Republican Congressman Greg Walden from Oregon knows what he's talking about when he joined Congressman Mike Pence from Indiana in re-introducing the Broadcaster Freedom Act. The bill would champion free speech by prohibiting government censorship of political, religious, and other speech on the radio and public airwaves.I know, I know -- you thought the U.S. Constitution already protected us from such nefarious noodling but recent experience has shown that free speech is under terrific fire -- and most of all from the left!
Congressman Walden owned and operated radio stations for over 20 years. In fact, he's part of a small town broadcast family that dates back to the 1930s. “The founders would spin in their graves at the thought of the government censoring speech on many of today’s radio and television stations,” said Walden. “Yet that’s just what some Democratic leaders seem to be after. Whether as a throwback to the old Fairness Doctrine or under a less controversial guise, any effort to exert government control over speech on the airwaves is an insult to the principles behind the First Amendment.”
There's no doubt that the Broadcaster Freedom Act is needed. Democrat leaders like Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, Senator John Kerry, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Jeff Bingaman and several others are already touting a return to the terribly misnamed Fairness Doctrine as a way to curb the impact of Rush Limbaugh and other conservative voices.
But Congressional action to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine (something that would certainly cause a public uproar) may not be needed. No, Barack Obama could slip it in the back door by simply letting the censors of the FCC change the rules. Voilà! No mess; no fuss. Free speech dies a quiet death by bureaucracy.
Such a scenario is not just possible. It truly is probable unless there's a strong move by Americans to defend our Constitutional freedoms. Please write or call your Congressmen and Senators soon and ask them to co-sponsor, work for and vote for the Broadcaster Freedom Act.
