Exactly at the moment members of Congress should be focused on working with each other to solve the biggest problems, they find that it’s much easier instead to focus on silencing you.
As it did in 2019, the House of Representatives is giving priority consideration to a bill that would make it harder for ordinary Americans to speak out on the issues that matter most to them.
The latest version of the improperly named “For the People Act” purports to protect democracy and enhance transparency. It would do the opposite: protect incumbent politicians and suppress speech.
Our country benefits when we have a diversity of voices participating in public life. Each American should be able to amplify their individual voice alongside like-minded fellow citizens. H.R. 1 would make this harder to do by, among other things:
- Regulating more ways people can communicate about issues, forcing groups that engage in nonpartisan issue advocacy to, often falsely, declare that they support or oppose any candidate whose name appears in their materials.
- Compelling nonprofits that then make “campaign-related disbursements” of the above kind to disclose the names and addresses of donors who donate above a certain threshold, subjecting them to potential retaliation from those who would harass them, an all too real possibility in today’s partisan climate.
- Requiring nonprofits to disclose their own donors, even if those donors would normally have been kept anonymous, if an organization they give money to spends dollars on the redefined “campaign-related disbursements” above a certain amount. This would make it much harder for burgeoning social entrepreneurs to find the funding and partnerships to grow. It also falsely implies that those donors funded a particular ad or issue.
These proposals would deepen divisions in the body politic that have stymied our ability to solve big problems.
They would exacerbate the problems in our civic life by closing off even further what many people already see as a rigged system in which politicians and special interests team up at the expense of everyone else.
We need a more vibrant civil society, not a stifled one.
Just as Americans have the right to cast ballots in private, we have the right to support causes, join groups, and make donations without being monitored by the government. History shows that the choice to engage privately — free from the gaze of those in power — helps protect all voices, especially the marginalized.
The 1958 landmark Supreme Court decision in NAACP v. Alabama barred the state’s attorney general from demanding the civil rights organization hand over its list of supporters. It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out what state officials would have done with that list.
The single largest givers to LGBTQ causes between 1970 and 2010 were “anonymous funders.” Does anyone doubt that the cause would have grown as it did if its funders were not allowed anonymity?
Gigi Brienza donated to John Edwards’ presidential campaign, yet found herself and her address on a “target list” from an animal rights-oriented domestic terror organization thanks to donor disclosure requirements.
Margie Christoffersen donated money to oppose a ballot initiative in California. Her restaurant was boycotted, she was harassed, and police in riot gear had to be called to disperse a mob assembled outside her business.
How one feels about the causes espoused by any of these Americans is not the point. Their causes span the range of public debates. But the principle is the same. Whatever cause you support, you should be able to do it free of the prying eyes of politicians and bureaucrats, and without the threat of intimidation.
The ability to choose how, when, or even if to share your beliefs is especially critical in the age of digital mobs.
Members of Congress and other public officials have an obligation to ensure that everyone can exercise their rights. Foundational freedoms erode when we protect them for one set of people but not another. Our rights are bound together. If we protect them for me but not for thee, we risk forfeiting the robust liberties that are the foundation of the American experiment.
Congress should not rewrite the rules of engagement in a way that chills free speech. Americans must be free to speak and associate freely, without politicians holding a veto on who gets to participate and who does not. Accountability is for politicians, transparency is for government, and privacy is for people.
Please contact your representative to urge them not to vote for H.R. 1 and to work in a bipartisan manner to address the issues of voting rights and election security.
I am done with listening or reading anymore, gets me sick to my stomach. Totally fed up with Biden. We can read, hear or say anything – all for nothing. We stuck for next four (4) years. Or at the best need a change in congress in 2022.
Only Dems & RINOs, NeverTrumpers want this , we dont
Combined effort needed to overturn OR lose free speech Today.
Apply same to liberal leftist groups too Goes both ways
When they take away free speech, that’s when all Patriots within the United States of America will use their 2nd Amendment rights and shoot the treasonous bastards.
With “O”BIDEN and Pelosi , Shuemer controlling the political narrative we are on the brink of dictatorship.Look at “O”Biden’s trope of executive orders that read like the came right out of RUSSIA or CHINA!
