The Fairness Doctrine

President Obama has publicly stated that he is against the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine. My question is why are Democrats in Congress bringing a dead issue up yet again? Sen. Hardin (D-Iowa) and Sen. Stabenow (D-Mich) are calling for hearings to revive the outdated doctrine.

The Fairness Doctrine was implemented in 1949 and revoked in 1987 under President Reagan. The Doctrine was then blocked by Bush 41 in 1991 with a veto threat. The Doctrine is not needed and is unfair to radio stations and talk show hosts. In a nutshell the Doctrine would require talk radio stations to give equal time and opinions on (conservative and liberal) all topics discussed. This would force radio stations to change their entire lineup. The radio stations are successful because of the content they air on a daily basis. Listeners, not the US government, should determine what radio stations air. It is a business and a big one at that. Imagine listening to Rush or Michael Savage by choice and then having to stomach Al Franken. I doubt any conservative could take more than 3 minutes of Al at one time. The show would fail and advertisers would pull their support. Air America has tried and failed in almost every market imaginable.

Requiring stations to have opposing views would mean the end of radio talk shows as we know it. The stations would have no choice but to change their format. The stations would not be able to afford the failing shows. They would, by law, have to continue to take huge losses to enable the successful shows to remain on the air or just decide to play the hits of the 80's. Talk radio is extremely popular and very profitable. Laws requiring stations to air shows no one really wants to listen to anyway is just UNFAIR. It is unfair to the listeners, hosts and employees of the station. What happened to free enterprise - the American dream? It seems that the Democrats only consider what benefits their causes and views to be fair. Last time I looked at my radio it had a button that if pushed, can change the station. I have more than one option in my market. I do not need Obama and his minions telling me what is good for me or what I should listen to. Air America had its chance - seems no one cared to listen.