The Fairness Doctrine

This Is Not Progress

The Center for American Progress and Free Press (yeh, right) is a sleazy operation. It was set-up by Bill Clinton's impeachment chief of staff, John Podesta, and is run by him today. It is no coincidence that Podesta would issue this report now, as its purpose is to help Hillary Clinton by unleashing yet another assault on talk radio. Groups like this claim to speak for the public and wrap themselves in fairness and equality. But their purpose is to intimidate radio executives. The fact is that the Clintons and the Democrat Party created Air America. It is a failure. The public has tuned it out and it doesn't get ratings. And before Air America, the public rejected such short-lived liberal hosts as Mario Cuomo and Jesse Jackson. Talk radio is the most democratic broadcast forum in existence. Competition is fierce between hosts, between companies, and even with hosts within the same companies. Talk radio must also compete with all the other offerings in radio — including all news, sports, urban, rock-and-roll, hip-hop, business, Spanish, etc. There has never been more diversity in programming. Talk radio must also compete with IPods, Internet broadcasting, and other technologies that offer entertainment and content.

In the name of speech and competition, the report calls for severe government regulation of talk radio.

The Center for American Progress and Free Press is an IRS designated tax-exempt 501 (C)(3) organization, based on its representation to the IRS that it is a non-partisan group operating in the public interest. My guess is that Podesta is in regular communication with the Clinton campaign and he or others may well be coordinating some of their activities on her behalf and on behalf of the Democrat Party. A tax-exempt group must not participate in partisan political activity. If an investigation is warranted, it seems to me the IRS ought to look at the Center for American Progress's tax status — in the public interest, of course.

UPDATE: http://michellemalkin.com/

UPDATE II: Look at the Center for American Progress's deep ties to Democrat funders and operatives. Here, here, here, and here.

Here's an excerpt from Frontpagemag.com:

The institutional manifestation of the Hillary-Soros axis is a group called the Center for American Progress, whose president John Podesta formerly served as chief of staff to the Clinton White House. Hillary has no official connection to the Center. However, her dominance of the organization seems to be something of an open secret among leftists. One insider told a UPI reporter that the Center is “the official Hillary Clinton think tank.” Robert Dreyfuss of The Nation wrote of the Center, “It’s not completely wrong to see it as a shadow government, a kind of Clinton White House-in-exile – or a White House staff in readiness for President Hillary Clinton.” The Center for American Progress received its start-up funding from Soros and was, in fact, Soros’ brainchild.

06/21 12:01 AM
by Mark Levin