On a Wednesday, a progressive think tank and non-profit together release a report. For about a week, conservative commentators on-air and online make the most of a fresh chance to tear apart a public policy approach they generally despise. Then on the following Thursday, the House of Representatives votes overwhelmingly to block all federal funding for any implementation of any flavor of said policy. Game, set, match, and not bad for a week's work.

You'll remember that the Center for American Progress and Free Press released a report last week that once again raised the idea of the Fairness Doctrine, the telecom principle that in effect until the Reagan Administration that said that the public airwaves had to be used to promote a diversity of opinions. To dig into the details of the policy, that meant that radio spectrum licensees were required to address controversial issues and broadcast contrasting viewpoints. Also, anyone who was the target of an on-air personal attack had to be given the chance to clear his or her good name on-air.

Conservatives tend to hate the Fairness Doctrine, preferring an approach that says that in the free market of ideas, the thinking most appealing to the public would and should win out. To be fair, there are a great many liberal/progressives/lefties/whatever who dislike the Fairness Doctrine too, generally arguing on free speech grounds.

What began last week as a healthy discussion about the lack of diversity on political talk radio quickly devolved into round 3,482 of the great Fairness Doctrine debate. The conservative blogosphere went full bore on it, having a great time raising the Fairness Doctrine balloon and shooting it down, over and over again. And then yesterday the House of Representatives rushed en masse to vote for an amendment to an appropriations bill offered by Indiana's Mike Pence (himself a former radio guy) that would prevent the FCC from using one federal cent to implement the Fairness Doctrine or anything that smells like the Fairness Doctrine. The final vote was 309-115. Again, not too shabby for a week's work.