Political Speech Still Free in Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, a probe into center right organizations' by liberal prosecutors was stopped by a federal judge. The judge rightly cited the first amendment as a protector of these organizations supposedly corruptive behavior. The Wall Street Journal Reports:
“Prosecutors had justified their dawn raids and harassment in the name of exposing illegal coordination between the Walker campaign and conservative groups. But Judge Randa ruled that the investigation was based on a mistaken reading of campaign-finance law that violated Mr. O'Keefe's First Amendment's rights. "The defendants are pursuing criminal charges through a secret John Doe investigation against the plaintiffs for exercising issue advocacy speech rights that on their face are not subject to the regulations or statutes the defendants seek to enforce," the judge wrote.”
This is one of those circumstances in which the process of investigation is punishment enough. Citizens mobilizing to engage in a political process should not fear retaliation from prosecutors who are what the Wall Street Journal calls "Democrat partisans with a vindictive streak.” What’s more American than the ideals of republicanism and the right and the duty of individual citizens to speak freely, lobby their government, and when necessary petition them for a redress of grievances? No one proposes speech stiflingly big government rules as such, they always claim it is for some greater good. But as Judge Randa said "the larger danger is giving government an expanded role in uprooting all forms of perceived corruption which may result in corruption of the First Amendment itself."
