In the Agora: That pesky 1st Amendment

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May 11, 2006

That pesky 1st Amendment

Presidents swear to "protect and defend the Constitution." The Constitution says: "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech." On April 28, on Don Imus' radio program, discussing the charge that the McCain-Feingold law abridges freedom of speech by regulating the quantity, content and timing of political speech, John McCain did not really reject the charge:

"I work in Washington and I know that money corrupts. And I and a lot of other people were trying to stop that corruption. Obviously, from what we've been seeing lately, we didn't complete the job. But I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I'd rather have the clean government."

Question: Were McCain to take the presidential oath, what would he mean?

In his words to Imus, note the obvious disparagement he communicates by putting verbal quotation marks around "First Amendment rights." Those nuisances.

(Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds)

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at May 11, 2006 06:30 PM

Comments

Do we really have to ask what the coauthor of McCain-Feingold thinks of the First Amendment?

Posted by: Alan K. Henderson at May 12, 2006 02:05 AM | permalink

I see this bill as the political equivalent to making solicitation of prostitution illegal. Sure, you're tangentially limiting speech (in fact, you can arrest someone just for saying they'd like to pay for sex), but it's really about something else.

Posted by: phil at May 12, 2006 07:15 AM | permalink

May 11, 2006

That pesky 1st Amendment

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