Clyburn Calls for Fairness Doctrine to be Re-Instated

January 10th, 2011

In response to the attempted murder of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Jim Clyburn wants the fairness doctrine re-instated:

Clyburn said he thinks vitriol in public discourse led to a 22-year-old suspect opening fire Saturday at an event Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords held for her constituents in Tucson, Ariz. Six people were killed and 14 others were injured, including Giffords.

The shooting is cause for the country to rethink parameters on free speech, Clyburn said from his office, just blocks from the South Carolina Statehouse. He wants standards put in place to guarantee balanced media coverage with a reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, in addition to calling on elected officials and media pundits to use ‘better judgment.’

Another way of saying this is Clyburn wants to use the death of six people and the attempted murder of a Congressperson by a mentally-ill man as a means of giving the federal government control over what can and can’t be said.

Classy.