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First Amendment rights political challengers

Maximum Political Freedom

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Freedom battles tyranny across the globe, with the right to speak out politically essential for freedom to prevail.

A decision handed down this week by U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa, in a case brought by Eric O’Keefe and Wisconsin Club for Growth, inspires much hope to protect speech and prevent tyranny here in America.

O’Keefe, the group and “all or nearly all right-of-center groups and individuals in Wisconsin who engaged in issue advocacy from 2010 to the present” were targeted by the Milwaukee County District Attorney and others in a bizarre, secretive politically-motivated criminal investigation. Armed agents raided homes at dawn, seizing computers, mailing lists, files, etc.

O’Keefe and conservative state leaders were then slapped with subpoenas (demanding all their documents) and a gag order. This effectively silenced them from talking about the investigation. Under the circumstances, these groups found themselves unable to raise funds or engage in political activity since.

The thrust of the case against them was the mere assertion that spending on TV ads about collective bargaining or other issues was campaign spending for Governor Scott Walker. Judge Randa found no evidence of express advocacy for Walker and, therefore, no lawful basis for the outrageous persecution.

“The plaintiffs have been shut out of the political process merely by association with conservative politicians,” his decision read, adding a warning that, historically, “attempts to purify the public square lead to places like the Guillotine and the Gulag.”

O’Keefe’s Wisconsin Club for Growth spends what some call “dark money” — donors are not disclosed — but the judge explained that our constitutional system cherishes and protects the free discussion of political ideas by groups like O’Keefe’s as possibly “the best way . . . to address problems of political corruption.”

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

8 replies on “Maximum Political Freedom”

Eric O’Keefe is a true hero and patriot, hopefully the tyrants will foolishly appeal the case to a higher court with the same result, and it will become legal precedential throughout that Federal Circuit, and perhaps the outline for such decisions nationally.

Sad to see that Democrats would use government power to oppress those who disagree with them. Judge Randa is right.

Democrats shows they don’t support the freedom of speech. That they don’t support the freedom of speech indicates they don’t have any good argument for what they want to do via government force. That they don’t have any good argument for what they want to do, indicates what they are doing is harming others. If they would harm others for their beliefs via government force, they would put them in a guillotine or prison.

What’s surprising, given the complexity of the law, they didn’t find anything with which to prosecute them. Nevertheless, we can expect that the list of donors will be used by Democrats in power, to send in agents to harrass them to the fullest extent of the law and then some.

Just like the 10% of Tea Party donors that got audited, when the IRS, along with those in charge, knew who they were. Because the IRS illegally asked them for thier list of donors.

As Nat Hentoff,, a writer for THE VILLAGE VOICE ( I am unaware if he is still alive and writes for them, or not) wrote a book some years ago.

‘ FREE SPEECH FOR ME, BUT NOT FOR THEE”.

True today, as was then

A US District Court verdict agreed that the plaintiffs had been screwed by their local government. And what compensation does O’Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth get: nothing, not even legal costs. And what penalty do the people in the local government get: nothing. Where is the justice?

For the first time, in a really long time, I am proud of my country.

Well … at least the judicial branch of government.

I forwarded this article to several people and they emailed me back privately that they did not understand my short comment. I was referring to the tactics used and the attempts to stifle the speech with which they disagreed. I find both political sides tend to do this in varying degrees. Why I am a libertarian.

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