The Call to Revive the Fairness Doctrine
THE CALL TO REVIVE THE “FAIRNESS DOCTRINE” —AN ADMISSION THAT THE LEFT CANNOT COMPETE IN THE MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS
by
Ken Eliasberg
The Fairness Doctrine for those of you who are not familiar with it (its having been removed from the scene by Ronald Reagan in 1987) is nothing more than an exercise in censorship. Let me correct that, it is a great deal more than an act of censorship; it is an admission on the part of the left that they need to suppress conservative speech because they can’t respond to it. If I thought I was right (and I do) then I would welcome the other side to express their view if only to demonstrate the compelling accuracy of my position (and, again, I do). Every time some lefty states his case, he makes mine (again, you need only look at the 2 letters to the editor in the June 27th issue of the Examiner responding to my commentary on the left and liberalism—if they don’t confirm the intellectual bankruptcy of the left then I don’t know what it will take to convince you). The obvious point here is that if your argument has merit, you should welcome the opportunity to expose the inferiority of the other side to the light of day. But liberal arguments (such as they are) offer no such challenge, and that’s why they resort to censorship.
There are a number of excellent articles on this subject, but one of the best is a piece done by Nat Hentoff (of the Village Voice and formerly a liberal) for Imprimis entitled The History and Possible Revival of the Fairness Doctrine (January, 2006). For openers Mr. Hentoff observes:
“The term