Who better than the undisputed champion of talk radio, Rush Limbaugh? After all, he’s a racist, homophobic, bigoted idiot. Limbaugh’s recent remarks on the Obama administration have given the liberal media exactly what they wanted: a new excuse to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. Though much of the backlash against Limbaugh comes from the Republican Party, the amount of attention the left spends chastising a radio talk show host is alarming.
The Liberal Media’s New War on Limbaugh
The media’s war on Limbaugh can be traced back to at least 2003, when the major networks launched a smear campaign on Limbaugh after he accused the media of favoritism toward Donovan McNabb. Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, and others falsely accused him of drug trafficking and/or money laundering. But the left’s campaign came to a quick halt in 2007 when Limbaugh sold the now infamous “phony soldiers” letter on eBay. The letter, written by Harry Reid and signed by 40 other United States senators, demanded Limbaugh be reprimanded for comments he made that were actually in reference to persons falsely claiming to be Iraq War veterans.
In the March 16, 2009 edition of Newsweek, David Frum, a Republican and former speechwriter for George W. Bush, wrote an article entitled “Why Rush Is Wrong.” In it, Frum contends that Limbaugh is destroying the Republican Party through his bombastic, over-the-top rhetoric. Frum contrasts Limbaugh with Obama, espousing the president’s physique and attractiveness to women while declaring the radio host is a “walking stereotype of self-indulgence.”
“[Limbaugh] cannot be allowed to be the public face of the enterprise—and we have to find ways of assuring the public that he is just one Republican voice among many, and very far from the most important,” Frum wrote.
Newsweek is coming dangerously close to advocating censorship of a talk radio host. This article effectively kicks off a new war against Limbaugh, and provides a crucial example of the grotesquely symbiotic relationship between Washington politicians and the liberal media. Newsweek, The New York Times, NBC, et al., fearing the collapse of their empires, have high hopes that a democratically-controlled congress and executive branch will reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.
The Death of Journalism and Liberal Talk Radio
Many observers have noted that impartial and accurate journalism “officially” died in 2008. When a once well-respected news organization like Newsweek features a cover photo of a radio talk show host with a censor bar over his mouth, something is amiss. This type of partisan journalism is downright dangerous in a society that celebrates free speech. Much of the blame can be placed on The Fairness Doctrine, a government policy in effect from 1949 to 1987 that forced broadcasters to provide equal time for the expression of opposing views. The doctrine had nothing to do with free speech and everything to do with government control.
After President Reagan repealed the Fairness Doctrine, conservative talk radio rose to prominence on the airwaves. This simultaneously incensed and confounded the left. But what the liberal media can’t or refuse to understand is that most liberal radio shows fail because they are, quite frankly, boring. Take, for example, the liberal Air America Radio Network, which filed for bankruptcy after only two years. It failed because no one listened to it. If the liberal media really want “fairness” on the radio, they should encourage liberal talk shows to be more engaging and less vile.
To all those who want Limbaugh shut down, quieted, fired, or otherwise removed from radio, remember the best defense you have against such pompous blowhards. It is a device tried and true, 100 percent failsafe, and easy to operate. It’s called the “off button.”
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