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And here I thought in this country free speech was protected by the first amendment. But I guess this guy knows better, seeing as how he is the chief legal advi

by vaksel 16y ago

And here I thought in this country free speech was protected by the first amendment. But I guess this guy knows better, seeing as how he is the chief legal adviser for an entire state. Why am I not surprised that this guy is a republican? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Corbett http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Corbett Don't get me wrong I'm sure there are plenty of cases of democrats trying to silence the opposition, but it sure seems like this happens much more often with republicans.

dpatru 16y ago
I think both parties have a shaky record on free speech. For example, the McCain-Feingold Act regulates campaign speech. Senator McCain is a Republican. Senator Feingold is a Democrat. President Bush, a Republican, signed the law. The chief opponent of the law was Senator Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republicans in the Senate, who challenged the law in court all the way to the Supreme Court. More recently, Democratic President Obama criticized the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United which rebuffed the government's attempt to ban political speech.
- eli 16y ago
  This is an aside, but I object to the notion that money equals speech.
  - warfangle 16y ago
    In fact, allowing corporations to donate willy-nilly to political candidates could quite possibly curtail the political speech of their employees: imagine working for a company, and finding out that by working for them you have inadvertently funded a political ideal that you are in direct opposition to. Would you quit your job over it? In this market? Maybe a lot of folks on here would, as our skillsets are in demand. What about a factory worker?
    - anamax 16y ago
      How is that any different from a union taking stands that you don't agree with? If I have a right of free speech and you have a right of free speech, how is it that together we don't have a right of free speech? In other words, I'm not referring to the "corporation as person" doctrine but the "corporation as voluntary association of people" reality.
- vaksel 16y ago
  i wasn't talking about speech in general, I was talking more about the "they said something critical about me...subpoena them" sort of actions. but yes both parties are shitty when it comes to free speech....ex: both support free speech zones etc.
rglovejoy 16y ago
Might I remind you of the Communications Decency Act? It was sponsored by Senators James Exon (D-NE) and Slade Gordon (R-WA) and defended by the Clinton Justice Department all the way to the Supreme Court, where all nine justices overturned it. That court, by the way, was dominated by Republican appointees (Rehnquist, O'Connor, Stevens, Scalia, Thomas, Souter and Kennedy).

by vaksel 16y ago

dpatru 16y ago

I think both parties have a shaky record on free speech. For example, the McCain-Feingold Act regulates campaign speech. Senator McCain is a Republican. Senator Feingold is a Democrat. President Bush, a Republican, signed the law. The chief opponent of the law was Senator Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republicans in the Senate, who challenged the law in court all the way to the Supreme Court. More recently, Democratic President Obama criticized the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United which rebuffed the government's attempt to ban political speech.

eli 16y ago
This is an aside, but I object to the notion that money equals speech.
- warfangle 16y ago
  In fact, allowing corporations to donate willy-nilly to political candidates could quite possibly curtail the political speech of their employees: imagine working for a company, and finding out that by working for them you have inadvertently funded a political ideal that you are in direct opposition to. Would you quit your job over it? In this market? Maybe a lot of folks on here would, as our skillsets are in demand. What about a factory worker?
  - anamax 16y ago
    How is that any different from a union taking stands that you don't agree with? If I have a right of free speech and you have a right of free speech, how is it that together we don't have a right of free speech? In other words, I'm not referring to the "corporation as person" doctrine but the "corporation as voluntary association of people" reality.
vaksel 16y ago
i wasn't talking about speech in general, I was talking more about the "they said something critical about me...subpoena them" sort of actions. but yes both parties are shitty when it comes to free speech....ex: both support free speech zones etc.

rglovejoy 16y ago

Might I remind you of the Communications Decency Act? It was sponsored by Senators James Exon (D-NE) and Slade Gordon (R-WA) and defended by the Clinton Justice Department all the way to the Supreme Court, where all nine justices overturned it. That court, by the way, was dominated by Republican appointees (Rehnquist, O'Connor, Stevens, Scalia, Thomas, Souter and Kennedy).