I only have one question about Jason Willick’s most recent Washington Post column. Here’s the opening of the column:
President Donald Trump wants his Justice Department to stretch the criminal law to target political opponents (such as New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James B. Comey). President Joe Biden’s Justice Department stretched the criminal law to target political opponents, including Trump himself.
Trump’s administration pressured a company (ABC) to suppress First Amendment-protected speech in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. Biden’s administration pressured multiple companies (including Facebook and YouTube) to suppress First Amendment-protected speech during the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump’s supporters, when confronted with this administration’s depredations against civil liberty, often argue that Democrats did it first. The tit-for-tat debate is a dead end; this is all part of the same circling of the political drain. But it’s worth highlighting one systemic difference between the “liberal” version of political repression that occurred in the early 2020s and the populist version Trump is attempting now. The liberal version was veiled and superficially neutral, while the populist version is overt and undisguisedly political.
He elaborates on it a bit but that’s the gist of the column. Here’s my question: is there actually a “lesser evil” here? Is “veiled and superficially neutral” somehow better than “overt and undisguisedly political”? I think the lesson is clear: elect more virtuous leaders who actually believe in liberty and the rule of law.
Dave Schuler: Here’s my question: is there actually a “lesser evil” here?
The President can jawbone; that is, the President can criticize or praise. The President is also protected by the First Amendment. What the President can’t do is use government power to reward or punish based on viewpoint.* The Trump administration has explicitly and repeatedly threatened media because they oppose him politically. The Biden administration pressured media companies (warned them that the information was false and could lead to dire consequences), but generally did not threaten punitive government action.
* Well, at least that’s how it was before American democracy broke. Frankly, the Trumpists are raiding as much of America’s wealth as they can as quickly as they can. Trump is okay with this as long as he gets a “taste”.