The “fairness doctrine,” a policy that until 1987 required broadcasters to give equal time to opposing viewpoints, has been getting attention lately as Republicans try to keep Democrats from reinstating the rule on the airwaves. Below is a clip of Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., debating Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., about that issue.
Coleman opposes revival of the fairness doctrine and noted that the talk of doing so is unwisely aimed at talk radio, which is dominated by conservatives. “I think it’s very dangerous for government to be in the position of deciding what’s fair and balanced,” he said, later adding that “there’s nothing fair about the fairness doctrine.”
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif.: “The Employee Free Choice Act is very simple. It’s very simple. When a majority say they want a union, they get a union. … It’s a great tradition of democracy — that the majority gets to say what they want, and they get to say it in the workplace just like they get to say it in the country.”
Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., touting the Employee Free Choice Act on the Senate floor on the same day of the rally: “This is an idea that has been tried and tested.”
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He officially announced his candidacy today in an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”
“Things are started to coalesce and I feel very, very optimistic about my future,” Thompson said. “I am the reliable conservative. My record shows that. All that people have to do is look at my record, and I am one individual that they can count on.”
This week’s show also featured an appearance by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
The guests at NBC’s “Meet the Press,” meanwhile included Senate Judiciary Committee Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and panel member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, discussing the future of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., talking about tax policy.
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