Stifling Free Speech Is Now A Core Plank Of The Republican Platform
We just recently wrote about the reasons why Congress should move, right now, to codify the NYT v. Sullivan case into law. While considered mostly settled and uncontroversial, in the last few years there have been increasing attacks on this ruling, which has been one of the most important rulings in preserving and protecting free speech over the last half century. And some (Clarence Thomas) on the Supreme Court support dismantling it, which is why we think it's so important for Congress to codify it into law.
In that post, we noted that the idea of chipping away at it first started to gain steam when Justice Thomas pushed for dismantling NYT v. Sullivan, which would massively set back free speech by making it way easier for the rich and powerful to file bogus SLAPP suits to silence criticism or revealing news stories.
And for all the talk from Republicans pretending to support free speech lately, their rapid embrace of this plan to undermine NYT v. Sullivan is a massive concern. We noted that Republican politicians Devin Nunes and Sarah Palin have both been trying to overturn NYT v. Sullivan with some of their ridiculous defamation lawsuits.
Now it appears that one of the most popular Republican politicians, whom many are assuming is the front runner for the GOP's 2024 Presidential campaign, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, is making it clear that he'd get rid of the Sullivan standard if he could.
During the panel discussion on Tuesday, Mr. DeSantis accused the press of using Sullivan as a shield to intentionally smear" politicians and said the precedent discouraged people from running for office. Would the current Supreme Court, he asked the panelists, be receptive" to revisiting the case?
This wasn't just some off-the-cuff thing by DeSantis either. It appears that DeSantis' crew set up an entire event to agitate for killing Sullivan and making it easier for the rich and powerful to silence people through the mere threat of a ruinous lawsuit.
Of course, there was some hilarity, which the NY Times article highlighted, in that one of the panelists invited to help push for the overturning of Sullivan is Libby Locke, partner at Clare Locke, a firm who specializes in silencing the press (and brags about it constantly) often with very questionable lawsuits. It's no surprise that Locke would want to overturn Sullivan... but as the NY Times article notes, her firm actually has taken one of the largest high profile defamation cases that... might actually be legitimate: Dominion Voting Systems' lawsuit against Fox News.
So, apparently, Republicans are conflicted:
Also on the panel was Libby Locke, a well-known media defamation lawyer who has pushed for judicial review of Sullivan, as well as state-level legislation that could make it easier for plaintiffs to bring and win libel cases.
Ms. Locke's presence alongside Mr. DeSantis drew rebukes from many on the right, particularly Trump supporters, who noted that one of her firm's clients is Dominion Voting Systems, the voting machine company that has been the target of unfounded accusations of election fraud from the former president's backers.
Ms. Locke's firm filed a $1.6 billion defamation suit against Fox News on Dominion's behalf. Fox has invoked Sullivan as part of its defense. Last month, the Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch was deposed in the case, which is set to go to trial in April.
Of course, what this should do is help Republicans realize that NYT v. Sullivan protects all of us, and that its removal would lead to all sorts of media, across the spectrum, facing a flood of vexatious lawsuits. But it will be especially true for Fox News and others like OAN and Newsmax (not to mention Breitbart, Daily Wire, Joe Rogan) etc. - news orgs that, let's say, are not as well known for their fact checking.
The simple fact is that the NYT v. Sullivan standard protects everyones free speech, especially when people are speaking out against the most powerful people in society. It has been one of the most important levers for protecting free speech and making sure that the 1st Amendment actually matters.
If Republicans truly believed in free speech, they would continue supporting it (as they did until just recently). Instead, as part of their ongoing culture war nonsense, because they see that it also protects news orgs that they have decided are pure evil, like CNN, the NY Times, Washington Post, and MSNBC, they have decided to set it on fire, without caring how it will do just as much damage to their own speech, and that of their many favored news organizations as well.
Once again, what we're learning is that the modern GOP does not believe in principles like free speech. They are motivated solely by what will cause the most pain for their enemies, no matter what damage they do to themselves in the interim. It's pathetic.
That the party that is banning books, silencing teachers and other government employees, is now attacking a key 1st Amendment decision shouldn't be surprising, but people should call it out whenever any Republicans pretends that their party supports free speech.