UNCONDITIONAL PRAYERS FOR EL DeBARDGE: Will Obama Try To Silence Rush

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Does Barack Hussein Obama want to SILENCE RUSH?

His campaign now says he doesn't support the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" (a measure that liberals are trying to impose to get rid of the only medium that gives equal time to conservative thoughts and opinions; namely, conservative talk radio) -- athough he supported it several months ago.

Michael Ortiz, the Obama campaign's press secretary, told Broadcasting and Cable:

"Senator Obama does not support re-imposing the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters."

But what many liberal media outlets are not reporting is THE REST OF ORTIZ'S STATEMENT!

Ortiz continued:

"He considers this debate to be a distraction from the conversation we should be having about opening up the airwaves and modern communications to as many diverse viewpoints as possible. That is why Sen. Obama supports media-ownership caps, network neutrality, public broadcasting, as well as increasing minority ownership of broadcasting and print outlets."

Forget about those short-sighted liberal plots to silence Rush Limbaugh and all those other pesky conservative talk-radio hosts. Obama has a bigger vision!

"Media Ownership Caps... ?" Ortiz's statement is very clear! Obama wants the whole enchilada! Essentially Ortiz is saying that the federal government should control and regulate exactly who owns a media outlet.

"[I]ncreasing Minority Ownership of Broadcast And Print Outlets... ?" Not enough minority owned stations? Not a problem? The government can fix that too! Let's extend Affirmative-Action to the airwaves. Maybe the Rev. Jeremiah Wright will get his own show. He can call it; "The God D___ American Hour."

"Diverse Viewpoints... ?" With the exception of talk-radio and FOX News , the Left already has a broadcast and print monopoly. Is Ortiz possible saying that we need the government to enforce the dissemination of MORE conservative thoughts and opinions on the airwaves? Doubtful!

It appears that Obama is ONLY against the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" because he really wants to impose an UBER-FAIRNESS DOCTRINE!

And that's NOT good news for any American who values free speech!

There is a fix. Congressman Mike Pence has proposed legislation, The Broadcaster Freedom Act (HR 2905), which would thwart future efforts to bring back the so-called "Fairness Doctrine."

And IF it could get a vote in the House of Representatives, IT WOULD PASS!

But Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi -- in what is becoming an all too typical maneuver -- is REFUSING TO BRING THE BROADCASTER FREEDOM ACT TO THE FLOOR FOR A FAIR UP-OR-DOWN VOTE!

Don't let Barack Hussein Obama, or Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid legislate a monopoly of liberal thought on the airwaves. Use this hyperlink or the button below to send 27 FAXES to President George W. Bush and EACH and EVERY Member of the Leadership of the United States House of Representatives.

Tell them that the American people should be free to decide whether they want to listen to Rush Limbaugh, or Sean Hannity or Laura Ingraham. We do not live in the former Soviet Union and liberals in Congress have no right to decide what the American people should or should not hear!

Demand that they bring Congressman Mike Pence's Broadcaster Freedom Act -- which is specifically designed to STOP the imposition of the so-called Fairness Doctrine -- to the floor for a fair up-or-down vote. The American people need to know which Members of Congress value the First Amendment!

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Use the "Send My Faxes" button to send your 27 FAXES to President George W. Bush and EACH and EVERY Member of the Leadership of the United States House of Representatives and find out how you can also be the FIRST to secure your copy of Obama Unmasked signed personally for you by Floyd Brown.

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What Is The So-Called Fairness Doctrine

In 1949, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued directives which eventually became known as the "Fairness Doctrine." The general idea behind these directives was to guarantee balanced coverage of the news by forcing stations to air opposing views.

"Broadcasters must give adequate coverage to public issues and this coverage must accurately reflect opposing views on the issue."

It initally sounded like a good idea. However, it didn't take long for astute politicians to realize that they could use the "Fairness Doctrine" as a club to bludgeon their opposition.

Bill Ruder, President Kennedy's Assistant Secretary of Commerce, tells us how it worked:

"Our massive strategy was to use the Fairness Doctrine to challenge and harass right-wing broadcasters and hope the challenges would be so costly to them that they would be inhibited and decide it was too expensive to continue."

According to the Heritage Foundation, the so-called "Fairness Doctrine:"

"... puts immense power into the hands of federal regulators. And in fact, the fairness doctrine was used by both the Kennedy and Nixon Administrations to limit political opposition. Telecommunications scholar Thomas W. Hazlett notes that under the Nixon Administration, 'License harassment of stations considered unfriendly to the Administration became a regular item on the agenda at White House policy meetings.'"

In 1987, during the Reagan Administration, the FCC formally abolished the "Fairness Doctrine."

Philip Terzian, writing for Radio Free America, explains what happened at that point:

"As often happens, this particular initiative had exactly the opposite effect from what the FCC intended. Over the years station owners grew so wary of attracting the scrutiny of federal regulators that they largely banned discussion of political issues on the air, and mandatory public service programming was deliberately anodyne."

"All that changed once the FCC dropped the Fairness Doctrine in 1987. A half-century of pent-up free speech was suddenly liberated, and talk radio came into its own."

Almost immediately after the shackles of the "Fairness Doctrine" were removed, a young radio host by the name of Rush Limbaugh started broadcasting a totally conservative radio talk show.

The timing is not a coincidence! Prior to the repeal of the "Fairness Doctrine" it could not happen! Rush -- or the stations carrying Rush -- would have been required to provide "equal time."

