They do not particularly understand the 1st Amendment or the reasoning behind it, the writings behind it
Stunning numbers among Dems in RCOR's new poll on free speech and censorship:
47% of Dems say free speech should be legal 'only under certain circumstances.
34% of Dems say Americans 'have too much freedom'
75% of Dems say government has a responsibility to censor 'hateful'…
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) September 24, 2023
Pretty sure that the 1st restricts government from censoring speech. The full tweet leads to this Real Clear Politics article
“Overall, 9 in 10 voters in the U.S. think First Amendment protections for freedom of speech is a good thing, while only 9% think it is a bad thing,” said pollster Spencer Kimball, who directed the RCP survey. “This is agreed upon across the demographics, like party affiliation, age, and race.”
For those who oppose censorship and put a premium on the free flow of ideas, that’s the good news. But there is bad news, too. Inevitably in our nation’s current hyper-partisan political environment, when one bores down on this subject, deeply divergent perspectives emerge — partisan differences.
Painting with a broad brush, Democrats grant significantly more deference to government than do Republicans when it comes to regulating free speech. This wasn’t the only fault line revealed by the RCP survey.
Some of what is dividing these differences is generational, as Millennials and Gen-Z have come of age in a digital age environment in which reasonable expectations of privacy seem a relic of the past. “Those under 30 are most open to censorship by the government,” Kimball noted, adding that 42% of this cohort deem it “more important” to them that the government protect national security than guard the right to free expression. Among those over 65 years old, the corresponding percentage was 26%.
They were taught this in government schools, but, probably haven’t considered that the tiger they’re feeding can turn on them in a heartbeat
But the most glaring gap is between conservatives and liberals, i.e., between Republicans and Democrats. On the issue of free expression, at least, Republicans are not the authoritarian party. That distinction belongs to the Democrats, the party launched by Thomas Jefferson — the Founding Father who famously said that if he were forced to choose between “a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
This is not really new, unlike what the article says: Democrats have been building to this for decades, but, especially in the 20th Century
Republican voters (74%) and independents (61%) believe speech should be legal “under any circumstances, while Democrats are almost evenly divided. A bare majority of Democrats (53%) say speech should be legal under any circumstances, while 47% say it should be legal “only under certain circumstances.”
Yes, the Democrat response is beyond disturbing, but, the response from Republicans and Independents is not good, either.
Poll respondents were read this statement: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Only 31% of Democratic voters “strongly agreed” with that sentiment, compared to 51% of Republicans.
The tagline of this little blog says “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” I truly believe that. I’ll fight for your ability to say stuff, even if I am vehemently against it.
Read: Surprise? Massive Amount Of Democrats Are Against Free Speech »