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Limbaugh to Obama: Don't Touch Talk Radio

Following suit with some Dems would mean violating free speech

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 20, 2009 7:45 AM CST

(Newser) – There’s been talk among Democrats that government should intervene to ensure balance in talk radio. But government weighing in on content is a direct violation of the First Amendment, writes Rush Limbaugh in the Wall Street Journal, and as a former law prof, our new president knows that. President Obama has spoken against Limbaugh's show, the radio host says; he'd better not support an intervention in the name of “fairness."

“The fact that the federal government issues broadcast licenses ought not become an excuse to destroy one of the most accessible and popular marketplaces of expression,” Limbaugh writes in an open letter to the president. “As the temporary custodian of your office, you should agree that the Constitution is more important than scoring transient political victories, even when couched in the language of public interest.”

In this Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009 file photo, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh talks with former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, left, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
In this Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009 file photo, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh talks with former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, left, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
In this Jan. 18, 2009 file photo, talk show host Rush Limbaugh is interviewed on the sidelines before the start of the NFL AFC championship football game in Pittsburgh.
In this Jan. 18, 2009 file photo, talk show host Rush Limbaugh is interviewed on the sidelines before the start of the NFL AFC championship football game in Pittsburgh.   (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
President Barack Obama walks on the South Lawn as he returns to the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009.
President Barack Obama walks on the South Lawn as he returns to the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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Today the number of radio stations programming talk is well over 2,000. The explosion of talk radio has created legions of jobs and billions in economic value. Not bad for an industry that only 20 years ago was moribund.
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 44 comments
Fondue
Mar 3, 2009 10:11 PM CST
Rush Limbaugh is a Domestic Terrorist.
riffran
Feb 23, 2009 1:34 AM CST
No media bias??...lol.....Dan Rather.....A prime example....
woodyTX
Feb 22, 2009 2:58 AM CST
Correction America Prevails....Mr. Obama was against the war in Iraq and puiblicly stated repeatedy that Afganistan was important as it has been base of Al Qaeda; those who attacked America. He has been pro abortion for his political career. Didn't you hear McCain and Palin slamming him for that ? Were you asleep during the election campaign ? America will not prevail unless we get the facts straight. I'm not going to let you make them up.

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