GOP presidential hopefuls go sour on free speech
Tom Rogan
The First Amendment and landmark Supreme Court rulings make the U.S. exceptional on the concern of freedom of speech. Our preference of speakers over subjects in defamation laws and tolerance of the most controversial protests emphasize that the national interest is best served by maximal speech. Until recently, Republicans were broadly supportive of this understanding. They rightly pointed out the Left’s growing tendency to restrict or penalize speech seen as contravening left-wing orthodoxy on issues such as identity politics.
No longer, it seems. In recent days, we’ve seen many Republican presidential hopefuls come out against the maximalist view of free speech.
Front-runner Donald Trump’s disregard for the First Amendment is well known. Trump’s frequent rants show that he views any criticism of his person as illegitimate. Trump has launched numerous no-hope lawsuits in support of his beliefs.
Trump isn’t alone.
Nikki Haley has met heavy criticism for arguing this week that social media users should have to identify themselves by their actual names. Being that this is patently unconstitutional, Haley now says she wants this standard applied only to foreigners outside the U.S. And as Haley rises in the polls, her key competitor for second place in the GOP presidential primaries is using this faux pas as a new line of attack.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) problem is that he has undermined his own credibility on the First Amendment. DeSantis did so by directing Florida colleges to restrict anti-Israeli Students for Justice in Palestine campus groups. To do so, DeSantis relied on a highly spurious interpretation of laws banning “material support” for terrorism. The effect of his directives would have been to silence protected speech on matters of public debate: the speech most highly protected under the Constitution. Fellow presidential hopeful Chris Christie has made similarly weak arguments in favor of new college speech codes. Unsurprisingly, Florida colleges are now abandoning DeSantis’s instructions.
Top line: even people who most of us would regard as idiots or fanatics are allowed their opinions. This is as it should be. The public and individual interest is ultimately best served by tolerating this speech. And thus avoiding the inevitable slide toward sacrificing speech at the altar of “I’m offended” (see Europe).
Republicans who want to be president could do with a First Amendment refresher course.