Henry Waxman Goes After "Hate Radio"

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) "Turn off that radio, Fousesquawk!"


We pretty much knew this was going to happen when the Democrats took over Congress. Now the move is beginning. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the head of the House Reform Committee, has tasked his staffers to monitor conservative talk radio hosts, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin and report their findings back to him. Waxman is looking for "irregularities" in the comments made by these three most prominent conservative voices. It has also been announced that Waxman is calling in the head of the FCC to discuss re-instituting the so-called Fairness Doctrine that would require political talk show hosts to "balance" their programs with opposing opinions. This would be the most chilling assault on free speech since the "Political Correctness" that reigns on our university campuses.

Why is talk radio being singled out for the "Fairness Doctrine"? Simple. Talk Radio is overwhelmingly dominated by conservatives. Most all liberal talk radio shows have flopped due a lack of listeners. Examples? How about Phil Donahue, Mario Cuomo and Air America? I could go on and on. The fact is that most listeners have turned to conservative talk radio because it offers one of the few alternatives to the liberal-dominated mainstream news media. When you look at the mainstream media, what do you see? Nothing but liberal/Democratic propaganda. I am talking about ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, plus the overwhelming majority of the largest newspapers (NY Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Atlanta Journal and Constitution etc.) I could go on and on, but do you want me to list most of the newspapers in the US?

Aside from the news media, the liberals also have Hollywood and most of the public universities, the latter dominated by radical-left professors who detest their own country and feel it is their job to indoctrinate their students.

So what does that leave us conservatives? Talk radio, Fox News and the conservative blogosphere. That's it. But rather than let us have the few crumbs of the media industry, liberals have to attack and try to eliminate any opposing viewpoint. How many times have you heard liberals refer to talk radio as "Hate Radio"? How many times a day do you hear Fox News attacked? And for what? Because they (conservative outlets) want us to win in Iraq and win the War on Terror? Because they are patriotic and wear their love of America on their sleeve? Or is it because they offer an alternative, traditional viewpoint that liberals don't want you to be exposed to?

Let me say a word here about Rep. Waxman. For years, he has been quick to pounce upon any Republican misdeed, real or imagined with howls of outrage and investigations. Yet, when Bill Clinton was president for 8 years and involved in some new scandal every week, Mr. Waxman had a ready comment: :"So what?"

So Mr Clinton was selling nuclear technology to the Chinese?

"So what".

So Mr Clinton was playing "hide the baloney" with an intern in the Oval Office?

"So what?"

So Mr Clinton was committing perjury over said intern?

"So what?"

So Mr Clinton sold pardons out of the Oval Office?

"So what?"

900 Republican personnel files in the White House, you say?

"So what?"

Clearly, Mr Waxman's sense of outrage is highly selective and political. But this latest attempt to silence opposing voices is against every principle of freedom this country stands for. Mr Waxman, do you really intend to bring pressure on news outlets to reign in conservative voices, possibly by holding their broadcast licenses hostage? I am sure you remember just recently when Hugo Chavez shut down an opposition media outlet in Venezuela because it had dared to criticize him. Is that what you want to do here? Do you want to create an atmosphere of self-censureship by broadcasters for fear they will lose their licenses? And final question: Will you impose the same standards on TV news, Hollywood and universities? Of course you won't.

Mr Waxman. If you are so confident that your party and your ideology are correct, then don't be afraid to debate in the open marketplace of ideas. It is your task to convince the public of the righteousness of your views, not destroy your adversaries. History has always shown us that the side that attempts to silence the other side is the wrong side. The tactics you suggest are not the tactics of a free and democratic country. They are the tactic of every dictatorship that we can think of.

If the readers of this blog agree with me, I would strongly suggest that you let Mr Waxman know your views. A copy of this post is being emailed to him tonight.