Yep, there's now an entire book-length defense of talk radio against the interloping liberals who want to “silence” and “censor” right-wingers on the airwaves; who want to dictate content. It's called Censorship: The Threat to Silence Talk Radio.

Slight problem: there is no high-powered attempt by liberals to silence or censor right-wingers on the AM dial. But hey, other than that it's a great idea for a book. And I'm sure it will find an audience because conservatives, apparently, love to keep each other up at night recounting ghost stories about how Democrats are going to ravage the AM dial by bringing back the Fairness Doctrine, a long-forgotten FCC regulation that nobody cares about.

Honestly, this is so far into the realm of lunacy that it's hard to even comprehend. We thought it was comical when Rush Limbaugh wasted a whole column in the WSJ demanding that Obama not bring back the Fairness Doctrine. (i.e. right-wing kryptonite). We thought it was funny because Limbaugh's column ran days after the Obama White House announced it had no interest/plans in trying to bring back the Fairness Doctrine. (Nothing gets by Limbaugh.)

But now the publishing wing of the GOP Noise Machine has dutifully printed up an entire book designed to whip up fears that the GOP's beloved AM talkers are under assault. The book's being published by Threshold Editions, which is Simon & Schuster's conservative-only publishing shop headed by Mary Matalin, and the book sounds like a doozy. Even the very friendly reviewer in the WSJ noted, “The book is a repetitious, one-sided barrage of generalities and anecdotes, alarmist at times, corny at others.” Ooh, put me down for two copies.

Here's a preview of the book's laugh-out-loud breathlessness, captured by the book's press release:

At the dawn of a new presidential administration, an epic battle is looming -- a battle for our airwaves that could sharply curtail or silence altogether the freedom of expression that distinguishes America from the average dictatorship. The target of this battle is conservative talk radio.

At the risk of repeating ourself we'll note the administration has zero interest in any kind of “epic battle” with talk radio. And talk radio is not a target. But other than that, yeah the book's right on the money.

Honest to goodness, for a political movement that currently find itself in the contracting minority and literally fighting for its political survival, this is what activists are going to fight against? A phantom campaign to “censor” talk radio. Whatever. Be our guest.

We can only imagine the book promotion tour for Censorship and the endless hours author Brian Jennings will spend on the radio whipping right-wingers into a frenzy over the Fairness Doctrine.

UPDATE: One more lap around the track at Censorship's expense. Also from the press release:

Conservative talk radio [became]...popular, profitable, outspoken, powerful, influential -- it's what the American people wanted, and its success was the Democrats' worst nightmare.

Question: Has conservative talk radio and its lineup of superstars not been broadcasting for the last five years? The reason I ask is because during that time Democrats have completely altered the landscape of American politics with sweeping victories. So, If talk radio is so influential and powerful, how have Democrats pulled off that comeback?

We're guessing that answer's not found in Censorship.

UPDATE: The only thing's going to “silence” AM talk radio is the disintegrating state of the American radio industry, lead by the wildly irresponsible spending and business practices of Clear Channel. Or is that the fault of Democrats too?