JUST MORE BRICKS ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL. THIS SEWAGE BENEFITS ALL POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ON OUR GOVERNMENTAL MENU AS LONG AS YOU ARE IN CHARGE. R-R?-D-S-C.L-C-M(variations of previous).
Contact my rep.? I might as Well contact the man in the moon.
we need to ALL insist on “TERM LIMITS” for All Politicans. Serving our country should be an honor NOT a Lucrative Career.
When your ideas are terrible and have no merit, you don’t want debate.
We must stop “over the top” control of the American People & vote out those who do not support!
They do want the downfall of our Republic. That’s why the bill. They also want our guns so we cannot protect our rights.
Please make this sharable
The ONLY person Jackass Joe Biden made Happy is Barack Obama, who now is NOT the worst President in History! I’m afraid we’re heading for dark times in America! … Be prepared in your minds that we’re going to be forced into a Civil War over the proposed Far Left agenda being forced down our throats! … I fear the worst!
Freedom of speech was what this country was founded on years ago. Nothing is going to change that fact….it is history. What will change is how we react to the counter culture and groups wanting to silence people who don’t carry the same ideological views. When someone attempts to silence a conservative, there should be a push-back to the left. Call them out…just call them out. Make a mockery of what they are attempting to do. There are enough pro-free speech folks out there who will make a difference. Politicians should have the muster to do the same thing.
I agree very much with this article by an unnamed outside contributor. Freedom of speech is the basis for Liberty, and a Free Country. I am a strong supporter of AMAC, joined 7 years ago, and am a paid member till March 2024. And, I am a strong supporter of AMAC’s fight for free speech. However, I recently brought up a complaint with AMAC’s hypocritical stance on censorship concerning posts of comments to AMAC articles containing live links to websites, or phone numbers, for the purpose of providing additional information on a subject. I have recently had several of my comments to articles “held for review” because they do not allow live links in comments. To my knowledge none of my comments “held for review” were ever approved, or posted, because they do not allow live links in comments. While AMAC stands against censorship by Big Tech, and others, which I support, they themselves censor comments containing information links. I don’t see that to be any less censorship than that by Big Tech. Each of the comments “held for review” were on the subject of Article V of the Constitution (Convention of States), which was provided in the Constitution by the founding fathers to fix problems when government gets out of control. My adding of the link, and phone number, to get more information and a free handbook on Convention of States was so members could learn more about Article V, what it does, and how it works. I see nothing wrong with providing a link or phone number to help others learn more about our Constitution. I can only assume that the policy was adopted as a means of avoiding having to review all links to determine which might be acceptable. I have requested that AMAC reconsider, and hopefully, reverse this policy because it is not justifiable to condemn others for what you are doing yourself. Freedom of speech is a more important issue today that ever before.
Not only must term limits be imposed by us, but these stupid, convoluted donation laws have to be revamped. No more pacs, no more limitless donors through corporations and shell companies. Each person must only be able to donate a capped amount in his own name and all must be transparent. Any entity found to persecute donors should be severely punished, fired. If everything was really transparent, and no one could hide behind fake names, that would be much better. Organization For The Free States of America that bans books and hates all thinkers, is an example of weird pac names that have nothing to do with their actual purpose. I made that up but you get my drift.
The Democrats only want one thing, to utterly destroy this country!
It is my belief that ALL elected officials first and primary responsibility is to defend and protect the US Constitution, not continuously attempt and aim at tearing it down and destroying it. Even to the point of trying to “GUT” it and have it serve their very own “self-serving” goals and agendas…
Thank GOD that our founding fathers wrote it the way that they did.
Maybe all of these current politicians need to re-read and re-think the oath that they swore to, on a Bible, before they continue to attempt to dismantle our country. Each and every article supports and aligns every other article and to delete or even change one undermines and diminishes each of the others.
In a time that we should all be coming together to make each other stronger and safer, the politicians and special interest groups seem to be very determined to destroy our countries values from the core.
Yes, I truly believe that we need term limits for every elected official, at every level and that these same officials need to work together, regardless of their political affiliations to make decisions based on the well being and health of our nation as a whole. This concept seems to be lost on this bunch that are supposed to be representing the US citizenry and seem intent on making us a laughing stock on a world level instead of showing the world that we are the great country that we are and have become, in our very short existence.
how do you eat an elephant ? one piece at a time that is the way we will lose our country or how do you boil a frog. These people are banning books how soon will they begin burning books? I believe my Bible it is comeing we are in our last days.I am prepared are you?
