Discussions of a "media shield law" show how congressional Democrats are trying to create government controls over American journalists, Rush Limbaugh has charged.
He claimed questions raised by Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin about who qualifies as a journalist show their true intent.
"What is a journalist today in 2013?" Durbin asked on Fox News Sunday. "Does it include a blogger? Does it include someone who is tweeting? Are these people journalists and entitled to constitutional protection?"
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Limbaugh took Durbin's comments as proof that Democrats' "want to set up licensing of journalists."
"That’s where the Democrats are headed on this," he said Tuesday on his national radio show. "You tweeters, you bloggers, you’re not journalists. 'We are going to determine who is a journalist and who isn’t. We are going to license journalists. I mean, that Constitution’s 200-plus years old. It’s no longer relevant,’ is what he means.”
Limbaugh said that with a leading Democratic senator talking about who is a journalist and who is not, "and if he thinks bloggers and tweeters aren't and he wants to stop 'em, how's he gonna stop 'em? You gotta license journalists.
"So the government will decide who’s a journalist and who isn’t and grant licenses and approvals. And if you don’t get your license and you start doing journalism, you could be sent to jail, or you could be reprimanded."
Limbaugh conceded that Durbin didn't say the exact words about licensing journalists, "but where does it go?"
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