January 12, 2011

Fairness Doctrine Metastasising?

I think it's far too early to worry about this one, but Democratic Representative James Clyburn is calling for the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine;
The shooting is cause for the country to rethink parameters on free speech, Clyburn said from his office, just blocks from the South Carolina Statehouse. He wants standards put in place to guarantee balanced media coverage with a reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, in addition to calling on elected officials and media pundits to use 'better judgment.'
'Free speech is as free speech does,' he said. 'You cannot yell ‘fire' in a crowded theater and call it free speech and some of what I hear, and is being called free speech, is worse than that.'
With a Republican controlled Congress I'm not too worried, unless they start to cave on it. But I don't really see that happening. Further, as heinous as this crime was, as far as the news cycle goes, it's the headline du jour and the real important matter facing the nation will still be the economy in the coming weeks and months. Further, Clyburn's case is compromised by the fact that the likes of Krugman jumped the gun (and the shark) by crying Tea Party far before the facts were/are in. It's a non-starter.

But I do have a concern with Clyburn's apparent position on inflammatory speech going unchallenged. Compare what he says here,
COLUMBIA — U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in Congress, said Sunday the deadly shooting in Arizona should get the country thinking about what's acceptable to say publicly and when people should keep their mouths shut.

Clyburn said he thinks vitriol in public discourse led to a 22-year-old suspect opening fire Saturday at an event Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords held for her constituents in Tucson, Ariz. Six people were killed and 14 others were injured, including Giffords.

The shooting is cause for the country to rethink parameters on free speech, Clyburn said from his office, just blocks from the South Carolina Statehouse. He wants standards put in place to guarantee balanced media coverage with a reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, in addition to calling on elected officials and media pundits to use 'better judgment.'
with how soft-handed he seemingly was, at least publicly, on Alan Grayson:



With the left, every argument seems to be a matter of current convenience. Clyburn did not even talk about reprimanding Grayson.  If he felt strongly about strong political language, he could have taken firmer measures with Grayson and let people know about how he was going about it.  "Tone it down" is not a rebuke.  Clyburn is clearly an opportunist.  

NOTE: Hopefully that's the last I will need to say about the shooting and it's fallout because I still want to try to focus on providing solutions or clear logical arguments about policy in 2011.

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