THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume IX, Issue # 126, July 4, 2007
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE "FAIRNESS DOCTRINE" POWER GRAB
By Christopher G. Adamo
THE NEWS MEDIA & THE AMERICAN POLITICAL & CULTURAL LEFT: AMERICAN LIBERALS CALL FOR REVIVAL OF
THE SOCALLED "FAIRNESS DOCTRINE" AS U.S. PUBLIC POLICY, SEEKING TO RESTORE THE VIRTUAL STRANGLEHOLD THEY
ONCE HELD ON THE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION IN THE U.S.A. -- LIBERALS SEEK NOTHING LESS THAN TOTAL
CONTROL OF INFORMATION BEING MADE AVAILABLE TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC -- THE LEFTIST DRIVE TO FORCIBLY
SUPPRESS POLITICAL DISCOURSE THAT DOES NOT AID & ABET THE LIBERAL POLICY AGENDA
FULL STORY:
When the Soviet Union was at its pinnacle, one might think that the greatest fear among its leaders was the nuclear
capabilities of the United States. But this was not the case. While the Soviets recognized the formidable war-making
abilities of the Americans as an obstacle to be overcome, they feared, and thus diligently hunted and eliminated the
presence of something much more threatening to their existence -- the printing press.
For the biggest danger to their continued facade of power and success lay in the possibility that some little person,
needing neither the horrific power of an atom bomb nor the massive resources to develop and deliver it, could
nonetheless shine the light of truth on them and thereby prove to be their undoing.
Empires of oppression and intimidation, built upon real threats and empty promises, simply cannot endure the scrutiny
of an informed public.
Thus, the only means by which they can hope to preserve their hold on power is to maintain a monopoly of information.
And, while their effort at maintaining this monopoly is formidable and imposing, that very fact indicates its ultimate
fragility. Hence, the paranoia of the Soviets, lest the people became informed by any source other than the state “news”
agency known as Tass.
For most of the latter half of the Twentieth Century, American Leftists fared better than their counterparts inside the
Kremlin. A veritable monopoly of information evolved through the growth and expansion of the “big three” networks,
CBS, NBC, and ABC. Over time, the networks developed a decidedly Liberal bias, dominating the perspective through
which they and their audiences viewed the world.
Quite apart from any governmental oversight, the networks were constitutionally guaranteed unrestrained freedom to
present the “news” as they saw fit, which eventually meant a Leftist interpretation to virtually every event they covered.
Sadly, this remains unchanged to the present.
Had technology and society remained completely stagnant, their stranglehold on the dissemination of information would
have been absolute. But, of course, that was not the case.
Primarily during the past decade and a half, a veritable communications explosion has permitted engaged Americans
access to numerous alternative information sources, sources other than the archaic and predictable mouthpieces on the
nightly news and in the major newspapers. Of course, the key players from the old media were not happy about the
competition.
Moreover, during that same time, Washington Liberals were rudely awakened to the fact that the American people could
not be gathered and herded like sheep into the Liberals' Socialist “utopia.” Beginning with Hillary’s “healthcare” scheme
in the early 1990s, District of Columbia insiders were suddenly faced with the stark prospect of accountability to the public,
and they did not like it.
By then, Rush Limbaugh had established an alternative-media empire utilizing talk-radio, which had been largely left
unguarded by the political and cultural Left, since, among those with access to the TV networks, talk-radio was considered
comparatively antiquated.
Shortly after the demise of “Hillary Care,” murmurs of reviving the “Fairness Doctrine,” a past means of stifling free speech
on the radio, were being voiced inside the Beltway.
Such an obvious effort to put this “genie” back into its bottle, once Liberals realized the threat Limbaugh and his kind
posed, were quickly identified and reported to Limbaugh’s enormous audience, who reacted loudly and fiercely. The mere
mention of the “Fairness Doctrine” caused an immediate firestorm of calls and letters to Capitol Hill, whereupon its
advocates scattered. Since that time, they have done little more than grumble and whine.
But, last week’s vote against amnesty for the illegals, and the bizarre path it cut across political lines, made those on the Left
believe that they might have a chance to reinstitute the “Fairness Doctrine,” with the help of now-receptive Republicans.
