Frightful Fairness

Sound disturbing? Unfortunately, it would not be the first time that a president made use of a federal regulatory agency to silence dissent. Bill Ruder, assistant Secretary of Commerce to the Kennedy Administration admitted that in the 1960’s, “Our massive strategy was to use the Fairness Doctrine to challenge and harass right-wing broadcasters and hope that the challenges would be so costly to them that they would be inhibited and decide it was too expensive to continue.”

At present, Rep. Pence is making use of a discharge petition (which requires the support of 218 members) to bring the Broadcaster Freedom Act bill to the House floor. With 201 supporters, Pence needs 7 more members to call for a vote, Speaker Pelosi’s objections notwithstanding.

Now would be an excellent time for concerned citizens to call, write, or email their Democratic congressmen and urge them to support Pence’s petition. If the bill can be brought to the floor, Rep. Pence is confident that the Fairness act can be permanently buried, and the sooner the better. It appears that 2008 will see the premiere of at least one horror movie; namely, The Rise of Hillary. Frankly, I can’t stomach the thought of a double feature.