David Frum’s Speech Police

Last week, the distinguished liberal thinker and activist William Galston, along with an equally distinguished conservative counterpart, David Frum, announced in the Washington Post the forthcoming founding of a new organization called “No Labels.” The stated aim of No Labels is to combat the “hyper-polarization” of American political debate by “calling out” politicians, media personalities, and opinion leaders who “recklessly demonize” opponents. Unfortunately, their announcement gives us reason to fear that No Labels will only increase the level of political acrimony by attempting to constrain debate, thereby exacerbating the very polarization the group claims it seeks to combat.

No Labels aims to “expand the space” of public debate in America by reducing the fear of “social or political retribution.” But this expansion is, by the two men’s own account, really a contraction. That is, Galston and Frum intend to moderate public debate by “establishing lines that no one should cross,” as they put it. Specifically, they seek to police the use of labels like “racist” and “socialist,” which they believe are used recklessly in a way that undermines democratic discussion of “legitimate policy differences.”

Read the rest and you get a pretty clear impression that Frum and Galston are looking to start a new centrist Media Matters. Here’s my prediction: Liberals in the MSM will gladly turn to No Labels to censure conservatives who stray from the official media narrative. They will also occasionally call out insignificant liberals so as to appear balanced.

That is, Galston and Frum intend to moderate public debate by “establishing lines that no one should cross,” as they put it. Specifically, they seek to police the use of labels like “racist” and “socialist,” which they believe are used recklessly in a way that undermines democratic discussion of “legitimate policy differences.”

There is a reason for using words like "socialist" to describe the socialist policies of the thug in our White House. The allegedly Hawaiian born former junior US Senator from Illinois has admitted that he believes when he spreads other people's money around, everyone benefits. There is a reason for using words like "racist" to describe Obama's race-based policies, which are intended to judge people by the color of their skin and not by the content of their character or even their ability. While George Orwell appeared to endorse suggested phrases like, "Obama is plusuncapitalist" and "ObamaCare makes us doubleplusunfree", I thought he was overstating the case for emphasis. It makes me plusunhappy to discover that both Any Rand (Atlas Shrugged) and Orwell (1984) understated their points to maintain believability. Galston and Frum are carrying Newspeak far beyond what I imagined possible in what used to be a free country.

Why are you posting DU-Frum and Clinton-Galston material?

GALSTON: "But speaking as a veteran of the Clinton White House,
I can tell you that the confrontation comes to an end when
one side or another hits a wall because the American people
expect parties who have a share of governing power
to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Well, there is a middle in American politics.
You have 35 percent of the American people who call themselves moderates.
That's down some from 10 years ago, but that's still a big slice of the electorate.
You have 30 percent of grassroots Republicans who call themselves moderates or liberals.
You have 60 percent of grassroots conservatives who call themselves moderates or conservatives.
So there is a potential coalition of the center there.
But our party system is not very good at expressing it right now.
DEAN: (Obama's) health care plan was essentially the same as Mitt Romney's.
And Mitt Romney has never been accused of being a liberal."

A Peek Into What Health Care Reform Will Look Like
GALSTON: "In advance of a meeting scheduled for Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee
has released a 62-page description of policy options for expanding health insurance coverage.
It is a revealing document...
1. There is a substantial amount of bipartisan common ground,....
2. The basic approach of the emerging bill tracks the system that
Massachusetts enacted in 2006 with bipartisan support,
including that of then-Governor Mitt Romney and Senator Ted Kennedy. "

Late in October, The American Spectator's The Prowler revealed:
"Former Mitt Romney presidential campaign staffers…
have been involved in spreading anti-Palin spin to reporters, seeking to diminish her standing after the election.
'Sarah Palin is a lightweight, she won't be the first, not even the third, person people will think of when it comes to 2012,'
says one former Romney aide…
'The only serious candidate ready to challenge to lead the Republican Party is Mitt Romney.
"Some former Romney aides were behind the recent leaks to media, including CNN, that Governor Sarah Palin was a 'diva' and was going off message intentionally."

"Frum was indeed a critic of Palin, calling her nomination a "huge mistake" during an October 13 (2008, weeks before the election) Early Show appearance."

David Frum: "Two of our most plausible candidates for president in 2012 are leading Mormons: Mitt Romney and Utah governor Jon Huntsman."

David Frum: "I have a lot of regard for Mitt Romney as a man and politician… I will support him without qualm."

"Peeking Out From the McCain Wreckage: Mitt Romney"

"Someone's got to say it: IS MITT ROMNEY RESPONSIBLE FOR OBAMA'S VICTORY?"

"Vanity: Team Romney Sabotaged Palin and Continuing to Do So?"

"Romney Supporters Trashing Palin"

"Romney advisors sniping at Palin?"

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