Ohio Roundtable: The Public Square - Truly Loosing Your Rights
You are truly losing your rights.
The frog in the pot is starting to boil.
For years we have all heard the story about the
frog in the pot. Put him in a pot full of cold water and he stays. Heat the pot
up slowly and he boils to death.
The politicians in Washington and the
Statehouse have got us in a pot, and it’s really getting dangerous.
When Congress passed the
McCain-Feingold Act
lots of us were screaming that our civil rights to free speech were being
trampled. Congress has no constitutional authority to silence political speech
in the name of campaign finance reform. But who cares—they did it anyway and the
Courts gave them a free pass.
But no one saw the true danger in
McCain-Feingold.
Several states have now picked up this horrible
idea and implemented it into state law. Now your rights to speak out on ballot
issues are being stripped away. In Florida, for example, people and
organizations have to register with the government and file piles of ridiculous
reports if they want to speak out on ballot issues and constitutional
amendments.
We are not talking about candidate campaigns
here. We are talking about subjects of public policy that can easily become
ballot issues: gambling, abortion, term limits, finance reform, marriage—think
of all the issues out there.
If you have to register with the government to
speak out on these issues, to send letters, or print a few bumper stickers, how
long will it be before people grow tired of the hassle and just stay home?
In Florida, horrible laws now threaten to
destroy free speech at election time. Congress is working on McCain II, to take
away more of your rights.
Or stay in the pot a little longer. They say
you don’t feel much when the pot begins to boil.
Truly Loosing Your Rights
- March 14th, 2006