Suspension of Speech

Perhaps the single most dangerous bit of exploitation and opportunism stemming from the Arizona tragedy is the legislation proposed by Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman Robert Brady that effectively criminalizes political dissent. Brady's frontal assault on the First Amendment involves making it a crime for anyone to "use language and symbols that could be perceived as threatening or violent against a Federal official" according to an interview this opponent of freedom gave on CNN. This proposed bill is so vague and subject to being so over broad that it would stifle political dialogue as we have known it under our First Amendment. The deliberate result of this would be to chill criticism of precisely those politicians and officials who deserve it the most. We at least for the moment retain a tool more powerful than any weapon and that is the ability to vote out of office such foes of liberty.