It’s widely assumed that sticking to principle is impractical and stupid.
Yet consider those who support the reimposition of the “Fairness Doctrine” on radio. These opponents of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other conservative talk show hosts take heart in the fact that these voices will soon be gone from the air. Yet, in a few more years, when a conservative enters office, they won’t be so happy, will they? The same law that hushes Rush Limbaugh will hush his liberal equivalent in the media a few years down the road. This is because principles matter. When you’re principled, you defend what’s right even if someone you hate benefits from it. Barack Obama’s or Hillary Clinton’s FCC in 2009 could become Mike Huckabee’s or Jerry Falwell Jr.’s in 2015.