Robin Carnahan, the Democratic candidate for senate in Missouri, is being sued by Fox News for airing an ad that includes a few seconds from a Fox broadcast. As I previously reported, Fox has no case. The doctrine of Fair Use permits the reproduction of segments of copyrighted material, particularly in works of commentary and political expression. What’s more, Fox’s complaint is selective in that they have failed to assert protection for similar property when it is being used by Republicans. Now Carnahan has responded to Fox’s suit by launching the Fight Fox Fund:

Fox News has filed a lawsuit against Robin’s senate campaign.

They demanded we stop playing our new ad above because it features a clip from one of their shows…where they challenged Congressman Roy Blunt on his Washington record and ties to convicted felon lobbyist Jack Abramoff – and now they’re suing us to make us back down.

Well, we’re not backing down; and we’re not giving up. Not against Fox News, and certainly not against Congressman Blunt. We’re staying on TV and fighting back.

Nicely played. This is the sort of response that should be standard practice when confronted by bullying from Fox News and other right-wing media. Fox has more than confirmed their reputation as the public relations arm of the Republican Party. Their corporate parent gave a million dollars to the Republican Governor’s Association. They give hours of free airtime to GOP candidates who use it as a campaign platform and for fundraising.

Media Matters estimates that Fox recently provided Delaware GOP senate hopeful, Christine O’Donnell, with over a million dollars worth of airtime. Nevada’s GOP senate candidate, Sharron Angle, has admitted that she only appears on networks that allow her to raise money. Sarah Palin’s advice to Republican candidates is to “speak through Fox News.”

Fox News has no credibility as a news network. It is openly advocating for Republican candidates and far-right policies. Carnahan’s Fight Fox initiative should be adopted by her Democratic colleagues as well as the rest of the progressive community. Because no matter how hard they fight against their political opponents, if they don’t take the fight to Fox they are letting their biggest threat get off scot free.