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Blogs by Alex Drinkwater, Jr.
The Libs Are At it Again
1/19/2006 11:25:54 AM
There is a move afoot to squelch conservative talk radio - and blogs as well - and people need to know about it. Read "The Plot to Shush Rush and O’Reilly" - it's important no matter what side of the political fence you're on.
There is an online magazine called the "City Journal" which I found the other night as I was "surfing" the web. In it I read an article about some people trying to use the McCain-Feingold "Campaign Reform Act" to squelch speech they disagree with. They want the Federal Election Commission - FEC - to clamp down on the "'loophole' that allowed big money to keep on corrupting" - that is, the Internet:
"Are the hundreds of political blogs that have sprouted over the last few years—twenty-first-century versions of the Revolutionary era’s political pamphlets—“press,” and thus exempt from FEC regulations? Liberal reform groups like Democracy 21 say no. “We do not believe anyone described as a ‘blogger’ is by definition entitled to the benefit of the press exemption,” they collectively sniffed in a brief to the FEC. “While some bloggers may provide a function very similar to more classical media activities, and thus could reasonably be said to fall within the exemption, others surely do not.” The key test, the groups claimed, should be whether the blogger is performing a “legitimate press function.” But who decides what is legitimate? And what in the Constitution gives him the authority to do so?"
Good question. Further on in the article:
"It’s not just the blogosphere that’s at risk. The Left has also begun to use campaign-finance reform—not McCain-Feingold but equally onerous state regulations—to try to shush political talk radio. The oldest of the new media—Rush Limbaugh went national around 15 years ago—political talk radio is the Right’s dominion. Not one of the top 20 nationally syndicated political shows features a left-of-center host, and right-leaning radio talkers outnumber liberals three to one. Over 40 percent of Americans tune in at least occasionally to this extremely influential medium, and over 20 percent use it as a primary source of political information. Given the Left’s continuing inability to compete on the dial—its much-ballyhooed Air America doesn’t even register in the Arbitron ratings in some markets—its preferred strategy in the future likely will be to force conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and William Bennett off the air."
The article includes examples where attacks against "violators" have already happened. The article asks: "Why should any American need government permission to express himself?" Indeed. I am only throwing in (with the author's permission, by the way) a couple of excerpts here but you need to read the whole article. Oh, for those of you on the left: if you think this is "good" because it will (at the moment) affect the political right more than the political left, think again. This is an assault on the First Amendment, no more, no less. Here's the link:
http://www.city-journal.org/html/16_1_rush_oreilly.html
Click on it or copy it and plug in into your browser, and have at it. It's a good read, and it's important.
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