Opaque Lucidity

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Legislate 'Em

It appears as if some Democrats in the Senate are eager to create and pass legislation putting strict new "fairness" rules on talk radio. Even Trent Lott, the cowardly Repubwican from Mississippi, is complaining about the influence of the medium.

Maybe it resonates with other liberals, but I can't understand how anyone could see the dominance of conservatives on talk radio as anything more than market forces at work. Do you remember Air America? They're still around, but just barely. Why? Because all their shows are hosted by liberal gasbags like Janeane Garofalo, who demonstrates zero ability to debate or even clearly state her beliefs.

The liberal demographic in this country is very different from the conservative. First, I believe the conservatives probably tend to be older on average than liberals, giving truth to the old adage, "If you're conservative at 25 you have no heart, if you're liberal at 50 you have no head." Most truly liberal people I know and see are young, meaning under 40. There are, of course, the academic elite, but they are a small, overly-courted segment of our society.

More importantly, I think conservatives are simply more informed. Most of you who vote for Democrats are NOT liberal---you just disagree on things like gun control or immigration or Iraq, etc. The true liberals of the Noam Chomsky school tend to be ill-informed and embrace any conspiracy theory that makes conservative Republicans look bad, like the crazy BS theories floating around about 9/11 (don't write me about your convincing website or so-and-so's book; instead, go learn something about the physics of flight and metallurgy).

If talk radio is legislated, it will be pushed right off the cliff of existence. And it will be just the start. Any argument or battle liberals can't win (at the ballot box or in the media), they either try to legislate or take to a judge willing to create laws out of whole cloth from the bench. If allowed to run rampant, they will be the downfall of a free press and open elections.