Ah yes, yet another article on H.R. 1, which is now already keyed up to move through the House along strictly partisan Democrat lines. That it will pass the House is a given at this point. Pelosi would not be bringing it forward, if she didn’t know she had the necessary votes for passage in the House. Pelosi will also not allow any Republican amendments to the bill nor will she modify / delete any of the current contents. The bill was written months ago and she is now ready to ram it down our throats, all while claiming it is all about “fairness”.
The Democrats in the House will, once again, vote as a united block to advance this horrible bill to the Senate. The only real question left is what will Schumer do in the Senate? Will he stick with the filibuster rule requiring 60 affirmative votes to pass it and risk the wraith of the so-called progressive wing of his party or will he instead choose to toss the filibuster rule in the trash can and move forward with a simple majority vote with Harris providing the tie-breaker vote? Anyone care to toss a coin on which way he will go?
This started in the Sixties with throwing God out of schools. Then all the PC nonsense and having laws that can be violated based on someone’s feelings (“sexual harassment”) not on facts (defined actions). All of this Oprahized “feelings” crap needs to be eliminated. How about some brave politicians (Trump, Hawley, Jordan, Biggs, etc) leading a charge to rid us of this phony feeling excrement?
This (HR-1), a bill to remove the liability protection from gun manufactures, is the reason that wait till the next election mentality, is not a good option. Folks this is some what of a perfect storm. They are controlled by very liberal people they them selves are so far left their shoulders are touching the ground. They have no one to stop them, we are in for one hell of a bad time.
If this atrocity of a bill passes both the House and the Senate, one fascist party rule (as in control…of everything) is almost a certainty. The fact that this catastrophic agenda is even being debated signifies that this great nation is teetering on the precipice. The dims fully intend to turn this country into a totalitarian, socialistic slum in which the people will be pleading for the BIG, overreaching, nanny-state government to help them, house them, feed them. This disaster of a bill CAN NOT be enacted into law…under any circumstances! I’m not being hyperbolic. This is an extremely dangerous piece of…er…legislation.
It is a mess the way the Dems are pushing the U.S.A. into a civil war. I am in my 80s and hope to never see another war for our people to be in but I think it is going to happen!! May God help us all!!!!!
HR 1 is turning my country into a dictatorship! Stop it! My freedom have been fought for! If you don’t like what we have, leave.
The demoncrats are doing everything they can to control the people. They are staring with the first and second amendment. If they success, we will be under their evil control or we will have to fight back in a civil war. Neither is good.
It’s getting harder and harder for me to just blame the Democrats for what is taking place. I don’t see to many on the other side of the aisle railing against what is going on. Living in AZ I am appalled to read what “my side” of the aisle is doing in the efforts to get to the bottom of the voter issue. No time to give up, but we must get on our knees and ask God to forgive us, repent and turn back to Him. Then He will hear our cries and heal our land.
The Trumpster was great at CPAC //his words of wisdom was get rid of the RINO/S in the Republican Party and take the House and Senate in 2022// This will get rid of the slime known as Schumer and Pelosi //Biden will destoy himself or go to the nursing home where he will be in charge of the toilet facilities//Wake up you sad people who voted for this idiot Biden because if his lips move then you know he has lied to you again//
Leftist ideology and the Leftist agenda are, and have always been, based on lies, misinformation, and deception. The greatest enemies of the Left are truth, facts, and reality. Thus, the Left always seeks to silence their opponents/enemies rather than debate the issues because they know that any debate will expose them for the liars and frauds that they are. So whenever you hear any Leftist or Leftist organization claim that they are seeking to eliminate “misinformation” or “disinformation” from the public discourse, know immediately that what they are really trying to do is prevent facts that will expose them as liars and frauds from ever reaching the public.
This must be stopped. We are not going to be a dictatorship. Obama has been pushing this in the deep state and thinks he can get away with it. The Dems are using Biden. It is shameful and very bad for us and our country. There are others who think they are superior and can tell everyone else how to live. Namely Pelosi and Schumer among others. They must be put in their place.
