43 Democrats in the Senate have signed onto a bill to effectively repeal the First Amendment. This month a cloture motion was introduced in order to stop debate and move the bill forward.
S.J.Res.19 would effectively give Congress the power to control any political speech in the United States.
Led by Harry Reid, the bill would eliminate the ability of campaigns, political parties and outside groups to spend money in elections. We would all like to see corruption via campaign spending to end, but to eliminate the 1st Amendment is not the way to do it.
Limiting or ending your rights is often initiated under the guise of addressing a problem ‘we all agree on’ and this is no different.
“What the amendment [to the Constitution] would do if adopted is give Congress plenary authority, absolute authority, to regulate all political speech,” stated Ted Cruz, who warned us last week this was coming.
Saying the foundations of democracy are threatened, Senate Democrats took the first step Tuesday to rewrite the First Amendment, holding a hearing to rally support for their proposed constitutional change that would give government the power to ban all spending on political campaigns.
The effort drew vows of resistance from Republicans, who harangued Democrats for abandoning free speech rights for political gain. Republican lawmakers said the solution was for Democrats to improve their arguments, not to silence their critics in an assault on fundamental freedoms.
“Where are the liberals today? Why is there not a liberal standing here defending the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment?” Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, demanded of his Democratic colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Forty-three Democrats are sponsoring the amendment, which would give Congress and the states powers to set strict limits — or eliminate — the ability of campaigns, political parties and outside groups to spend money in elections.
Democrats said they were spurred by several recent Supreme Court rulings that have freed up outside groups to spend money advertising for their points of view in elections, leading to a flood of cash, much of it spent anonymously, in the 2012 election.
testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Examining a Constitutional Amendment to Restore Democracy to the American People” focusing on campaign finance on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, June 3, 2014. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)Enlarge Photo
testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Examining a Constitutional Amendment … more >Signaling the stakes in the fight, the Senate’s top Democrat and Republican testified at the hearing, mounting feverish attacks on each other.
“We sit here today with a simple choice: We can keep the status quo and argue all day and all night, weekends, forever about whose billionaires are right, whose billionaires are wrong, or we can work together to change the system, to get this shady money out of our democracy and restore the basic principles of one American, one vote,” Mr. Reid said.
Mr. Reid acknowledged that he felt “so unclean” after his hard-fought 1998 Senate campaign, when one major donor contributed a quarter of a million dollars to the Nevada Democratic Party and let Mr. Reid know he had done so — apparently an effort to curry favor.
“I hope that didn’t corrupt me, but it was corrupting,” Mr. Reid said.
He continued his assault on the conservative Koch brothers, two billionaires who fund conservative causes and who have become special targets for Mr. Reid.
But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said Mr. Reid was attacking the Koch brothers as a smoke screen for “how incredibly bad this proposed amendment is.”
He said even liberal lions such as the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy voted against this kind of effort. Indeed, a 2001 effort to amend the Constitution on campaign finance was defeated by a 56-40 vote, and a 1997 effort was defeated by an even wider 61-39 vote.
Mr. McConnell said Democrats’ push this year is an election strategy, not a serious effort to work through constitutional issues.
“This proposal is never going to pass Congress. This is a political exercise and that’s all it is. The goal here is to stir up one party’s political base so they’ll show up in November,” he said.
The amendment Democrats are pursuing is strikingly broad. If ratified, the amendment would let federal and state governments set limits on how much money could be contributed to campaigns, spent by candidates or raised and spent by outside interest groups such as the National Rifle Association or the Sierra Club.
They will get my guns over my dead body
to those of you, who know what’s going on in the world,do you know why your numbers are so low. well I am going to tell you why,patriots and Christians and believers in God and Jesus, have one thing in common, you are a small unique group of individuals who are not undermine control,you are free thinkers, that is our common bond, everyone of us on these patriot groups, and these Christian sites shared this one thing, that’s why in most ways we all agree on the problems in our country, and in the world, this is why you will be attacked some of the sites, and this is why the attack we are ideology, and your beliefs, you are free minded individuals, and that is your bond with all the other free thinking people.this is what separates you from the Communist thinkers, the Communist thinkers no longer think for themselves, and they are afraid to !
Bill you were sounding good until you got to the last line of your commit. Then you went along with the government brain washing. To Quote Pete Seeger They asked me if I supported the unions and I was for the unions so I guess that makes me a communist. They asked me about my thoughts and I told my thoughts were none of there business I guess that makes me a communist. The republican party has used communist as a way to scare the people in the U.S. for to long. McCarthy was violating the constitution and the people were eating it up. McCarthy’s own words. Some of you are still eating it up.
I do just fine on my own.mama didn’t raise no fool.I learned of love,but also learned tough love.mother taught us freedom of choice,respect,most importantly.. honor.
who are the 43 we would like to know
VOTE them out.
This is nothing more than the rich making something out of nothing. How anyone can believe even one word that comes out of Ted Cruz’s mouth is beyond me.
What else has always baffled me is why it is “MY WAY” or nothing. I am a life long Democrat and will die a Democrat, why because the Democratic Party has always been for the little guy. But I will never say things like what I am reading here “Get rid of all Democrats” and other junk like this.
I thought America was for ALL of us and not just those that think they are right. I happen to like a whole bunch of laws and items that the Republican Party has done over my lifetime, I just happen to like more of what being a Democrat stands for. I also am very glad that we do have a Republican Party as it gives a balance to order. I sure have not thought everything that the Democrats have done to be correct either.
What is wrong here folks is the rich and powerful are succeeding in pitting us against each other and by doing so they are making their stance of power here in America even more powerful.
Being for or against something does NOT make someone not an American it makes one a good American, this is what our country stands for.
On the issue of “Free Speech”, the way I read it there isn’t anyone even trying to do anything with free speech. What they are trying to make you believe that MONEY is the same thing as Speech. If you believe that then we are totally doomed as a Nation. The rich will have more votes than you and will totally control all the aspects of your life.
Do you know that it has been proposed by Rich Republicans that voting power should go along with one’s worth? Yes, if you have a certain amount of money then your vote counts, if not then it is a NO vote for you.
MONEY IS NOT SPEECH ….. and yes I was shouting!
eberyone of them needs to be thrown out no pension..they vowed to uphold the constitution
which ones names
We need to get rid of everybody in Washington! They are all a bunch of self serving thieves. We need term limits, among other things.