Liberals sought to “channel” the anger among the elites from both parties, generated by the strident public opposition to the
amnesty bill, in hopes that such unsolicited public meddling with their political agenda could be permanently shut down.
Ultimately, this very manner of response to the situation tells much about what the Liberals know they need in order to
resume their unquestioned dominance of the American political process.
Conversely, the nature of their comments, intended to take advantage of the tensions between D.C. and the Heartland over
the amnesty bill, demonstrate a despicable willingness to forcibly suppress political discourse that does not abet their
interests.
Once again, Liberals are spouting their disinformation that the obvious dominance of Conservatives on the radio somehow
prevents citizens from access to the truth. And, once again, such propaganda must be countered with the truth.
Liberals dominate, almost to the point of exclusivity, every other form of broadcast and print media. It is not the absence of
Liberal viewpoints on radio, but the presence of truth, either on the radio or anywhere else, which the Liberal agenda
cannot tolerate.
Overwhelming dominance of the information market simply is not good enough for the Left. For their propaganda campaign
to succeed, its proponents must possess nothing less than total control of information being force-fed to the public.
U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein (Democrat - California) asserted that the fairness doctrine would return America to “much
more serious and correct reporting to the people.” Similarly, U.S. Senator John Kerry (Democrat - Massachusetts) claimed
that it would fix the “imbalance in the public eye.” Kerry further went on to endorse something he called the “Equal time
doctrine.”
Needless to say, Feinstein and Kerry were not alone. Their alarming comments merely represented the undercurrents
among the Washington political elite who want their political empire returned to its unaccountable glory. Far from
maintaining a level playing field, the real goal of those who advocate the “Fairness Doctrine” is to completely suppress
any point of view that might vary from their orthodoxy.
Never mentioned, when invoking innocuous terms like “correctness,” “balance,” or “fairness” in reporting is the
inescapable conclusion that, for such standards to be defined and upheld, some hideous force must be empowered to
ensure compliance. On the day “Big Brother” oversees and controls political discourse on the airwaves or anywhere else,
free speech has ended.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
The News Media & Political Bias
The American Political & Cultural Left:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, & Other Leftists
Liberalism Versus Conservatism in American Politics
------------------------------------------------------------
CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY & OTHER POLITICAL REGIMES
Modern Constitutional Democracy:
Fundamental Character & Essential Ingredients
Constitutionalism: The First Essential Ingredient
of Modern Constitutional Democracy
Dictatorship: The Opposite of Constitutionalism
Representative Democracy: The Second Essential Ingredient
of Modern Constitutional Democracy
Direct Democracy & Representative Democracy
Political Culture & Modern Constitutional Democracy
Modern Constitutional Democracy:
Summary & Conclusion
------------------------------------------------------------
THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
American Government -- Constitutional System
The Constitution of the United States of America
The American Political System -- Politics &
Government in the U.S.A.: Political Science Course
The American Constitutional System -- Origins:
English Antecedents
The American Constitutional System -- Origins:
Colonial & Early American Antecedents
The American Constitutional System -- Origins:
The Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787
The American Constitutional System -- Origins:
The U.S. Constitution -- Ratification & Adoption
The American Constitutional System -- Origins:
The U.S. Constitution -- The Scheme of National Government
The American Constitutional System -- Principal Characteristics:
Constitutionalism, Republicanism, Separation of Powers,
Checks & Balances, Legislative Bicameralism,
& Balanced Government
The American Constitutional System -- Principal Characteristics:
Federalism -- Fedural Union of States
The U.S. Constitution -- Underlying Political Theory:
The Federalist -- Selected Essays
Christopher G. Adamo is a freelance writer who lives in southeastern Wyoming and works in the field of industrial instrumentation.
He is actively involved in Wyoming's political process, serving as a delegate to successive Wyoming State Republican Conventions
and as a member of the Wyoming State Republican Central Committee. He has assisted Republican candidates for local and state
legislatures and for the United States Congress. His articles, which appear regularly in The Progressive Conservative, U.S.A.,
and on a number of other websites, reflect a major concern with the damage being done to Conservatism and Conservative causes by
the Liberal Leftist faction in the Republican Party as well as by the much larger and more powerful Liberal Leftist faction in the
Democratic Party. During the early and middle 1990s, Adamo was Editor of the Wyoming Christian Coalition's official news organ,
The Wyoming Christian.
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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