Victor Davis Hanson writes today on the renewed calls for the government to impose “fairness” on broadcasters. Read his column here.
There are so many things wrong with the so-called “fairness doctrine” that it’s hard to know where to begin. It’s patently unconstitutional (but the Supreme Court has already swallowed patently unconstitutional restrictions on free speech in the odious McCain-Feingold bill); it’s ridiculous to think that there are just two views on public policy issues, so that “fairness” can be achieved by giving “the other side” equal time; but most of all, there is no reason to think that giving federal officials this power would result in “fairness.” Rather, the power would be abused by whomever had the ability to use it to squelch political opponents. The earliest “fairness doctrine” cases go back to 1964, when a Democratic administration employed it to silence small radio stations that were pro-Goldwater.
The Founders were right — Congress must make NO LAW abridging the freedom of speech. Any power in the hands of the state at all is dangerous and intolerable.