Although I have contracted my congressperson about this Bill I can’t quite see Rep. “Shirley” Jackson Lee voting against anything radically Democrat.
There was and may still be an organization that believes in secrecy. KKK. they are so afraid to be exposed as what they are Frauds and Lies, that they have chosen to be covered with sheets rather than face the truth. So once again here we are today in this HR -1 Bill seeing this very same dogma presented as realistic and needed??? They can’t function in a vacuum and must silence the rest of us along the way to insure they have room to unload their falsehoods and frauds it will take years to recover from the mess we have managed to let HAPPEN. Eventually they will see and experience the fact that what they thought was right was wrong, and by then it will be too late. the Barbarians at the Gate will have managed to gain leverage against them and their will to engage will have waned.
The United States of America is GONE! The very foundation of the previous United States was Freedom Speech. Many…..Very Many elected officials in our current American government would be pleased to limit free speech. Until Hillary and O’Biden are in jail we live in a lawless country where ALL DEMOCRATS ARE ABOVE THE LAW, ESPECIALLY NANCY AND CHUCK ! THE KING AND QUEEN!?
What has happened to my America? We fought hard to eliminate discrimination and bullying in this country. Now, those of us to disagree with some in power are being bullied, also called cancelled. We are the ones being discriminated against just because we do not think as they.
History is being changed at the whim of a few, good people from history are no longer considered good. History will prove this to be a very dark time in our country. We went through a period such as this in the late 50’s where McCarthy tried to cancel so many individuals, many who never recovered. Lets offer a prayer that this country can survive this attack on our freedoms and pray that some of our bravest will step forward and stop the insanity.
Down with HR1! So much deceit in that bill that is being hidden from the public. Stilling the voices of the states and the people is not what our country should be doing.
In the former soviet union, their constitution made it illegal to speak ill of the government. For those to young to remember, the soviet union was a repressive, marxist, communist regime favoring only those in the politburo(government) and their friends.
Palosi makes me sick, ill,etc. She is always saying the American people this and the American people that as if she really cares about us. She also used to say that she prayed for President Trump regularly. In either case, if you paid attention, she did not show any evidence of supporting the President or the American people. This latest HR 1 Bill {For the People Act)is a great example of her B.S. which if you take a look at it and you are halfway intelligent you can clearly see it is a gross misnomer. These radicals know “the people” are either too lazy or just don’t really care to check things out so they can slide by and of course it helps to have the fake news cover it all up.
that’s the way the dumos roll! they are insecure, jealous, ignorant blabber mouths, I personally don’t listen to them bc I don’t like haters. they waste my time
We’ll just have to send letters to each other through USPS. G O D – good old days.
Nancy Pelosi is a marxist. She is always saying the American people want; she only knows what she wants. This nasty person does NOT care what the American people want.
Gas $2.85 today.
I consider the Democratic Party domestic terrorists. They have been and are doing everything they can to undermine our Constitution. HR 1 must be defeated. Why are the Conservatives being censored? and who is censoring us. This is Communism at its finest. The flood of illegals into our country with a Pandemic going on-this is more than likely going to kill many of us via the Viral spread. Not to mention the increase in crime and cost to support them with free medical, food, places to live are you kidding. What Rocket Scientist is making this decision. I am tired of supporting them-sorry but that’s how I feel. Our great country has supported many countries for years with our blood, and money. Enough is enough-we are in a major debt and the Dems are giving away our money like it is nothing. I am concerned about the Johnson vaccine. I read and have heard it is only 60% effective and probably less in us seniors. That’s not much better odds than flipping a coin. The other vaccines have been rated around the 90% effective-is this information correct? No one wants to tell you what vaccine you are getting. Why is that? Why would seniors or anyone for that matter sign up for the Johnson vaccine if the 60% rating is correct? Is it true that the new Congressional CoVID bill only allocates 9% of our hard earned money for the Virus? This is major corruption. We are not being represented! It is time not to just hold these corrupt politicians accountable-this means nothing. We need to dismiss their protective immunity and throw them in jail. Finally, not mentioned but Andrew Cuomo needs to be hauled away to prison for the deaths of around150000 Nursing Home patients and I believe covering it up. Having worked medically in Long term care (LTC) and surgery, I wonder who authorized from the hospital to send COVID infected patients back to a Nursing Home. Did they? I know the patient and or the family can sign themselves out of the hospital but I believe it takes a doctor’s signature to discharge the patient and I believe they ask where they are going to. Also, Social Services I believe are involved in this transition. I have learned that you do not bring a major illness into a LTC facility where many patients are fragile and have weakened immune systems. Anyone want to clarify this? Did Cuomo just bypass all of this. If so, where did he get his medical degree and or medical advice? I believe there were more people involved in this terrible decision. All need to go to Prison. Just some of my concerns too. Grumpy Old Vet.
