Democrats Set to Muzzle Conservative Talk Radio

Democrats Set to Muzzle Conservative Talk Radio!
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The broadcast community is once again in the crosshairs of the Democrats.

Now that the Democrats have taken over the Congress, look for the re-imposition of the “Fairness Doctrine”.

Now, the Fairness Doctrine sounds benign enough… until you try to work within its dictates… as I have. Simply put, it works this way. If broadcast stations, radio, or TV, airs a program concerning a controversial issue, it must make available time for those opposed to the opinion espoused by the original program. That, taken to the nth degree, means… a broadcast station could conceivably be tied in knots with all it’s allotted broadcast time being used up by every Tom, Dick, and Harry, with a different opinion on the issue. It was a policy right out of broadcast hell.

Broadcasters found themselves having to weigh whether or not to touch a controversial subject, and be subjected to the demands for “time to answer” of the hordes of individuals, or groups, with differing opinions on the issue, or, ignore the issue entirely. So, most broadcasters simply did not touch ANY controversial issues… period. “Public Affairs” broadcasts were relegated to the wee hours, on Sunday mornings, or to any other hour, of the stations broadcast day, with the least amount of listenership.

The result was that stations simply entertained and did not attempt to educate or inform, short of the news, sports, and weather.

When the Fairness Doctrine was lifted, stations, both radio and TV, began to wade into the world of controversial subjects. Talk shows soon became the rage! Some liberal, some conservative, and some, well, you’d have to figure out, for yourself, exactly what category they fell into. But, the long and the short of it was and is, that broadcast stations for the first time since the imposition of the Fairness Doctrine, began to serve their communities as they are required to under the terms of their licenses.

But, what the government did not count on, when they lifted the Fairness Doctrine, was the inherent conservatism of the masses of Americans outside the major metropolitan areas. Soon, only the conservative talk shows were left on the air as listeners, in “flyover country”, rejected the liberal philosophy of the left wing talk shows. Very soon the field was narrowed down to a handful of really successful talk shows, mostly conservative. And therein lies the “rub”.

The American political left has been threatening to re-impose the Fairness Doctrine in order to bring more variety to TV and radio listeners, and viewers, in America. Of course that is a façade, a sham. The real purpose for the threat is that Conservative thought has taken over the airwaves and that is detrimental to the Left and, as a result, it cannot be allowed to continue.

For more on the re-imposition of “The Fairness Doctrine” we recommend you read David Limbaugh’s article here:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53840

Believe me, these are not idle threats by the Left. I am convinced they fully intend to re-impose the Fairness Doctrine at their very first opportunity. Conservative broadcasters will be relegated to paid satellite radio, which does not require a broadcast license, or to pirate stations operating surreptitiously, or from broadcast stations aboard ships anchored just outside the territorial waters of the US. It has been done before and Conservatives will certainly move in that direction.

The long and the short of all this is… freedom of thought, no matter how strongly those in political power support it publicly, is a threat to them and they know it. It stands to reason, they will make every effort to bring it to “heel”, or to stop it altogether.

The most effective weapons the Government has to combat freedom of speech on America’s airwaves, and the Internet, is McCain-Feingold, and the Fairness Doctrine. If McCain-Feingold is considered the heavy artillery, then the Fairness Doctrine is the Atom Bomb.

So, we bloggers had best enjoy it while we can! Do not, for one moment, believe the Democrats will over look the Internet and bloggers. They will be coming for us. Of that, you can be certain!

Longstreet

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