Reply #12: Sounds like "abridgement of the freedom of speech or of the press" to me.

[ddeclue]

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The President or his appointee to the FCC in enacting a "fairness doctrine" would be using the powers granted to them by Congress There is no other way it would be possible since the "fairness doctrine" is not mentioned in Article II, Section 2 (powers of the executive). Hence it would amount to Congress abridging Rush Limbaugh's (or for that matter Rachel Maddow's) freedom of speech.

I think therefore that this would be unConstitutional.

I think however that an argument could be made that the FCC DOES have the legitimate power to regulate control of radio and TV licenses under the commerce clause of the Constitution (Article I Section) which grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce and thus it would make more sense for Congress to use this power to limit the number of such licenses they grant to any one entity. This would have a similar effect of increasing diversity of viewpoints on the radio and TV WITHOUT violating the First Amendment.

Mind you I'm NOT an attorney but I DID stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night...

:)

Doug D.