Leftys, do you think people are too stupid to decide what is best for them?

Question

I'm trying to understand this movement to get the fairness doctrine reinstated.... Let's see... Americans have a choice of what they listen to on the radio... they have chosen for whatever reason to listen to Limbaugh, et al and chose not to listen to Air America. To me that's just a winner and a loser in the marketplace, just like when a company goes bankrupt because a competitor took its customers away. So, since Americans were too stupid to embrace Air America, we now need legislation that forces those stupid Americans to do the right thing?

info police, why don't left wing zillionaires (Soros, Streisand, etc.) apply for and receive licenses to start left wing radio stations? I know why. They know they will lose money. Soros might be a bitter, angry lefty but he still loves the smell of money.

Toko, more of the "people are stupid" schtick for those who don't see the lefty vision? It's getting old, man.

puckheaded, get to work on that reading comprehension problem of yours.

little timmy, finally someone gets it? I'm not limiting my criticism to democrats or republicans, they are all equally worthless! John McClown is a free speech squashing tyrant with his McClown Feingold bill. Congrats on your perception.

Anybody wanna bet coragryph is a philosophy professor?

Answer 1

Correct, the liberals want to shut down a certain type of speech radio, but think nothing of stealing your tax money for NPR.

Answer 2

It's not a matter of deciding what's best for them. And yes, sadly, many people are not capable of making rational decisions to that end.

But regarding the fairness doctrine, your argument inverts the point. The whole concept of the fairness doctrine is to ensure that all sides of a debate or issue are presented equally, so people can decide for themselves what to believe.

It came about, for those who don't know the history, at a time when there was very little spectrum of media available. Just a few TV stations, few radio stations and all were broadcast. Thus, if the few news sources decided to present only one side of an issue, it would be very easy for people to be misled or misinformed.

In modern times, with such a broad range of news sources available, it's much less important. The legislation is obsolete, in my opinion, because we no longer have a limited selection of news sources to choose from. And anything that gets the govt out of regulating content is a good idea.

Answer 3

How do people find out what is best for them if they are only given one point of view on the public airwaves which belong to all of us?

And that point of view is the one espoused by the corporate powers who sponsor the drones like limbaugh who encourage the masses to keep their heads in the sand, go with the flow and not to question authority.

EDIT: Of course left-wing radio will always lose money. Big corporations aren't going to sponsor them.

Everyone should listen to this on the radio if they can or on the internet: http://www.democracynow.org/

Answer 4

You have this all wrong, again.
Lefties, think for themselves, thus can decide for themselves.
Many lefties, like me, watch Fox News, CNN, the BBC, etc thereby getting all the viewpoints and opinions.
Cons, on the other hand, usually watch ONLY Fox News, listen ONLY to Limbaugh, Hannity, and all these other halfwits, thereby getting a completely one-sided view of things.They all live in that idiotic place called Hannity's America. You know, that place where everybody sings from the same one-page hymnbook, watch Nascar for entertainment, and Fox News is on 24/7.

And THAT is NOT good for any society.

Answer 5

I am no lefty, but what you say is double sided. For true liberty, shouldn't all choices be left to Americans individually? If you want a gun that holds a gazillion bullets, buy it. If you want to donate all your money to the church, do it. If you want to marry another man, do it. Choices, and the freedom to make them yourselves is what our country was founded on. Limbaugh or Air America? I could care less. I listen to neither. I know their opinions, and if people want to hear them over and over again, fine. Fairness is winning in the ratings and no one should be told what to listen to or how to think. I agree Air America sucked (or sucks if it's still on) and that is why no one listened. Advertisers shouldn't be forced to spend money on worthless investments. That is fairness.

Gee Moe, maybe it is you who should work on his writing.

Answer 6

I'm a liberal, however, I don't go along with the "fairness doctrine", it sounds like a Conservative ploy. I can't believe the right wing democrats are doing it! BTW - there are Lefty's' (as you put it) and Rightys' (to go along with your bashing of the left), in both parties. Something most people on this forum just love to ignore.

Answer 7

They have tried to front Liberal talkers on the radio, nobody friggen listened. At least not enough to pay the bills and get really big and popular. therefore as far as The Lib's are concerned it aint a fair playing field and they wanna force feed us the crap again.

Answer 8

It's amazing how right-wing trolls and their hosts love to pontificate, isn't it? Unfortunately for them, they only prove my points. One of them offers: "...MSNBC, CNN are losing their audience in greater numbers, while Fox, Hannity or Rush Limbaugh numbers are increasing. ..." Unfortunately, the argument is not only lacking in facts, but illustrates why the Fairness Doctrine is important. For instance, Fox "News" ranted on, as did Rush and Ken doll Sean, about WMDs in Iraq, as well as every other lie put forth by the Bush administration, reaching millions of listeners and viewers, while also slandering the U.N. weapons inspectors, who just happened to be right. If you add political Christian broadcasting to this toxic mix, you get a monopoly that is dangerous. Progressives didn't get on Armed Forces radio until late in 2005, but even then Ed Schultz was threatened with cancellation before he even debuted, because he criticized someone in the Bush administration. This isn't championing free speech. It is patently unfair practice. It also illustrates the tilted news our military is getting. That, too, is dangerous.

Right-wing radio offers propaganda, not facts, with the intent to play on the listeners emotions, without offering content that is based in reality. The ratings prove that FNC, Fox "News" channel is losing out in the ratings. In addition, the ignorance of conservatives about media and radio is further shown when they say the Fairness Doctrine is about "...demanding that the government implement further control or regulation over an entire industry, it might be simpler to look in the mirror, at the rating points & ad revenues & realize that the market for the “progressive” or liberal slant isn’t as popular or pervasive as you assume it to be. ... Again, they miss the point. Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller, as well as the leader in progressive talk, Randi Rhodes, are making it in the commercial market. They are not only popular, but growing. The issue is to allow more progressive hosts on local am/fm radio to see if we can also make it. Unless you've been in the battle for radio you don't know what it's like, with conservative corporations not even giving progressives a chance to get on air, or cancelling good hosts before they have the time to prove themselves. You have to give progressive hosts a chance to build an audience, which takes time. But conservatives do not want fairness, which can be seen through their trade policy, as well as their anti-union rhetoric, which has decimated the middle class, by selling out workers for outsourcing all in the name of profit. They want a one-way talking machine on radio, paid by and benefiting only their political partners in business, as well.
Right-wing is on the air and getting advertisers because they're the only game in town, except for a few progressive hosts like Schultz, Miller and Rhodes. The Fairness Doctrine will not keep a bad show on, but it will allow entry to good hosts who are now being shut out by conservative conglomerates
The short version of the Fairness Doctrine is that in 1987 Reagan had it scuttled. Shortly after that Rush Limbaugh began his journey and right-wing radio was created and gradually took over the airwaves, with the help of their corporate friends. The Fairness Doctrine could really make a difference. Why do you think conservatives are screaming like crazy?

Answer 9

Depends. Morally all Americans ARE entitled to decide for themselves. No one, and I mean no one has a right to determine what we do in our bedrooms or the public streets of YOUR community. Economically, however, Americans need to be taught how to behave! Do you live in the suburbs? It's now time to TAX you until you howl!!

Answer 10

People are all too good at deciding what's best for them, but often what's good for the individual is not good for society as a whole.