Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Saving the Republic from the Heckler’s Veto: The Moral Imperative to Elect Trump
Photo credit: Russell Contreras.
We know that freedom of speech is under attack in America. Whole areas of discourse are off limits in the public square; wrongthink is punished by federal or state investigation; and any attempt to puncture the illusions of the unhinged Far-Left is increasingly met by violence which — in the classical statist two-step — leads to official censorship on the grounds of public safety.
It’s disgraceful when it happens on a college campus. It is another — one might almost call it an extinction-level event — when it occurs during a presidential election campaign. What happened at the Trump event in Albuquerque is just the first taste of what promises to be a long summer of hate directed at the heart of the Republic: freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom tout court.
Do not be misled by the protesters attacking the police and shouting down the Man; the Man has their back. At their direction, the circle of acceptable thought will be shrunk. The definition of racism will be expanded. “Authoritarian” and similar terms will be defined down and used as an excuse to suppress any speech, any behavior — indeed, any thought — that does not lead to the expansion and glorification of the state.
And America will die. Maybe with a bang. Perhaps with a whimper. But all that makes America positively different will be gone. You may hate what Donald Trump has to say, but your moral duty is to vote for him for saying it.
Hyperbole? Ask the #NeverTrumps.
Published in General
Once again, we are told to vote for Trump because Hillary is worse. I fail to see how Trump is any better on free speech other than his own. I suspect it could be much more dangerous to speak you mind under a Trump administration than even Obama’s repressive regime. The fact that Trump is a vulgar, undisciplined loud-mouth has nothing to do the advocacy of free speech.
What is going on outside of his rallies is despiccable, but I don’t see that he is the answer. Sorry!
This.
That would depend on the question. If the question is, “Whom should the Republican Party nominate in 2016?”, Trump is not the answer.
I agree with Merina’s comment elsewhere that those who voted for Trump’s nomination should own it.
If the question is, “For whom do we vote in November, to stop Hillary?”, then the inescapable answer is Trump. Yes, inescapable. If you believe that Trump is worse than Hillary, that makes this question irrelevant, but doesn’t change the answer.
The unpleasant fact is that we’re not going to get a good President this time around.
Initially I thought that, but on reflection it occurred to me that it’s important to not have the country go through another “won the electoral/lost the popular vote” wringer like Y2K. So even if one lives in a bright blue or red state, get out and vote.
While Oregon may be an even greater lost cause than The People’s Republic of Illinois, I think Trump is going to succeed in prying some very blue states out of the Dem column (like maybe New York).
Trump received less votes than Bernie Sanders did in New York during the primary.
The dude in your picture has 4 legs.
Crazy!
Would you support having Ann Coulter as a contributor?
I mean that in all seriousness. What about Larry Kudlow? What about that Michael Stopa?
None of those people are less obnoxious than Zubrin, they’re just on the other side. It could be argued that Coulter is far more obnoxious, and deliberately inflammatory.
But she’s more accurate. And accuracy counts. It is not equally obnoxious to call Bill Clinton a philandering misogynist and to call Mitt Romney the same thing.
Kudlow is like Mother Theresa in that group.
Will it be pictures mostly?
If she chooses to produce zany incoherent sensational content and insult our members no. That may be what is going on at her site lately, I haven’t ventured across the bridge in a while.
Associating Kudlow with anything produced by Zubrin is a cheap shot at Larry who has done a lot for this site. You are better than that Ryan.
Stopa hasn’t passed up chances to issue provocative posts. I don’t recall him insulting people of faith, but if it makes you happy we can jettison Stopa long with Zubrin.
Everyone including you are less obnoxious than Zubrin.
If he wants to pay his membership dues and publish this stuff the same way as you and I do, have at it.
That he was made a Contributor and we still have staff assuming they have any credibility to redact comments, etc. is disappointing.
I won’t argue with this – my point is simply that tensions are high and both sides seem to issue “obnoxious” pretty freely right now.
There are apparently some of Zubrin’s more inflammatory posts that I haven’t seen, though I was told that they exist and I have no reason to doubt that.
I still maintain that Coulter is probably equally obnoxious. She tries very hard.
I used to read her stuff, but she left the reservation.
Well put. There has to be a bad guy out there for their belief system to even work. It’s based on negativity.
This sounds like Cicero. These times are similar to the late Roman Republic, 1st century BC.
There’s a human tendency for you.
This is really a great comment, Franco.
And me, a High School drop out. Never read a word of it. Thanks Solon!
Cicero didn’t graduate High School either though, did he?
It’s pretty rich that nullifying a heckler’s veto is being used to justify voting for the ultimate heckler.
Also, where is the limit of this? Is anyone who is being heckled as such entitled to my vote? Is there no amount of legitimate reasons to oppose a man that this moral obligation of negating the heckler’s veto doesn’t override?
It’s pretty rich that assisting leftists in achieving their political ends is justified as standing up for conservative principles.
The GOP with assistance from anyone who can research, needs to make the linkage between these paid rioters and the DNC allied groups and donors as public as possible.
Let America see who is sending private armies to shut down their choice.
If you think these people are doing this for free, you are kidding yourself.
I think voting for Trump assists the leftists.
Conservatives lost this election the moment Trump became the presumptive nominee. Our choices now are between a crooked, power hungry statist democrat, and a buffoonish, fame seeking statist democrat disguised as an orange Republican. Forgive me as I would rather not endorse either of them.
I think you’d get less site-bashing if that weren’t a concern.
Additionally, show the full photos of them waving Mexican flags on American soil.
I’ve been known to wave the Australian flag during the the World Cup or Olympics. I’ll have to change that soon…
Isn’t this the first time we didn’t nominate a white guy?
You aren’t trying to claim it’s the same, are you? You are just being pithy right? My understanding is that you wave a lot of flags here at Ricochet too.
I think there is a big difference between supporting a team in sports and supporting breaking the law.
Don’t forget Mona and Jay and Jonah
Good people, all of them; perhaps the campaign will open their eyes.
Oh. Don’t worry until millions of your fellow Aussies have illegally entered the US and campaign to turn large parts of it into Oz. Then we might get a little touchy.