Please follow the link to a very significant speach given by Thomas G. West, a professor of politics at the University of Dallas and a member of the board of directors and a senior fellow of the Claremont Institute. Here are some choice excerpts:
"Those who favor campaign finance regulation sometimes claim that their primary concern is with âcorruption and the appearance of corruptionâ â that is, what used to be called bribery or the appearance of bribery. But that is not the real agenda of the reformers. There is a good reason why the 2002 Act, like the 1974 law, was voted for by almost every House and Senate Democrat, and opposed by a large majority of Republicans: These laws are primarily about limiting the speech of conservatives."
"Some congressmen were willing to be even more open about the fact that the new law would cut down on conservative criticism of candidates. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Dem.-Ill.) said: âIf my colleagues care about gun control, then campaign finance is their issue so that the NRA does not call the shots.â Democratic Reps. Marty Meehan (Mass.) and Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), and Democratic Sens. Harry Reid (Nev.) and Dick Durbin (Ill.) also cited the National Rifle Associationâs political communications as a problem that the Act would solve. Several liberal Republicans chimed in."
I just bet they did. Traitors.
"During the Republican Eisenhower years, the FCC paid little attention to broadcasting content, and a number of conservative radio stations emerged. After John Kennedy was elected in 1960, his administration went on the offensive against them. Kennedyâs Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Bill Ruder, later admitted, âOur massive strategy was to use the Fairness Doctrine to challenge and harass right-wing broadcasters and hope that the challenges would be so costly to them that they would be inhibited and decide it was too expensive to continue.â"
"This strategy was highly successful. Hundreds of radio stations cancelled conservative shows that they had been broadcasting. The FCC revoked the license of one radio station, WXUR of Media, Pennsylvania, a tiny conservative Christian broadcaster. When WXUR appealed to the courts, one dissenting judge noted âthat the public has lost access to information and ideas . . . as a result of this doctrinal sledge-hammer [i.e., the Fairness Doctrine].â The Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal. It saw no free speech violation in the government shutdown of a radio station for broadcasting conservative ideas."
Liberalhawk, Iâd be more than happy to hear what you think abou this article. 
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