Trial Balloon Defined

The American Spectator shook things up today with its report that Ren & Stimpy ... er, Nan and Steny ... had gotten so high on power-doobies that they decided to "aggressively pursue" reinstating the Fairness Doctrine.

Such an act is not unexpected, and the airwaves today (what I heard of them anyway) were abuzz with condemnation and speculation, which is also not unexpected. But let's take all the posturing and harumphing with a grain of salt.

Just check out this passage from the Spectator piece:

The decision to press for re-establishment of the Fairness Doctrine now seems to have developed for two reasons. "First, [Democrats] failed on the radio airwaves with Air America, no one wanted to listen," says a senior adviser to Pelosi. "Conservative radio is a huge threat and political advantage for Republicans and we have had to find a way to limit it. Second, it looks like the Republicans are going to have someone in the presidential race who has access to media in ways our folks don't want [Oh, just say it! Fred Thompson!], so we want to make sure the GOP has no advantages going into 2008."

Yeah, I suppose the source could be a NanPo staffer on a suicide trip; that would explain tossing out enough talk-fodder to keep the right side of the radio dial lit up for a week.

"Conservative radio is a huge threat and political advantage for Republicans and we have had to find a way to limit it?!" Oh, please! This is the Fairness Doctrine you're talking about -- you might just want to look up the word. The quote is just too perfect.

A little too, too perfect, don't you think? A dollar to a donut what we're seeing here is a lead trial balloon with "Dennis Kucinich" painted on the side. Dennis the Menace must have whined and cajoled so loudly about the leadership not moving on his Fairness Doctrine effort that they decided to do him a little favor and float something out there to see how it played.

And it played DOA, handily emasculating Kucinich, who's a pest to the real Dem candidates.