Were the Dixie Chicks “First Amendment Rights” violated when they badmouthed the President and radio stations started pulling their music?
No. They said their piece, and people responded to them. They have the right to say what they want, and I have the right to not listen to them. That’s not a violation of their speech right. What happened with Miss Sullivan was totally different. She tweeted something rude about a politician. The politician’s staff read it and called the principal’s office and complained. Miss Sullivan was called in and reprimanded.
And what’s wrong with that? I’ll tell you. No government official, not president, nor senator, nor governor, nor high school principal has the right to reprimand or demand an apology any citizen for speaking out against him or her. I wish she had backed up what she said with examples of how the guy sucks (he’s since provided many examples since this broke), but we can’t have everything. That’s the First Amendment. Sometime it protects crude and boorish speech, but it must remain as strong as it is.
Because if we let it lose it’s teeth, it won’t protect the important speech later.