Take Rush and others off the air?
October 5, 2007 | By Nathaniel Ward
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Liberals are stepping up their attacks on conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, calling on his network to censure him. But liberal efforts to silence conservative talk radio are nothing new.
Over the summer, liberals in Congress started pushing for a return to the bad old days of the Fairness Doctrine, a regulation that effectively kept conservative viewpoints off radio and television—until it was ended under the Reagan administration. Others argued that conservatives were too dominant and that government should step in to “restore balance.”
Despite grandiose defenses of the Fairness Doctrine and similar regulation from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and others, the Fairness Doctrine fails to live up to its name, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) told a Heritage Foundation audience on Thursday.
It’s not right to “license or measure the content of speech,” he insisted. The Fairness Doctrine, he continued, is a liberal effort to enlist the government to advance the left-wing agenda when their ideas can’t compete with those offered by conservatives.
“The Fairness Doctrine wants to chill free speech,” Sen. Coleman argued. But there’s a better way: “Let the best ideas win.”
Meanwhile, Heritage scholar and former Attorney General Edwin Meese lays out, with James Gattuso, another way federal rules could limit your options in radio: by blocking the merger of the two main satellite radio services.
An alternative to liberal health care plans
On Wednesday, President Bush quite rightly vetoed a left-wing bill to expand government control of health care through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. The plan, which would extend a health program intended for low-income kids to families making more than $80,000 a year and disrupt private insurance coverage, “moves our health care system in the wrong direction,” he argued.
Heritage Vice President Mike Franc suggests Congress consider “an alternative that actually helps struggling families afford health insurance for their kids – and allows each side to claim some victory.” This alternative, dubbed “SCHIP Plus,” would
- Strengthen the existing program without expanding it;
- Provide tax relief to help low-income parents “buy private health insurance for their families – or keep the coverage they’re struggling to maintain”; and
- Give states more options to cover children.
The principles of the plan outlined by Heritage experts have been endorsed by groups on both sides of the political spectrum.
A new Heritage chart distributed to media outlets shows what effect the liberal plan would have on health coverage. For every 100 children in middle income families (earning $41,300 to $82,600) who enroll in the expanded SCHIP, 54 to 60 kids would lose existing private health insurance coverage they have today. Instead, they would be saddled with inferior government-subsidized plans. Heritage experts Paul Winfree and Greg D’Angelo explained the basic economics behind this in a recent paper.
Are you smarter than a college student?
“Can you, without peeking at a textbook or doing a quick Google search, say roughly when Abraham Lincoln was elected president?” asks Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner. “Could you name which country the United States sparred with during the Cold War? Do you know where the phrase ‘all men are created equal’ comes from?
“If so, congratulations. Turns out you’re smarter than many college students.”
Book says Heritage among America’s best non-profits
The Heritage Foundation is one of a dozen organizations singled out in a new book as the most “high performing” non-profit organizations in the country. The Chronicle of Philanthropy takes a look (subscription only) at the book, Forces for Good, and notes that Heritage gets rave reviews for its leadership (emphasis added):
The CEOs of the 12 organizations “know they must share power in order to be a stronger force for good,” the authors write. The Heritage Foundation, regarded by many as the most influential think tank in Washington, is headed by Edwin J. Feulner, who has a “unique combination of charismatic yet egoless leadership,” according to the authors.
When Mr. Feulner took the job in 1974, he called his friend Philip Truluck and asked him to come along. The two have overseen the organization, which now has a budget of $40-million and 275,000 members, for more that 30 years. The foundation also has eight vice presidents, many of whom have been at Heritage for 20 years or more. “We spent a great deal of time studying Heritage’s success, and we came to see that this structure, with its broadly diversified leadership, provided the critical capacity Heritage needed to sustain its growth and impact,” the authors write.
How Europe and America can confront Islamic extremism
European bureaucrats talks a good game about standing with America against radical Islamic terrorism. But Sally McNamara, a foreign policy expert in Heritage’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, argues that “European directives, regulations, and communiqués will not win the war on terrorism.”
In her article, McNamara lays out a series of specific recommendations that America can adopt in collaboration with individual European governments like Britain’s—and with E.U. authorities—to improve security both abroad and here at home.
RSVP today to see Clarence Thomas
Next month, The Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society and the National Center for Policy Analysis are sponsoring a series of events with Justice Thomas where he will speak on his new memoir, My Grandfather’s Son. Reserve your spot today:
- New York—Oct. 16
- Atlanta—Oct. 18
- Omaha—Oct. 19
- Chicago—Oct. 21
- Dallas—Oct. 23
- Southern California—Dec. 17 (registration opens in November)
All the events will be broadcast live on MyHeritage.org. Order the book today on Amazon.com.
Heritage’s impact
The Heritage Foundation continues to make an impact on the policy debates in Congress. On Tuesday, for instance, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) cited Heritage research on health care for children.
In other news
- Congress has failed to renew its prohibition against state or local taxes on internet access. Americans could see such taxes imposed as soon as Nov. 1 unless lawmakers act.
- The military announced that the first portions of America’s nascent missile defense system are now up and running. Development of a more robust defense continues.
- Liberals continue to push for spending even more taxpayer money on embryonic stem cell research. Heritage President Ed Feulner has looked at the fiscal implications for such expanded funding.
- Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf, has reached an accord with opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. The nation votes for a new president on Saturday.
- “No power can stop this nation from making more and more (atomic) achievements,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other Heritage Foundation events, RSVP at Heritage’s events website. Or you can watch these events live online at Heritage.org. All times are Eastern.
- On Friday, Oct. 5, retired Army LTC Steve Russell, the founder and chairman of Vets for Victory, will give a first-hand account of his experiences in Iraq.
- On Wednesday, Oct. 15 at noon, Pacific Research Institute scholars Lance Izumi and Vicki Murray discuss their new book, Not as Good as You Think: Why the Middle Class Needs School Choice.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. Colin Gowan contributed to this report.
