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Dick Durbin: Are bloggers and tweeters entitled to constitutional protection?
http://michellemalkin.com ^ | May 26, 2013 05:53 PM | Doug Powers

Posted on 05/26/2013 4:57:16 PM PDT by Sub-Driver

Dick Durbin: Are bloggers and tweeters entitled to constitutional protection?

Share By Doug Powers • May 26, 2013 05:53 PM

**Written by Doug Powers

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin has in the past had a very subjective and abstract view of the Constitution, and on Fox News Sunday he once again wondered which people might be “entitled” to constitutional protections and which people might not:

“You’ve raised an important point and I heard Sen. Graham call for special counsel,” Durbin said. “I’m not ready to do this at this moment. I would like to know if Holder has any conflict in here beyond what we heard when it comes to the Fox case.”

“But here is the bottom line — the media shield law, which I am prepared to support, and I know Sen. Graham supports, still leaves an unanswered question, which I have raised many times: What is a journalist today in 2013? We know it’s someone that works for Fox or AP, but does it include a blogger? Does it include someone who is tweeting? Are these people journalists and entitled to constitutional protection? We need to ask 21st century questions about a provision that was written over 200 years ago.”

Does Dick think the First Amendment only covers journalists (and apparently only ones who write with quills on parchment)?

If Durbin ever bothered to actually read the Constitution he’d know that the Founders knew all too well the danger of having somebody like, well, Dick Durbin, ever ending up as the arbiter of who’s “entitled” to rights.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Constitution/Conservatism; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: constitution; democrats; dickdurbinisanass; digitalmedia; donttreadonme; electronicmedia; firstamendment; freepress; freespeech; govtabuse; hotair; liberalfascism; littledickdurbin; media; notbreakingnews; sourcetitlenoturl; turbandurbin; tyranny
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To: MileHi

Perfect word to describe this... asshat.


81 posted on 05/26/2013 6:45:51 PM PDT by Jeff Winston
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To: Sub-Driver
Well,the ones associated with Code Pink,Michael Moore,Planned Barrenhood,our current Attorney Corporal and George Soros certainly are.
82 posted on 05/26/2013 6:48:17 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Leno Was Right,They *Are* Undocumented Democrats!)
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To: Sub-Driver

When is this idiot up for election? He’s 68, time to retire and go someplace he views are more welcome. I hear Veneualeza is nice.


83 posted on 05/26/2013 6:49:13 PM PDT by matt04
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To: Sub-Driver

There’s a whole generation of congressmen who just need to go. For the good of the Republic, they must be retired.


84 posted on 05/26/2013 6:52:35 PM PDT by Trod Upon (Every penny given to film and TV media companies goes right into enemy coffers. Starve them out!)
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To: Westbrook

My Lord, is he stupid.

but then so are 47% of the citizens...romney was sooo right!


85 posted on 05/26/2013 6:53:08 PM PDT by Recovering Ex-hippie (Go Galt!)
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To: Sub-Driver
Durbin would have a federally approved and licensed "press" to report stories the government believes the peons should know, in government approved reporting.

Only properly licensed "reporters" would be protected by the Constitution.

Mark

86 posted on 05/26/2013 6:58:24 PM PDT by MarkL (Do I really look like a guy with a plan?)
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To: sten

Yeah but Dick is the chairmen of the constitution sub comittee


87 posted on 05/26/2013 7:06:20 PM PDT by sharkhawk (Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall.)
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To: chicagolady

you know i got the new one for that barry obama before obama barries you—adjust spelling to fit the need


88 posted on 05/26/2013 7:10:33 PM PDT by bigheadfred ( barry your mouth is writing checks your ass cant cash)
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To: Sub-Driver

Deuschbag Durbin bump for later...


89 posted on 05/26/2013 7:12:17 PM PDT by indthkr
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To: JohnBrowdie

Excellent point. But how do we speed things up?

Zippy and Holder managed to subvert the election process and hide it until after the election. That was long enough to accomplish what they wanted: re-election.

They managed to stonewall on Benghazi until after the election. Same result.

