that the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" will never again be implemented...I believe that the public outcry would be so great that even the most entrenched career politicians would have to cave to the pressure...Censorship is a nasty word, but that is exactly what this doctrine is. The first amendment to our Constitution grants uninhibited freedom of the press and freedom of speech...So, let your voice be heard. Here's hoping that tyranny may never again rear its ugly head and grip our nation under the guise of "fairness"...