FAIRNESS DOCTRINE REDUX: The Clinton Appeal

This is no surprise, of course.

Only a year into his presidency, Bill Clinton was trying to silence dissent, as any good Communist does, by declaring that America's airwaves were full of "hate and intolerance". Now, if you can recall, the only nationally-syndicated conservative voice was Rush, Barry Farber, and maybe a couple of regional hosts, but there was mainly one: Rush Limbaugh. Isn't it amazing to see the reactionary Left practically hyperventilate over an AM radio talk show? Here's Clinton's response in part about "the media" from a 1994 interview with two hosts on KMOX in St Louis:

I think there's too much cynicism and too much intolerance. But if you look at the information they get, if you look at how much more negative the news reports are, how much more editorial they are, and how much less direct they are, if you look at how much of talk radio is just a constant unremitting drumbeat of negativism and cynicism, you can't—I don't think the American people are cynical, but you can't blame them for responding that way.

We, for example, we had a meeting the other day, and a group of people were told that under our budgets we were going to bring the deficit down 3 years in a row for the first time since Harry Truman was President. And some of them said, "Well, I just don't believe you. We never hear that on the news. I just don't believe you." It's a fact. I've worked hard to do it. And we're going to—we're bringing the deficit down. That's what bothers me. (source)

By 1995, Rush was still on the air, so, using the Oklahoma City bombing as an excuse to silence dissent, Bill clinton stoked the fire as he spoke in Mineapolis only days after the bombing:

In this country we cherish and guard the right of free speech. We know we love it when we put up with people saying things we absolutely deplore. And we must always be willing to defend their right to say things we deplore to the ultimate degree. But we hear so many loud and angry voices in America today whose sole goal seems to be to try to keep some people as paranoid as possible and the rest of us all torn up and upset with each other. They spread hate. They leave the impression that, by their very words, that violence is acceptable. You ought to see - I'm sure you are now seeing the reports of some things that are regularly said over the airwaves in America today.

Well, people like that who want to share our freedoms must know that their bitter words can have consequences and that freedom has endured in this country for more than two centuries because it was coupled with an enormous sense of responsibility on the part of the American people.

If we are to have freedom to speak, freedom to assemble, and, yes, the freedom to bear arms,we must have responsibility as well. And to those of us who do not agree with the purveyors of hatred and division, with the promoters of paranoia, I remind you that we have freedom of speech, too. And we have responsibilities, too. And some of us have not discharged our responsibilities. It is time we all stood up and spoke against that kind of reckless speech and behavior.

If they insist on being irresponsible with our common liberties, then we must be all the more responsible with our liberties. When they talk of hatred, we must stand
against them. When they talk of violence, we must stand against them. When they say things that are irresponsible, that may have egregious consequences, we must call them on it. The exercise of their freedom of speech makes our silence all the more unforgivable. So exercise yours, my fellow Americans. Our country, our future, our way of life is at stake. I never want to look into the faces of another set of family members like I saw yesterday, and you can help to stop it.

Our democracy has endured a lot over these last 200 years, and we are strong enough today to sort out and work through all these angry voices. But we owe it to our children to do our part. Billy Graham got a standing ovation yesterday when he said, "The spirit of our Nation will not be defeated." I can tell by your response that that is true. But you must begin today.

(source)

Barry has a lot of comrades in this effort.