The American Pundit

Gotta love Liberals. When they can’t get people to listen to their rhetoric, they have one solution: Shut down the other side. They’ve been unable to get Americans to listen to their version of talk radio, as was shown with Air America filing for bankruptcy. So, their solution is to limit the amount of freedom of speech the Conservative talk radio has, to be “fair”. In reality, their goal is to censor Conservatives.

Michelle talked about the report which led to this revival, by the Center for American Progress. CAP is a left-wing think tank. She said that the report was an attempt by the left to revive the Fairness Doctrine, which requires that talk radio gives equal time to both sides of the argument - even if no one listens to the other. The policy would be expensive to talk radio, and the rhetoric from the left isn’t popular in the medium. People wouldn’t listen, it will cost stations too much, and eventually many will just drop talk radio entirely.

As Michelle points out today, Liberal bloggers scoffed. Huffington Post writer Timothy Karr wrote:

A study released on Wednesday by Free Press and the Center for American Progress lays bare what is obvious to many: Talk radio is a chorus of right-wing voices…

Here’s the rub. The lack of ownership diversity spawned by this structural failure at the FCC is perhaps the single most potent ingredient in the often caustic right-wing tilt of the radio dial…

The reports’ authors recommend ways to bring more voices to talk radio. They conclude we need to restore caps on the ownership of commercial radio stations and ensure greater local accountability for broadcast license holders…

In reality, they never argue for a return of the Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcasters devote airtime to important and controversial issues and provide contrasting views on these issues. The report specifically states that the Fairness Doctrine “was never, by itself, an effective tool to ensure the fair discussion of important issues.”

But don’t expect a correction from Malkin any time soon.

Who is arguing for the return of the Fairness Doctrine? The very people this report is targeted at - Congress. Dennis Kucinich, Dianne Feinstein, Dick Durbin, and John Kerry are all arguing for the return of the Fairness Doctrine. Durbin wasn’t shy about it, either:

“It’s time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

Hear that? Fairness Doctrine.