The Blaze ^ | Jun. 7, 2013 | TOM KNIGHTON
I take some very serious issues with Lindsey Graham. I’ll admit, to an
extent, it seems a little personal. After all, Graham and John McCain ridiculed
Rand Paul’s filibuster over whether or not the President believed he had the
authority to kill American citizens. However, the latest evidence of his
cluelessness – to say nothing of his inability to understand a basic concept
like “liberty” – may well elevate him to the lofty position of Obama of the GOP.
You see, recently I bid a fond farewell to the First Amendment under the
Obama administration in a piece here at TheBlaze. Like Obama killing American
citizens without due process, he seems to have the support of the senator from
South Carolina.
Graham, who has been in office long enough that one would imagine he’s
stumbled upon the bill of rights from time to time, recently said he doesn’t
know if the First Amendment extends to bloggers. “Who is a journalist is a
question we need to ask ourselves,” he said. “Is any blogger out there saying
anything—do they deserve First Amendment protection? These are the issues of our
times.”
These are the issues of our time? Did he really say that?
First, the First Amendment extends to every single American. In addition to
freedom of the press, it also protects the freedom of speech. That means that
obviously it extends to bloggers. The idea that it wouldn’t shows just a
profound lack of understanding on something so basic.
However, that’s only part of the way Graham has brought new heights to the
term “stupid.”
(AP Photo) His very question goes against the grain of what the freedom of
the press means. The idea behind it was so to ensure that power is questioned.
Anyone who had the money for a printing press instantly became “the press.”
Credentials weren’t necessary. College education wasn’t necessary either. You
just started cranking out your paper and distributing it wherever you wanted. It
was a thing of beauty.
Today, the process is even easier. Most American households have a computer.
Today, the printing press is as much a metaphor as a literal thing. Digital
presses, or what most refer to as “blogs,” are as common as hair. The access to
the technology is much more readily available as it was during the era of our
nation’s founding.
The fact that Graham seeks to question whether or not a blogger deserves the
same protections that the legacy media enjoys should be a cause for concern for
his constituents. Any argument that precludes them could easily be a slippery
slope towards stealing away even more liberties. After all, saying that the
First Amendment only applies to print can also be extrapolated to mean that the
Second Amendment only applies to flintlocks.
Of course, Graham also believes that these are the issues of our times. Drone
strikes, a rancid economy, and a host of other things are going on, but whether
or not bloggers get to enjoy freedom of the press is really the important
question.
My own question is, is this really up for debate? At what point did this
become the question of our times? The courts have routinely treated blogs the
same as newspaper and television media.There’s a reason for that.
If his tenuous grasp on the First Amendment wasn’t enough to saddle him with
the label of “Obama of the GOP,” then we have his comments on Fox and Friends
Thursday morning. In light of the news that the United States government is
listening in on Verizon phone calls, Graham said that as a Verizon customer
himself, he has no issues with the government spying on him without a warrant.
Both of these situations shows that somewhere in the course of his life,
Graham missed what the very essence of being an American really is. We are
supposed to be protected from our government, as well as by it. The Constitution
serves as a wall between the power of the state and our daily lives.
Graham, in his effort to look tough on terrorism and crime, has instead opted
to hand the terrorists one of their biggest victories in this war. If their goal
is to destroy America and our freedoms, then Graham may well be one of their
greatest allies.
After all, bombs alone won’t destroy what we stand for. It takes someone like
Graham who has no appreciation for freedom to do the last little bit. He seems
only too eager to do his part.
DIOGENES invites you to pull up a chair on this fine day and read posts from around the world. The writing may lean to the right...but that's the way Diogenes wants it! You may leave your opinion, but Diogenes rarely changes his! WELCOME!
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