Today in Judiciary Committee we voted on S.J. Res. 19: a constitutional amendment that would give Congress power to curtail Americans First Amendment right to free speech. It doesn’t take a complicated constitutional exposition to see what this proposed amendment is really about: power…giving it to sitting Members of Congress and taking it away from the American people, including, not coincidentally, any potential candidate that might like to challenge a sitting Member of Congress. As we have seen in the unfolding scandal at the IRS, there is a permanent temptation facing those in power to muzzle dissent and a permanent inclination to deceive oneself into thinking that such a temptation does not exist. This is precisely why we have a written Constitution that checks those in authority and prevents the kind of proposal I voted against today.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 02:11:18 +0000