The New Republic Online: Power Chip

The New Republic Online: Power Chip: "With the recent flurry of activity, the V-chip seems poised for an unlikely comeback. In an act of preemption, the anti-indecency crusade recently launched its own strike against it. A month ago, the Parents Television Council (PTC) released a report on the V-chip, calling it a 'failure' and the TV ratings system 'meaningless.'"

I was delighted to see this article pop up on TNRO as I had just recently been thinking about the V-Chip due to commercials on TV. It occurs to me that the V-Chip should be hailed as one of the great Democrat ideas and really pushed to show just how extreme the conservatives are. The V-Chip is perfect as a response to those who don't like content on TV or say "think of the children." It provides the means to shelter children from content they don't want to see (can shelter adults as well.) Meanwhile, it leaves free speech and freedom of choice in what one watches strong. This freedom is vital, it is the lifeblood of a liberal democracy.

By emphasizing the V-Chip as a family values position that protects families while protecting freedom, the Democrats can stake a strong position while the conservatives will either have to give in and give a victory to the Democrats or reject it and be seen as extremists...giving victory to the Democrats even more. Granted, the V-Chip hasn't in reality been amazingly effective...I suppose if I tried I could activate the one in my TV set (not that I restrict my TV watching) but in this battle, it isn't reality, but ideology that matters, and this gives the Democrats a leg up in ideological battle.