Thread: McCain Backs Bill to Block Fairness Doctrine

McCain Backs Bill to Block Fairness Doctrine

June 29, 2007
(Broadcasting & Cable) _ Republican Rep. Mike Pence's effort to block reimposition of the fairness doctrine has found an opposite number on the Senate side.

Late Friday, Senator and presidential candidate John McCain (R-Ariz.) joined with two other Republicans, Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Norm Coleman (R-N.M.) to introduce the Broadcaster Freedom Act.

The fairness doctrine, said McCain, "had a chilling affect on free speech, and it is hard to imagine that the American people would support reinstating a policy where the Federal government would be required to police the airwaves to ensure differing viewpoints are offered."


The doctrine, which the FCC declared unconstitutional in 1987, required broadcasters to air both sides of issues of public importance. The Supreme Court had found that the doctrine chilled debate. The doctrine's departure paved the way for the rise of primarily conservative talk radio.

Like Pence's bill, which he was working on last week, it would prevent the FCC from reimposing the fairness doctrine, though the FCC is unlikely to do that under the current administration. The greater fear is that a Democratic-led Congress that faced an avalanche of immigration-bill criticism driven in large part by talk radio might try to bring it back.

Several Democratic Senators have said as much, which prompted Pence to craft his bill as well as an amendment that passed easily in the House this week that would not allow the FCC to spend any 2008 dollars on implementing a fairness doctrine rule.

House Democrats have called the fairness doctrine issue a red herring and put a point on that characterization by essentially putting up no opposition to it http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6456430.html, but Senators including John Kerry of Massachusetts and Diane Feinstein of California have been talking lately about bringing it back. That would likely have to wait for a Democrat in the White House, however, something they are also looking at bringing back

http://hardware.broadcastnewsroom.com/a ... ?id=157741

I heard Dick Morris say a couple days ago that in fact, all the Dems need to do is wait until Hillary is elected, then stack the FCC with their people who will institute the fairness doctrine.

This does NOT have to be done legislatively!!!! I believe this is their plan. To try to shove such a thing down Americans' throats after the immigration debacle will further alienate people leading up to the Presidential election.

So, they will do what they do best .....take a back-door stealth route to shutting up and shutting down the public!

They tried to do a similar thing back in January by inserting an amendment into the Ethics and Lobbying reform bill (S.1) that would have in effect shut down grass-roots lobbying - which is what ended up stopping the immigration bill.

These communists will not rest until they have shut down free speech and our right to petition our government. Where is the ACLU? Oh yeah, they're defending the "rights" of non-citizens.

Kate, You are absolutly right! It is all about taking away the the rights, and with it, the ability of the people to fight back against thier communistic ideologies.

McCain introduces talk radio legislation
The Business Journal of Phoenix - 2:15 PM MST Friday, June 29, 2007by Mike SunnucksThe Business Journal

Arizona Sen. John McCain has introduced federal legislation to protect talk radio shows from the reinstatement of past rules that required dissenting voices be given equal time on their shows.

McCain and fellow GOP Senators John Thune of South Dakota and Norm Coleman of Minnesota have put forward legislation preventing the reinstatement of the 'Fairness Doctrine'.

The Fairness Doctrine was done away with in 1987 but previously required political radio shows to offer equal time to opposing viewpoints as part of their Federal Communications Commission licenses.

A number of Democrats and liberal advocates want the Fairness Doctrine put back in place. They do not like the fact talk radio is dominated by conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and Laura Ingraham.

McCain said imposing such rules would stifle free speech and there are plenty of political viewpoints in the marketplace.

Conservative radio talkers have criticized McCain for his stance in favor of immigration reform

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stor ... ily54.html

Didn't the supreme court say it was unconstitutional? Does any one know?
It does stiffle freedom of speach!

It's appropriate that McCain vote against the Fairness Doctrine 'cuz it's a no-brainer. I'd recommend everyone rest easy on this one. There's no way on this green earth that such an idea will ever become law again. I lived through that catastrophe and the elitist judiciary accepted the idea that they weren't violating the First Amendment. Rather they were simply balancing access to a very limited number of frequencies, channels and stations. Even back then, it passed with the narrowest of margins. Today, we have thousands of channels, stations, frequencies and the internet to boot. It'll never pass Constitutional muster. McCain knows that and simply went along. He's good at no-brainers but he's toast anyway.