On Wednesday, November 17, the Democratic West Virginia Senator Rockefeller, who claims to be “tired of the right and the left,” made comments about the media that have raised many questions over free speech in the “Land of the Free.”

During a Cable and Broadcast subcommittee meeting in Washington D.C., Sen. Rockefeller said that he wants the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to shut down Fox News and MSNBC, maintaining that this silencing of free speech would be good for Americans. In comments outside of his prepared statement (according to Radio Television Digital News Association), the senator showcased his disregard for free speech when he was quoted saying, “There’s a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to Fox and to MSNBC, ‘Out. Off. End. Goodbye.’”

It should be up to the American people to decide which news outlets they wish to watch, not the govern

Rockefeller clearly lacks any respect for the Constitution and its Bill of Rights, which assures that the government cannot restrict freedom of speech. However, aside from the

The absurdity did not stop there, however. “It would be a big favor to political discourse, to our ability to do our work here in Congress, and to the American people, to be able to talk with each other and have some faith in their government and, more importantly, in their future.”

HotAir.com said, “What Rockefeller really wants is news that doesn’t hold him and his legislative buddies accountable. He doesn’t want news that would appropriately vet, say, President Obama, and uncover what he really believes and how it’s the complete opposite of what the majority of Americans believe. What he wants is a propaganda machine.”

Sorry, Rockefeller, but there’s probably a lot more than solely Fox News behind a politically toxic environment and the American peoples’ lack of trust in their government. Rather than

Reports by the New York Times said, “When it comes to developing content, our entertainment machine is too often in a race to the bottom. Even worse, our news media has all but surrendered to the forces of entertainment. Instead of a watchdog that is a check on the excesses of government and business, we have the endless barking of a 24-hour news cycle. We have journalism that is always ravenous for the next rumor, but insuf

According to Fox News, Rockefeller’s wife is the head of the Washing

The Florida Pundit commented, “Rockefeller may be ticked off by the likely end of government funded propaganda masquerading as ‘news’ that is peddled by his wife.”

With people like Rockefeller on the left, the left is quickly losing support from the American people as some of its representatives’ intolerant authoritarian impulses are manifested. This was made abundantly clear by the surprising boost in the number of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

However, there is a much bigger picture here than left versus right, and that is the size of government. Government size must be limited, otherwise individual freedoms and liberties are trampled upon. Hot Air also mentions Milton Friedman, who “points out that every person works for their own self interest and the bigger the government, the better chance that a

Perhaps it is time for the American people to say to Sen. Rockefeller: “Out. Off. End. Goodbye.”

ment. If someone finds Fox News disagreeable, they don’t have to watch it. If someone dislikes CNN, they don’t have to watch it. The same goes for every news outlet. obvious red flag that a U.S. senator is openly coming out with an anti-free-speech and unconstitutional stance, there are many problems that come with this proposition. First of all, the FCC, which regulates broadcast airwaves, has no legal authority to regulate cable news—at least not yet. pointing the finger at cable news, why not question what the government has done to become construed as untrustworthy? ficiently hungry for the facts that can nourish our democracy. As citizens, we are paying a price.” ton, D.C. NPR affiliate. It is likely that the new Congress will cut off funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, NPR’s parent company. legislator’s self interest will conflict with yours. And when they conflict, we all know who wins that battle.”

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