The tactic is to operate covertly as much as possible. If something comes to light, then deny it. If no longer able to deny it, say there must be a thorough investigation so that we get all the facts and don’t jump to conclusions or make rash mistakes. Then after the (sham) investigation has dragged on, dismiss the whole thing as water under the bridge, ancient history, no longer relevant. (What difference at this point does it make?)

See how easy it is? And conservatives keep falling for it.

What are our options for fighting these tactics? Can we win when we follow the rules and the progressives break them? Can we win with one set of rules for us and a different set of rules for progressives? How far will conservatives be pushed? When will they say “enough?”


90 posted on 05/26/2013 7:18:35 PM PDT by generally (Don't be stupid. We have politicians for that.)
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To: Sub-Driver

Swine. Let someone try to ban abortion and all of a sudden they wrap themselves in the constitution. But for everything else it’s a “200 year old document” that they eye with contempt.


91 posted on 05/26/2013 7:23:43 PM PDT by denydenydeny (Admiration of absolute government is proportionate to the contempt one has for others.-Tocqueville)
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To: Maceman

And FR is a press too.


92 posted on 05/26/2013 7:27:47 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (How long before all this "fairness" kills everybody, even the poor it was supposed to help???)
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To: Sub-Driver
“But here is the bottom line — the media shield law, which I am prepared to support, and I know Sen. Graham supports, still leaves an unanswered question, which I have raised many times: What is a journalist today in 2013? We know it’s someone that works for Fox or AP, but does it include a blogger? Does it include someone who is tweeting? Are these people journalists and entitled to constitutional protection? We need to ask 21st century questions about a provision that was written over 200 years ago.”

Well, lets look at what "the press" was 200 years ago. Back then, we didn't have industrialized mass communication. Back then, the "press" was any guy who had access to a printing press, and published his viewpoints, facts, and opinions to an audience outside his immediate circle of friends.

As such, any blogger is just as much "the press" as the alphabet networks are.

93 posted on 05/26/2013 7:30:23 PM PDT by PapaBear3625 (You don't notice it's a police state until the police come for you.)
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To: bigheadfred
Dick Durbin is an embarassment to the State of Illinois and should no longer be afforded any Constitutional Protections.

Just my humble opinion as a resident of this hell-hole called Illinois.

94 posted on 05/26/2013 7:31:39 PM PDT by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: usconservative

lets see benedict arnold died of dropsy maybe durbin will die of something similar caused by angry citizens you know another form of dropsy and they will laugh hahaha with gallows humor


95 posted on 05/26/2013 7:36:34 PM PDT by bigheadfred ( barry your mouth is writing checks your ass cant cash)
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To: HiTech RedNeck
And FR is a press too.

Indeed.

96 posted on 05/26/2013 7:37:44 PM PDT by Maceman (Just say "NO" to tyranny.)
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To: Sub-Driver

Documentation File on “The Curse of Obamanation.”


97 posted on 05/26/2013 8:19:18 PM PDT by Graewoulf (Traitor John Roberts' Commune-Style Obama'care' violates U.S. Constitution AND Anti-Trust Law.)
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To: Sub-Driver

It says Freedom of Speech, it does not say “Freedom of Speech EXCEPT in the case of...”


98 posted on 05/26/2013 8:20:39 PM PDT by Shadowstrike (Be polite, Be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.)
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To: Sub-Driver

Durbin hadn’t really anything to say worth a damn so he took the opportunity to slam the work of old dead white men of 200 years ago. Democrats are relentless on this. They insist the Constitution is a living, breathing document for them to adjust as they see fit. This was his message. The message he wanted people to take away from this program he was on today. That the Constitution is outdated, and cannot be used to govern in today’s America. That the Constitution has to be rewritten to the Leftist’s perspective of a secular criteria.

Again as I said in another post on another thread yesterday it’s another slap at Christianity as our Constitution was written with Christian values, Christian mores as its basis.


99 posted on 05/26/2013 8:30:45 PM PDT by rockinqsranch (Proud contributer to the Free Republic Q-2 Freepathon.)
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To: Sub-Driver

Durbin is such a turd and an idiot.


100 posted on 05/26/2013 8:55:27 PM PDT by virgil
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