Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz admitted to broadly supporting censorship during the vice presidential debate Tuesday, the Federalist reported. The revelation from Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate went largely unnoticed.
There were many takeaways from the debate that pitted the Democrat Walz against GOP Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who is former President Donald Trump's running mate. One of the notable contrasts between the two candidates came from how they viewed the First Amendment.
Vance was speaking about Democrats' increasing use of censorship to silence ideas they don't like. Rather than confirm free speech rights, Walz told Vance, "You can’t yell fire in a crowded theater."
CBS News moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan asked about the peaceful transfer of power should the election not go Trump's way. Vance was out in front of the issue, stating that the true "threat to democracy" comes from censorship.
"The most sacred right under the United States democracy is the First Amendment. You yourself have said there’s no First Amendment right to misinformation," Vance said.
Walz attempted to speak over him, but Vance continued that Harris "wants to use the power of government and Big Tech to silence people from speaking their minds. That is a threat to democracy that will long outlive this present political moment," Vance pointed out.
"I would like Democrats and Republicans to both reject censorship. Let’s persuade one another. Let’s argue about ideas, and then let’s come together afterwards," Vance pressed.
"You can’t yell 'fire' in a crowded theater. That’s the test. That’s the Supreme Court test," Walz insisted.
Walz's response is part of Democrats' effort to label censorship as anything but what it is. As Vance pointed out, the left was routinely censoring speech far from the kind covered under the Supreme Court decision.
"Tim. Fire in a crowded theater? You guys wanted to kick people off of Facebook for saying that toddlers should not wear masks," Vance pointed out of the pandemic-era censorship.
"That is criticizing the policies of the government, which is the right of every American," Vance added. Walz went on to note that he doesn't "run Facebook," but the message was loud and clear.
Democrats like Walz and Harris have no problem stripping people of their free speech rights if they're saying something they don't like. They can pretend that a skirmish at the Capitol was the true threat to democracy, but the Bill of Rights was never attacked that day.
