Trump’s free speech hitman takes a victory lap

The president of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, is a busy boy.

Recently swollen on its extremely successful use of the government to silence the discourse that the government does not like, something that was considered a violation of the first manual, Carr goes around to tell everyone his next movements.

Spoiler alert: his next movements are zero.

Speaking with the conservative podcaster Scott Jennings Thursday, Carr aimed at ABC’s “The View”, saying that it may not be an information program “in good faith” discussing current events. If this is not the case, it would be subject to the equal time rule. Under this law, if a distribution station grants antenna time to any federal, state or local candidate, he owes Provide all other candidates for the same office the possibility of equality of antenna time.

However, information programs in good faith are however exempt from this requirement. This distinction is both sensible and necessary. The news programs would not work very well if, news in mid-term on an election, for example, the station had to stop and check with all the other candidates in the elections and offer them the same antenna time.

“The point of view” is currently considered a news program, which means that it is exempt, but Carr does not like it.

“I think it is worth seeing the FCC to examine if” the point of view “and in some of these other programs that you have, are always considered as news programs in good faith and are therefore exempt from the equal opportunities that Congress has implemented.”

It is good that the head of a large regulatory agency is now embarrassment to go after all that strikes his boss, or his boss, President Donald Trump.

If Carr could strip the appointment of the “The View” information program – something that unfortunately the FCC can do– It would force the show to offer equal time to the candidates howl Monkey Maga whenever the show allows unpained candidates to appear.

Normally, we could be very sufficient on this subject and say that Carr probably does not want to open this door because it probably The exemption from talk shows in general, bringing all these Fox News emissions, including Fox news, in the equal time rule. In addition, this would probably also kill the speech radio exemption, and the conservative radio will not survive if each of these programs presents conservative candidates was also required to offer an equal time to those liberal.

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But this sufficiency would depend on the laws operating normally these days, which is not the case. Of course, everyone could shout and shout and continue the Trump administration when Carr decides that only liberal programs must present conservatives and not the other way around, but what will stop it? The Supreme Court? Congress under republican control? Come on.

Consider Carr as the Christopher Rofo to destroy our media ecosystem like Rofo attack Our education system. Just like the conservative activist Rofo literally told everyone That it was going to make a moral panic about the “critical theory of race” as a means of forcing university institutions to make diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for the conservatives instead, Carr did not hide that it does exactly what you think.

Thursday, when he did not aim for “the view” on the podcast of Jennings, it was finished on CNBC Benefiting from “we haven’t finished yet.” And like all the other people in this erroneous administration, it is finished on X Gloating.

It is absolute waste behavior. It is the government through train fishing and the grievance. This was never going to stop with the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s program. It was never going to stop to burst Jimmy Kimmel. It will never stop until someone stops Carr and Trump.