Congressional Republicans Have the Opportunity of a Century to Brutally "Agree" With Democrats

The Democratic congressman Jason Crow is Santa Claus. A gift is sitting on the table, right in front of us. We just have to reach out and pick it up. Donald Trump is very, very, very mean, and Literally Adolf Hitler, and so to protect against fascism, we urgently need to impose sharp new permanent restrictions on the power of the federal government, to stop Trump’s authoritarianism. Take that premise and run the ball. I credit this comment for the thought: Run, Democrats, run! Get to that end zone! It’s a shame to give them the victory, but we have to let the Democrats win in their bold effort to reduce the power of the central government. We’ll just have to endure the pain of that defeat.

As I just wrote, the first clear sign the ideological incoherence and orange-tinted personality megalomania of the Democratic Party was destroying the century-old Woodrow Wilson-era progressive dream of centralized rule by experts was the attack of the Left Coast states on the authority of the CDC. After five years of rage-inflected demands that Americans obey Dr. Fauci and listen to the experts and believe in science, a tranche of left-governed states aggressively challenged the authority of the federal health agencies. They declared the right of individual states to “break with” federal vaccine guidance and make their own choices. A century-plus to build up the federal administrative state; a few weeks to begin tearing it down. We’re divorcing the states from federal authority! Take that, mean Republicans!

Comes now Jason Crow, bearing gifts. Because Trump criticized Jimmy Kimmel, which is literally fascism, Crow has announced that he plans to introduce a new bill to sharply limit the ability of federal officials to interfere in private speech acts.

Among other elements, and I hope Alex Berenson has seen this, Crow’s forthcoming bill will apparently make it easier for people to sue federal officials who act against their free speech rights:

He and the other lawmakers unveiled the NOPE — short for No Political Enemies — Act late last week, a day after Disney-owned ABC suspended Kimmel amid pressure from federal regulators and local TV affiliates.

The bill, which has not yet been introduced in Congress, would in part underscore existing constitutional speech protections, according to a description of its details. It would codify in federal law protections for people facing litigation because of their speech, and it would give an explicit private right of action to sue.

In a nod to a recent Trump threat, it would also provide legal avenues for American nonprofits targeted by the administration.

An explicit private right of action to sue! How devastating this will be to, you know, to Trump.

It’s been two days since the Google parent company Alphabet explicitly acknowledged that the Biden administration pressured them to remove YouTube videos, and close entire accounts, because users were posting content that officials didn’t like.

But clarifying and simplifying the process for people to sue federal officials for attacking their First Amendment rights will be just devastating to Republicans, trust us.

Republicans should make sure Jason Crow has a police escort to get this bill into the hopper. Trump Derangement is opening the door to the most remarkable political realignment since the Gilded Age. Democrats want you to be able to destroy officials who attack your free speech rights.

Take that gift.