Congress only has ONE problem: it is loaded with LIARS, WHORES, AND THIEVES !!!!!!
They threw every ‘wet dream’ they’ve ever had into this bill. They know their days are numbered if they can’t enact it/the into law. If/ (when?), Schumer eliminates the filibuster in the Senate, S-1, the Senate version, will pass for sure and Katie bar the door. EVERY part of the Constitution and Bill of Rights will topple like dominoes.
This is what we get for allowing the voter fraud to succeeed, the time to take action is NOW, we have the right to recall our representatives if they violate thier oath of office, recall, replace, investigate, punish them individually, make them answer to “WE THE PEOPLE”, if we take them down one by one, we CAN take our country BACK!! and we can put in office ALL the representatives that actually WON!!! INCLUDING DONALD J. TRUMP!!!! THE REAL AND LEGITIMATE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!! if politicians, judges, fbi, doj, scotus refuse to do thier duty, then WE MUST DO OURS.
The head of the fbi said that the fbi will not tolerate the “DOMESTIC TERRORISM” that happened at the capitol, how about the DOMESTIC TERRORISM that took place all across the country for several months, is he saying socialist/dem sponsored TERRORISM IS ALLOWED? IF SO WE NEED THE SECOND AMENDMENT NOW, MORE THAN EVER!! THEY SWORE AN OATH, JUST LIKE EVERY VETERAN TO PROTECT AND DEFEND THE NATION FROM ITS ENEMIES FORIEGN AND DOMESTIC, IF “WE THE PEOPLE” DO NOT STAND UP TO THIS TREASONOUS ACTIVITY, KISS YOUR RIGHTS AND YOUR BUTTS GOODBYE!
One would think that people in authority would love to get feedback even if it was negative because it would enable them to perform their authority more excellently, but CONSISTENTLY it has been demonstrated that people who in authority do NOT want to hear negative feedback, do NOT want to hear corrective advice. They really do NOT care whether someone has a different, better idea about things. And we wonder why so many businesses fail, why government is “going to hell in a hand basket.”
This is straight from the CCP, right ? It must be : no honest American politician, who had the trust and the values of his voters, and their best interest at heart, would ever propose such a communist plot. Pretty obvious I would say. Let’s get with it people, let’s not tolerate these home grown or foreign invaders of our way of life here in America. You started by removing prayer from our schools,
you stop a sitting president from his 1st amendment right of free speech, you lie, cheat, and steal an election right in front of everyone and now this ? If there’s not an organized line-in-the-sand drawn saying we’ve had enough of your s..t from the right, you people are asking for a war here. There is so much pent-up frustration now and you still go unabated on your mission to destroy our way of life here. Will a Republican, with a backbone ; that’s in a position to do something about it, finally do something to stop this massacre ?
These leftist secularist elite globalist are missing it big time and are going down! The rest of the world is turning to the Populist right. Poland has made abortion against the law and passed laws against the big tech tyrants! The Island of Samoa has declared itself a “Christian Nation”! The country of Hungary has a right wing government. France’s prime minister is moving to the right by deporting Muslims and banding the woke/cancel culture from it’s shores! Italy is going to vote out it’s left liberal government and vote in a Populist right government. England’s (Brexit to leave the EU) was initiated by the Populist right. Other countries moving right are Sweden, Netherlands, Ireland, Germany,etc. And now we have a National Populist movement that had already rose up before the last election was stolen, in our country! Some good things are happening.
GET INVOLVED IN THIS US NATIONAL POPULIST MOVEMENT!
O’Biden will bring us together in unity IF we don’t do or say anything that goes against the democrat/socialist agenda. Sounds to me like other tyrants in history. Oh, but wait, we want to cancel that part of history.
Defeat HR 1 then disallow PACs.