Gretchen Whitmer and the Assault on Free Speech

Conspiracy theorists imagine wide, well-coordinated, concerted efforts to pursue particularized agendas. To some extent, these efforts exist, though I would not necessarily call them conspiracies, since that implies something sinister. For example, when the White House changes its message or adopts new terminology (think about the change from "health care reform" to "health insurance reform" to make insurance companies the target), memoranda go out, talking points are distributed, and the organization -- the MSM included -- delivers a coordinated message.

Beyond that sort of rudimentary message distribution, widespread conspiracies are hard to implement, and one should take such accusations very skeptically. It is far more likely that persons pursue similar agendas, not because they are engaged in a conspiracy, but because they share a particular ideology or worldview.

This is the alarming condition -- the number and variety of initiatives spawned, not by conspiracy, but by a common disregard for constitutional liberties and an infatuation with government power.

Cue Gretchen Whitmer.

Last week, I wrote about Whitmer's SB 668, in which she seeks to force crisis pregnancy organizations to distribute abortion information in violation of their rights to free speech and freedom of religion.

SB 668 could be an isolated meandering into the wilderness, but there are numerous other examples of assaults on free speech that suggest Whitmer is part of a greater problem. For example:

-- Sen Jay Rockefeller's staff has been working for months on a bill giving The One the power to seize private sector computer networks during a "cybersecurity emergency" that would be declared by, of course, The One Himself. (Remember that scene in Episode III where Emperor Palpatine "reluctantly" accepts the
emergency powers bestowed on him by his puppet senators and pledges to relingquish them once the emergency is over? Life imitates art.)

-- The Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education and the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons have sued the White House, alleging violations of their First Amendment and privacy rights. Remember the website set up by The One to allow people to report if they believed their fellow citizens were spreading misinformation about the health care bill? Well, what do you think happened with the complaints the White House received? Apparently, right back to The One's friends, who began their campaign of intimidation. As Kathryn Serkes, AAPS' Director of Policy and Public Affairs, put it, "My hate mail started shortly after the White House issued the 'fishy' request. We were quite visible and vocal before then, so it doesn't seem like a coincidence. Who did they share their data with? With whom might they share it?"

-- Democrats and the SEIU pack "town hall meetings" to keep dissenting voices from being heard, school officials in Florida are prosecuted because they had the nerve to say grace before a luncheon meeting, and on and on.

These events are not themselves connected, but the people behind them are -- connected by a philosophy that treats constitutional rights as obstacles to be overcome or ignored, rather than sacred endowments to be treasured and protected.

Gretchen Whitmer, who wants to be attorney general, is part of this anti-constitution mob. She, like the rest, will pay lip service to the constitution, but ultimately she will side with political expedience and opportunism.