re: #123 Amory Blaine

Media Action Center: Media watchdog files legal challenges with FCC to pull radio licenses of WISN-AM and WTMJ-AM

The Fairness Doctrine was repealed back in 1987. This challenge will go nowhere.

Wisconsin liberals should stop being butthurt that Scott Walker beat their recall. He didn’t do it because he had some sort of ‘unfair media advantage’. He won because:

1. The nature of the recall process in Wisconsin meant that the recall election was held a year after Walker’s union-limiting law was passed. Public anger faded over time, and Walker used the time to move towards the center politically and mollify parts of the public.

2. The nature of the political process within the state’s meant that a Democratic primary was needed, forcing the two top Dems to compete for funding and endorsements and ultimately to run against each other. Scott Walker was able to benefit from this in much the same way as Barack Obama was doing at the same time from the Republican presidential primary: Walker was able to sit back and conserve much of his money while running promoting him in a positive light while his foes lit into each other.

3. The results of the Democratic primary meant that Walker was facing the same Michael Barrett who he had beaten in 2010. This left the Democrats without a ‘fresh face’, and reduced union enthusiasm (due to Barrett’s attempt to add Milwaukee’s police and fire department to the unions limited by Walker’s law (a change Walker himself opposed and that was not adopted)).

4. The national political focus on jobs and employment ended up the major focus of the campaign. And things were improving somewhat on that front in the spring of 2012 in Wisconsin. This left Barrett’s attacks on Walker weakened significantly.