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March 1, 2009

Reed and Whitehouse Oppose Free Speech

Justin Katz

Via Ocean State Republican, via Club for Growth, we learn that Rhode Island's delegation provided two of the mere eleven U.S. Senators who broke with eighty-seven of their peers by voting against a Republican amendment preventing "the Federal Communications Commission from repromulgating the fairness doctrine."

Here's where political calculations come into play: The amendment was to a bill "to provide the District of Columbia a voting seat and the State of Utah an additional seat in the House of Representatives." Inasmuch as the two issues are essentially unrelated, some Senators surely voted for or against the amendment based on their expectations about whether the bill itself will pass. It's not inconceivable that a Senator or two hope that this amendment will provide cover for voting for or against the bill.

Of course, that makes it no less shameful that both of RI's Senators — including our blue-blooded advocate for a Truth Commission — implicitly backed the idea that the government ought to manipulate public debate.

Comments

As far as Truth Commissions go,might we not ask Mr.Blueblood whether some of his family wealth amassed over generations in Virginia may have come from the labor of slaves owned by his family?Of course,maybe they didn't hold any slaves.We just want the truth,right?

Posted by: joe bernstein at March 1, 2009 11:57 PM