The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : White House Says Obama Opposes Fairness Doctrine

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The Spectacle Blog

White House Says Obama Opposes Fairness Doctrine

By Philip Klein on 2.18.09 @ 5:51PM

FoxNews has some details. I'm sure this won't kill the issue, but the report doesn't strike me as surprising. To this point, President Obama has been careful to avoid expending energy fighting these sort of side battles that rile up conservatives without accomplishing anything, because he'd rather expend his political capital on actually advancing his liberal agenda. We've already gotten a glimpse of this when he urged Congressional Democrats to strip birth control spending from the stimulus package, thus denying Republicans an easy target. That's one key way in which he's different from Clinton, and why he is a potentially more formidable adversary for conservatives. I know that talk radio is all over this issue, but based on everything I've observed covering Obama, I don't think he's going to risk the big stuff to get into a battle over what is ultimately a marginal issue for him. Instead of focusing on the fairness doctrine, conservatives would be better off gearing up for fights on card check and health care, two areas in which Obama will actually attempt to do some very bad things.

View all comments (8) | Leave a comment

Alan Brooks| 2.18.09 @ 10:11PM

it ought to be pointed ought Fairness Doctrine will-- or would-- benefit Commies and commies even more than libs.
those sh*ts are aching to squeeze their message in.

tony| 2.18.09 @ 11:17PM

I'm not sure how much we can trust O. He's a crafty SOB. It's nice to know he's come out against the fairness doctrine, but look what he's doing with the FCC. He's looking to appoint people who will do an end run around the Congress by putting in place rules to allow local policing of the airwaves. We cannot simply accept that this is over. O does not want any dissension out there because he knows his plans cannot stand public scrutiny.

Kat| 2.18.09 @ 11:40PM

I think it's good cop/bad cop. Obama's always the good cop.

Jeremiah| 2.19.09 @ 1:34AM

Hilarious. You mean you people believed Sean Hannity when he claimed that Obama would work tirelessly to take him off the air.

You guys need to grow up. No one is coming after your little radio shows.

Just relax.

ruth| 2.19.09 @ 1:47AM

Thank you, dear marxist minder. We feel so much better now. Time to pick up your check, J. Soros is waiting for you under that rock.

Michael Dooley| 2.19.09 @ 8:35AM

We live in a world where a quota isn’t a quota and equal opportunity actually means equal results. Don’t want to bring down the “fairness doctrine”? Fine. Call it something else. Have the appropriate agency formulate some broadcast requirements that “indirectly” work out to the same practical results.

We’re supposed to have free speech as a first Amendment protected right; yet without blinking an eye so many at the top see nothing wrong with “speech codes”. Hey. Free speech is one thing; but “hate speech” is quite another. (We get to decide what is hate speech. Besides, what’s wrong with requiring some civility?)

Maybe ol’ Rush and the Han-man can say whatever they want to say—as long as it is done “civilly”. Mind you, some things just aren’t brought up in polite company. (On more than one occasion, I have been told it is rude to defend my pro-life views, even when challenged, because I might offend or shame women in the room who may have had abortions.)

The real threat Conservative talk radio has had is that it allows conservatives to talk to one another and reinforce one another. If you can break up chances for Conservatives to “network”, the game may be more than half over.

David L Miller| 2.19.09 @ 3:39PM

Hey, Mr Dooley - have you forgotten already that America used to stand for free enterprise. Did you not pay attention as the vast majority of Left or Liberal talk shows have had to exit all their markets due to lack of viewership or listeners? Rather tough for a business owner to pay for his/her station when no one will advertise because their advertising dollars would go down the same toilet that Left and Liberal commentator views are flushed......