Posted on 09/03/2024 7:16:51 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
We have previously discussed the anti-free speech views of Clinton’s former Labor Secretary, Robert Reich, who has tried to sell citizens on the perfectly Orwellian view that more freedom means tyranny when it comes to the freedom of expression. He also demanded that former president Donald Trump be banned from ballots as a “traitor” — all in the name of protecting democracy from itself. Last week, Reich wrote a column declaring Elon Musk “out of control” in his refusal to censor citizens and appeared to call for his arrest.
Reich has long been a prominent voice in the anti-free speech movement discussed in my recent book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage. Indeed, he has given a voice to the rage in calling for others to be silenced or arrested.
Elon Musk has long been the primary target of Reich and his allies after dismantling the censorship system at Twitter, now X. Reich called Musk’s purchase of Twitter with a pledge to reduce censorship to be “dangerous nonsense.”
Notably, Reich’s friend, Hillary Clinton, was one of the first to call for a crackdown on Musk after his purchase of Twitter. Hillary Clinton and other Democratic figures turned to Europe and called upon them to use their Digital Services Act to force censorship against Americans.
Reich has always shown a chilling fluidity in how free speech is protected and argued that public interest should be able to trump the right of any citizens in espousing views that he believes are dangerous.
In denouncing Musk, Reich encouraged a campaign to counter his efforts to resist censorship. He wrote that Musk “may be the richest man in the world. He may own one of the world’s most influential social media platforms. But that doesn’t mean we’re powerless to stop him.”
Like Hillary Clinton, Reich is calling on foreign governments and censors to silence American citizens including Musk: “Regulators around the world should threaten Musk with arrest if he doesn’t stop disseminating lies and hate on X.”
He even appears willing to undermine national security programs to stop unfettered free speech. He called for the U.S. government to cut off contracts with his companies despite their critical role in various national security efforts, including the possible rescue of the stranded two astronauts currently in space.
None of that matters to Reich who appears to view free speech as a greater threat to our nation: “Why is the US government allowing Musk’s satellites and rocket launchers to become crucial to the nation’s security when he’s shown utter disregard for the public interest? Why give Musk more economic power when he repeatedly abuses it and demonstrates contempt for the public good?”
Reich’s call to regulate speech in the public interest is the Siren’s Call of every authoritarian regime in history. He will presumably tell us what speech is no longer tolerable for public policy reasons.
Our “Indispensable Right” will, according to Reich, be safely in the hands of the European censors who can protect us from errant and dangerous thoughts.
As he explained earlier, “the kinds of things that we do about this is, focus less on thinking about free speech, but thinking about how the times have changed.” In this way, speech regulations can keep us “moving towards how we recommend content and … how we direct people’s attention is leading to a healthy public conversation that is most participatory.”
The “healthy public conversation” with Robert Reich increasingly appears to be his talking and the rest of us listening.
* * *
Jonathan Turley is a Fox News Media contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage” (Simon & Schuster, June 18, 2024).
More "save democracy" actions from the Democrats.
Reichhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-uh!
I thought “The Pit Yorkie” was David Bonior?
He sure enjoys his right to free speech.
He’s simply a control freak, like all commie/marxixts are, someone who cannot stand that someone doesn’t do what they think is right, and so wants to force us to comply with his version of *reality*.
Every leftist going has control issues, otherwise they would not be so in favor of forcing others to comply with their concept of reality.
Napolean was twice his size. Half as crazy.
I was just thinking of Rush and Reich, but he’d always end his name with ~~~~~~~~~~”SSHHHAH! As in Reishsshshsh
SHHHAH!
!
We really need Rush in 2024.
Reich would be trying to imprison Rush, too.
a FORMER labor secretary has SPOKEN!!!
nobody listens to labor secretaries when they are in office
You might be correct. All of my synapses do not fire as well as they once did... When I grimace and think extremely hard, a part of my brain says you are correct. Oh well. At least I can remember Rush.
Quick! Somebody call James West! Dr Lovelace has resurfaced!
Musk needs to return the volley and insist Reich be arrested and placed in one of those kids in cages enclosures which would be suitable for holding him
Well, it rhymes with third.
Democrats destroy everyone they don’t like. It should be obvious.
I think Turley knows more about it than you do.
“Regulators around the world should threaten Musk with arrest if he doesn’t stop disseminating lies and hate on X.”
The obvious problem is that if “disseminating lies and hate” was a crime then Nicole Wallace and Robert Reich and Joy Reid and Ana Navarro would already be in jail. It all depends on whom you “hate”.
They can’t arrest Ol’ Shorty. They don’t have a jail small enough that would hold the little RAT. Robert the III Reichhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh A!
A kennel for a dachsund should work...
The Dwarf has lost his mind along with SerpentHead.
They both realize that their future is over no matter what happens in Nov.
I guess retiring from the Lollypop guild he has nothing better to do.
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