HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner

Democrats renew call for Fairness Doctrine

Yesterday, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) renewed calls to reinstate the so-called “Fairness Doctrine,” which would effectively silence critics of the government on the radio.  This blatant attempt to quash those who disagree with the Democrats should offend all who cherish their First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech.

Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) believes that Freedom of Speech is a fundamental right which should not be infringed upon for political expediency.  Efforts to silence critics are reminiscent of Eastern Europe before the fall of the Berlin Wall; attempts to censor the voice of Americans represent the worst kind of tyranny, and House Republicans will not stand for it.

Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-IN) has introduced legislation - the Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2009 (H.R. 226) - that would bar the return of the “Fairness Doctrine” and the censorship it represents.  Leader Boehner is supportive of Rep. Pence’s effort; in fact, he was one of the original cosponsors of the Broadcaster Freedom Act.  Currently, Mr. Pence’s bill has 173 cosponsors and rising.

Supporting the freedom of Americans to speak their mind on the airwaves is not a conservative or liberal issue, it is an American issue.

Jon Sinton, the founding president of Air America Radio (started as a liberal counterweight to conservatives Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity), vigorously opposes the “Fairness Doctrine.”  In December of 2008 he wrote in the Wall Street Journal that:

I believe that for the last eight years Rush Limbaugh and his ilk have been cheerleaders for everything wrong with our economic, foreign and domestic policies. But when it comes to the Fairness Doctrine, I couldn’t agree with them more. The Fairness Doctrine is an anachronistic policy that, with the abundance of choices on radio today, is entirely unnecessary.

French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire once declared that, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Isn’t that the essence of Freedom of Speech?

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Keep the Airwaves Free of the Fairness Doctrine

Leading Democrats are pushing to restore the “Fairness Doctrine” - an antiquated idea which would effectively silence critics of the government. This blatant attempt to quash those who disagree with the Democrats should offend all who cherish their First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech. The right to speak one’s mind is diminished - and effectively silenced - if it cannot find a voice on the radio, television, or the internet.

The American people should not have to get approval from bureaucrats in Washington before they speak their mind on any given issue. Republicans in the Congress agree with that sentiment - and have taken to heart Voltaire’s famous declaration (”I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it”) by introducing the Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2009.

The bill, introduced January 7, 2009, by Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN), chairman of the House Republican Conference, Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR), Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), chairman of the Senate Steering Committee, and Senator John Thune (R-SD), Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, would prevent the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, which would suppress free speech by requiring the government to monitor political views and decide what constitutes fair political discourse. The Pence-Walden bill in the House already has over 100 cosponsors including Republican Leader Boehner.

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Links for June 17, 2008

67% Support Offshore Drilling, 64% Expect it Will Lower Prices (Rasmussen Report)

Most voters favor the resumption of offshore drilling in the United States and expect it to lower prices at the pump…A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey…finds that 67% of voters believe that drilling should be allowed off the coasts of California, Florida and other states. Only 18% disagree and 15% are undecided.

EDITORIAL: ‘Fairness’ is censorship (Washington Times)

If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democratic leadership are so certain they are right to support the “Fairness Doctrine,” why not bring a measure - any measure - to a floor vote? … The House showed its intent last summer, when a majority of 309 approved a one-year Fairness Doctrine moratorium attached to a financial-services bill, over the Democratic leadership’s opposition. It is censorship, and ordinary House members are rightly having none of it.

Two GOP Lawmakers Switch Support for Expanded Alaska Drilling (Fox News)

Two House Republicans, who previously opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge without preconditions, came out Thursday in favor of opening up the field for oil exploration. Reps. Jim Walsh of New York and Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland announced at a press conference they’d support drilling there…

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