Hence, Rush's now famous expression: "I don't need to be balanced with equal time, because I am equal time!"

And Rush is right. While conservatives "own" AM talk-radio and FOX News actually allows conservatives ideas to be brought forth in a "fair and balanced" manner, liberal viewpoints are the norm in the media.

One would think that "fairness" would actually necessitate the government mandating MORE conservative viewpoints on the airwaves, but conservatives typically believe in free markets.

And as for liberals... why are they clamoring to bring back the "Fairness Doctrine" -- or in Obama's case, the Uber-Fairness Doctrine?

Bill Ruder made it perfectly clear. The "Fairness Doctrine" isn't intended to provide balance.

ITS PURPOSE IS TO FORCE TALK RADIO TO CEASE AND DESIST, TO SILENCE CONSERVATIVE DISSENT -- TO HUSH RUSH!

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What Are Others Saying About The Fairness Doctrine

"By insisting on so-called balance, [liberals] want to silence those they don't agree with. They know they cannot prevail in the public debate of ideas."

- President George W. Bush

"'I think we may only have about two years left for me to be able to be in the radio business. I've done this job for 30 years. I think I may have about two years left.' And she said, 'well, what does that mean? Are you going to say something stupid?' And I said, 'no, no, I don't think talk radio will exist as we know it in two years... voices are going to be weeded out and cut in half.'"

- Glenn Beck, recounting a conversation he had with his wife

"... nothing less than a sweeping takeover by Washington bureaucrats of broadcast media, and it is designed to squelch conservative speech on the airwaves."

- Rep. John Boehner

"They said we've got to do something about this. These are nothing but far right-wing extremists.... There's got to be a legislative fix for this..."

- Senator James Inhofe, recounting a conversation he claims to have overheard between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barbara Boxer

"I think the Fairness Doctrine ought to be there, and I also think equal time doctrine ought to come back. These are the people that wiped out... one of the most profound changes in the balance of the media is when the conservatives got rid of the equal time requirements and the result is that they have been able to squeeze down and squeeze out opinion of opposing views and I think its been a very important transition in the imbalance of our public eye."

- Senator John Kerry

"[T]hen immediately afterwards, Rush Limbaugh and other hate-mongers began to fill the airwaves."

- Former Vice President Al Gore

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..."

- The First Amendment to the United States Constitution

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The Fairness Doctrine: A Colossal Fraud...

Let's take another look at the statement from Michael Ortiz, the Obama campaign's press secretary:

"He considers this debate to be a distraction from the conversation we should be having about opening up the airwaves and modern communications to as many diverse viewpoints as possible. That is why Sen. Obama supports media-ownership caps, network neutrality, public broadcasting, as well as increasing minority ownership of broadcasting and print outlets."

When liberals talk about "diverse viewpoints," what do they really mean?

Here's what David Limbaugh wrote in a recently published article titled; "The New York Times Provides a Glimpse of the Fairness Doctrine:"

"It is not conservatives who, having lost in the talk radio marketplace of ideas, are pushing to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine to suppress political viewpoints they find objectionable. And it is not conservative newspaper editors who -- masquerading as objective, high-minded journalists -- exhibit the stunning audacity to refuse publication of an op-ed by the presidential candidate they oppose, after having published one from the one they endorse."

"David Shipley, the Times' op-ed editor, sent an e-mail to McCain's staff rejecting the piece and offering suggestions on how to tailor it for resubmission. 'I'm not going to be able to accept this piece as currently written. ... Let me suggest an approach.'

"Just savor the dripping condescension. But it gets worse. Shipley said: 'The Obama piece worked for me because it offered new information; ... he went into detail about his own plans. It would be terrific to have an article from Senator McCain that mirrors Senator Obama's piece.' It would have to articulate, in concrete terms, how Senator McCain defines victory in Iraq ... lay out a clear plan for achieving victory -- with troop levels, timetables and measures for compelling the Iraqis to cooperate.'"

Limbaugh continues:

"The left supports campaign finance reform, the Fairness Doctrine and other policies allegedly aimed at ensuring that both sides of the political argument be aired. But it's a colossal fraud." [Emphasis Mine]

" The Times' rejection of McCain's piece is a case study in how liberals apply these principles. They don't believe in both sides presenting their viewpoints, but in controlling the nature and scope of the discussion." [Emphasis Mine]

"Can you imagine what would be in store for political speech in this country if liberals resumed regulatory control of the airways?"

But that's not all.

A recent Rasmussen Reports survey "found that 49% of voters believe most reporters will try to help the Democrat with their coverage..." (and that survey was taken PRIOR to the recent McCain-New York Times flap).

Investor's Business Daily recently reported that journalists have donated to Obama over McCain by a whopping ratio of 20:1 and moreover "analysis of federal records shows that the amount of money journalists contributed so far this election cycle favors Democrats by a 15:1 ratio over Republicans, with $225,563 going to Democrats, only $16,298 to Republicans."

The time has come to let our elected leaders know that we don't want anything to do with their plans to have the government enforce so-called "fairness" in the media!

And Tell Me More About Securing My Autographed Copy of Obama Unmasked Personally Signed For Me By Floyd Brown!

Floyd Brown
ExposeObama.com

P.S. Even if you can not join us in this effort right now, you can still help us expose Barack Hussein Obama by sending this e-mail to at least 10 of your friends.

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