Yes, you read that correctly... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has announced that he will put a constitutional amendment up for a vote in the United States Senate to change the definition of the First Amendment!
The Supreme Court has recently ruled on two separate occasions (Citizens United vs. FEC and McCutcheon vs. FEC) that because it costs money to engage in political speech in the 21st century, individual and independent political expenditures are protected under the free speech clause of the First Amendment.
This has been true since the country's founding. No one doubts that the First Amendment protects an individual's right to stand on a soapbox and cry out against government tyranny and injustice. But the First Amendment also protects individuals who pay to have their messages disseminated. It has always cost money to disseminate printed news, for example, and just because it costs capital to do that doesn't mean that the speech contained in that text shouldn't be considered protected speech.
The Left would argue otherwise. Harry Reid wants to amend the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to clarify that messages that cost money to disseminate are not considered protected speech. He wants your individual voice to be limited just to how loudly you can yell!
This isn't just unconstitutional and un-American... It is treasonous! Senators Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have announced that this new amendment will be voted on by the end of the year! If this movement is not stopped now, the very bedrock of our civil liberties could be changed forever!
Demand that Congress STOP the Left’s attempt to change the First Amendment!
Believe it or not, this is actually connected to the IRS scandal. When Conservative non-profit groups began spending money on political advertising, the Democrats got spooked. Up until that point, the Democrats held a monopoly on non-profit political spending. This part of the economy was heavily regulated by the FEC and only Labor Unions were exempt from the limits on non-profit political expenditures and donations.
A few years ago, the Conservative group Citizens United produced a documentary on Hillary Clinton and slated it to air on television during the 2008 Democratic Primary. The FEC slapped the organization down, claiming that the organization had no right to air a documentary critical of a political candidate within 30 days of an election. Citizens United took the case all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 in 2010 that because it costs money to participate in the political discussion in many mediums, those expenditures could not be banned because they were considered protected speech under the First Amendment.
The Democrats claim that this means the end of democracy in America. You'll hear them say that a lot, completely ignoring the fact that we are a REPUBLIC, not a Democracy. But, I digress...
The Left claims that this ruling allows rich billionaires like the Koch brothers to buy elections. They hate this court case because it legalizes and expands what the liberal labor unions have been doing all along! During his State of the Union Address, President Barack H. Obama even took the time to chastise the Supreme Court justices for their decision in Citizens United.
This is where the IRS targeting scandal came from. Released emails show that Lois Lerner was fixated with righting the wrongs of the Citizens United ruling by bottle-necking Conservative non-profit applications and stopping them from participating in the 2012 Election! Democrats in Congress conspired with Lois Lerner and the IRS to shut Conservatives out of the political process all together, while simultaneously protecting political expenditures and donations from the labor unions.
With all eyes on Lois Lerner and the IRS targeting scandal, the Democrats know that they can't keep violating Conservatives' rights (at least not openly). And they know that with the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, it would be unconstitutional to just pass a law banning these non-profit political expenditures. So what are they going to do? They are going to try to change the First Amendment to make sure that Conservatives can no longer spend money to have their voices heard! They are going to try to prohibit you from donating money to organizations that maximize the efficacy of your voice! This will spell the end of our political system as we know it and it must be stopped!
Demand that Congress STOP the Left’s attempt to change the First Amendment!
Harry Reid's proposed Constitutional Amendment is just the latest manifestation of the Democrats' absolute hatred for Conservative political participation.
They claim to be trying to keep money out of politics. Unfortunately, as the Supreme Court correctly identified, it costs money to engage in many types of political speech. Whether it is buying TV or radio airtime, taking out an ad in the paper, or even paying the cable bill to be able to update your blog, there are very few remaining ways to participate in the public political discussion without paying out of pocket in some way.
The Supreme Court has taken the right step to protect Americans from these Liberal attempts to silence them. Whether you are a millionaire wanting to produce a political advertisement or if you're getting together with buddies to pool resources and rent a highway billboard, the First Amendment protects your right to spend money to engage in "Free Speech." And that is what the Democrats hate!
This isn't about getting money out of politics. Whatever the Democrats put up for a vote, you can rest assured that it will carve out an exemption for the liberal labor unions. No, this is about eliminating your ability to participate in the political process and stopping you from amplifying your individual voice.
Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer have already promised that this proposed amendment will be put to a vote. If it succeeds, you can kiss your constitutional rights good-bye. Now, more than ever, we must stand against these Liberal legislators and STOP them from changing the Constitution to redefine "Free Speech!
Sincerely,
Joe Otto
Conservative Daily
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