The Doctrine has been called for by numerous liberal politicians. Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., expressed support about introducing legislation to bring "accountability" to the airwaves. Senator Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., told Albuquerque radio station KKOB last year. "I think the country was well-served. I think the public discussion was at a higher level and more intelligent in those days than it has become since." Senator John Kerry, D-Mass., told WYNC's Bryan Lehrer Show in 2007, "I think the Fairness Doctrine ought to be there and I also think equal time doctrine ought to come back." In June of last year, John Gizzi reported in Human Events a conversation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in which she personally supported revival of the "Fairness Doctrine." And as recently as December, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. – who serves on the Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee – told the Palo Alto Daily Post she still believes in the "Fairness Doctrine" and will work on bringing it back. The debate heated up again recently, however, when Obama singled out Rush Limbaugh, the king of talk radio, for criticism: "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done."
The "Fairness Doctrine" is an assault on First Amendment liberty.
The Fairness Doctrine, abolished in 1987, was a policy of the Federal Communications Commission that required the holders of broadcast licenses to present controversial issues of public importance in a manner the agency considered "balanced." Reagan vetoed the Doctrine and since then, right wing commentators, and free speech liberty flourished, something which apparently the left in this country is not comfortable with.
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