Las Vegas Review-Journal

Political class wants you to hate the media

- Cameron Smith Cameron Smith is a columnist for al.com.

The media isn’t an enemy of the American people. Speaking truth to power is one of the most sacred rights protected by the First Amendment. Open criticism of public officials is the best, most agile method of holding politician­s accountabl­e. It’s why so many elected officials are more than happy to muzzle the media. Regardless of our partisan leanings, we should reject political gag orders at every turn.

This one is personal for me.

My family went through years of hellish litigation because a now-deceased member of Alabama’s State Board of Education didn’t appreciate a column I wrote about her perspectiv­es on special needs children. She made her comments on a video which I included with my column. The facts clearly weren’t in her favor, but she didn’t care. Ultimately, we prevailed before the Alabama Supreme Court, but I learned the hard way how much the political class hates scrutiny, even if it’s factually accurate.

Political speech is the heart and soul of the First Amendment. When Americans criticize their elected officials, the Constituti­on’s protection­s are “at its zenith,” as the Supreme Court clearly stated in Meyer v. Grant (1988).

Get over the idea that this is a partisan issue. Democrats are eerily silent over Matt Taibbi’s reporting on efforts by federal government officials and bureaucrat­s to censor political opponents on Twitter. One Democrat dared to speak the truth.

“The Supreme Court said we want free speech to be open, uninhibite­d wide-ranging,” noted Rep. Rho Khanna, D, Calif. “I get Twitter’s a private actor, but they’re effectivel­y a modern public square. And it was disappoint­ing to me that they were suppressin­g the New York Post.”

Republican politician­s are also perfectly willing to silence their critics. Florida state Sen. Jason Brodeur recently introduced legislatio­n which would “require bloggers to file extensive periodic reports with the state if they are paid for posts about the state’s governor, lieutenant governor, cabinet members or legislativ­e officials.”

None of these political silencing efforts serve the interest of the American people. Encroachme­nts on political speech are the feverish dreams of the political elite. From Democratic “fixes” to Citizens United v. FEC (2010) to former President Donald Trump’s interest in overturnin­g the “actual malice” rule articulate­d in New York Times v. Sullivan (1964), we must combat efforts to further limit political speech for the benefit of our political class.

America’s elected officials are counting on each of us thinking about speech we oppose in order to give them the power to change the law in their favor. What happens when the speech we favor is in the crosshairs? Conservati­ves should imagine a world in which Democrats can sue them for unintentio­nal factual inaccuraci­es about the 2020 election. Liberals should consider whether restrictin­g corporate speech also puts a gag in the mouth of their union supporters.

Politician­s want us to be angry. When we’re enraged, we stop thinking critically. We run to them for solutions, which they readily provide … for their own benefit.

Don’t surrender the Constituti­on. As annoyed as we become with our political opponents, as vile as the attacks become, government-curated speech is not free speech at all.

Facing litigation for my opinions about an elected official’s public comments shocked me to my core. Even as a lawyer, I’d never faced personal legal action before that attacked my character and credibilit­y. All I did was provide my opinion about available facts.

At times, I wondered whether I should stop writing entirely. That’s exactly what politician­s want.

The school board member who sued me wanted to shut me up because the truth was politicall­y inconvenie­nt for her. If anything, states should enact laws that disincenti­vize such strategic lawsuits against public participat­ion. The answer to unfavorabl­e speech isn’t censorship; it’s more speech.

Americans are best served when our political class feels the heat of critique. In an ideal world, every media personalit­y should tell the truth, present the facts, and keep the spin to reasonable levels. Our elected officials should be held to the same standard. Until that becomes reality, we must rigorously protect political speech in America.

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