In 1987, Ronald Reagan's FCC decided to repeal what was known as "The Fairness Doctrine", which required any political viewpoint on the airwaves to be followed up with an equal amount of time for the opposite viewpoint.
The Democratic House and Senate passed a law that blocked this repeal, but they could not get the two thirds majority in either House to override this veto. By 1988, the lies of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh dominated the airwaves unchecked and unanswered.
The result of this has been that any time that Democrats were in power and tried to get things done, these right wing liars were able to flood the airwaves adn whip up a frenzy of opposition to these policies without any response. I am convinced that the 1994 massacre happened because these people were able to use the public airwaves to influence people against Democrats and their policies and Democrats had no way to get their message out.
This policy of fairness on the public airwaves must be brought back. Its not a question really if Democrats want to remain a viable force in American politics.
In the lame duck session after the midterm elections, Democrats should pass the reinstatement of this sensible and fair policy while they still have a large majority. If that doesnt work, President Obama should use an Executive Order to direct the FCC to honor this policy.
This way, whenever Sean Hannity, Hugh Hewitt, or Rush Limbaugh spew out lies on the public airwaves, they can be checked by an equal amount of time for people like Ed Schultz, Bob Beckel, and Rachel Maddow to respond and set the record straight.