Despite New Hank Johnson Gaffe, Congress Passes Assault on First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances- US Constitution, First Amendment

Driven on by their desire to limit political dissent, Democrats in the House today passed what is arguably the biggest assault on free speech since the first amendment was written.

The bill  places new limitations on the political activity of outside interest groups, but gives exemptions to the National Rifle Association, as well as labor unions, AARP and the Democratic party's favorite  federal contractors.

The reason for the legislation? Well that could best be explained by Congressman Hank Johnson of "Guam is Tipping over" fame:




Ultimately the bill is designed to restrict the first amendment rights of businesses while allowing labor carte blanche.  As Congressman Johnson's gaffe mistakenly admitted, this is a nothing but a backroom-type deal designed to shred the first amendment simply for political gain.

House Minority Leader Boehner put pointed out the dangers of this bill:

“With this misguided bill, Democrats would restrict free speech and violate the First Amendment. But not for everyone. This bill would muzzle small businesses but protect labor unions. It allows the Humane Society to speak freely, but not the Farm Bureau. It would protect the AARP’s rights, but not 60-Plus. And lastly it would protect the National Rifle Association but not the National Right to Life. The NRA is carved out and gets a special deal in this bill. The NRA is all about protecting the Second Amendment, but apparently its leaders don’t care about protecting the First Amendment. That’s very disappointing.

“Since the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the First Amendment, Democrats have maintained their bill would ‘apply equally across the board’ to corporations, labor unions and advocacy organizations alike. Instead, they produced a bill full of loopholes designed to help their friends while silencing their political opponents. We in this House take an oath to ‘preserve, protect, and defend our Constitution.’ A vote for this bill violates that oath.”

 Indeed it does violate their oath. But the constitution is not important to the Progressives running our government today. Its all about retaining power so they can destroy the constitution.