Tipsheet

Orwellian

Mark Hemingway lays out the dirty and dispiriting details of the DISCLOSE Act, passed yesterday in the House.

First, every Democrat (and the two Republicans) who voted for this law should be asked whether they believe the First Amendment requires allowing pornography -- and the advertisement of it -- on the internet.  It would be interesting to see how many of them are willing to subscribe to a First Amendment theory expansive enough to permit pornography but not political speech.

Second, as with the health care bill, passage of the ironically named DISCLOSE Act marks another milestone in ugly, bitter partisanship.  Washington Democrats were willing to stamp on the rules and traditions of the Senate in order to assure government control over Americans' health care.  Now, it appears they are willing to trash the First Amendment -- and the idea, central to this country's founding,  that toleration even of speech with which we disagree is necessary in servie to the cause of freedom -- in order to secure their own electoral advantage.

Is there anything these people care about besides enhancing their own power at the expense of our freedom?