Creating The Fear That Isn't There

Today, Michelle Makin was in full-on paranoid-delusion form:

Today, at 2pm, the Senate will vote on two amendments with respect to the Fairness Doctrine.

- The DeMint amendment (Broadcaster Freedom Act) would ban the Fairness Doctrine.

- The amendment by Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) would achieve the same goals of the Fairness Doctrine through backdoor FCC regulations. His legislation forces the FCC to “take actions to encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership,” an attempt to dismantle successful syndicated radio programs. The Durbin amendment would hurt small, local radio stations who depend on popular syndicated programming for listeners and revenue.

Much in the same fashion that conservatives are using the "phantom earmark" meme - or in Sean Hannity's case, claiming that they "know" the stimulus money is going to be used for ill - Malkin is attempting to convince her readership of the following:

- Making it easier for a radio station audience to voice their opinions/concerns to station managment ( and for those voices to be heard )

- preventing a monopoly of ownership ( a common practice in business )

- diversity is bad

No one has ever said that conservative talk radio should be dismantled. This is the theme that these lunatic-fringe conservatives are using - The Fairness Doctrine will abolish conservative talk-radio. In reality, it would do no such thing.

That being said, it's easily seen from the vote on DeMint's laughable legislation ( and waste of time, actually ) that there more people willing to drop this nonsense and get on to issues that matter.