IMO, Limbaugh and hate radio have got to go

[Cyrano]

Do Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, and all the other peddlers of hate and divisiveness have the right to say all the despicable things they say? A superficial reading of the first amendment to the constitution would seem to endorse their saying just about anything at all.

However, the phrase: “The constitution is not a suicide pact,” has been attributed to both Abraham Lincoln and Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson who was the chief judge at the Nuremberg war crimes trials of Nazis.

Further, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said that “… freedom of speech does not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a crowded theater.”

The point I am attempting to make is that I believe that hate speech, such as that which has been practiced for decades by right-wing propagandists like Limbaugh over the public airways, presents a real threat to our freedoms, our constitution and our country.

Limbaugh and the others are presently doing everything possible to undermine the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s presidency. (A few weeks ago, one of these lunatics – I forget which one – was all but "suggesting" assassination. As far as I know, he was not detained or questioned by the Secret Service.)

I am not a lawyer or a constitutional scholar, but I know that some here on DU are. However, whether you are or not, I’d like to hear your opinion on whether Limbaugh et al should face some restraints on what they can say, and if there is a legal way to impose such restraints.

Or, conversely, do you believe that there should be zero limits on what they can say?