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 Republicans are the party of civil liberties as Democrats walk away

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Republicans are the party of civil liberties as Democrats walk away Vide
PostSubject: Republicans are the party of civil liberties as Democrats walk away   Republicans are the party of civil liberties as Democrats walk away Icon_minitimeTue Dec 24, 2019 1:28 am

Since the heyday of the Civil Rights movement, Democrats have touted themselves as the torchbearer of the Jeffersonian principles of individual rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Founders considered it axiomatic that the government should have strict limits and the rights of the individuals were not to be constrained. Sadly, Democrats have shifted their priorities over the years. The left wing has increasingly prioritized federal intrusion in all aspects of American life and has advocated policies diminishing personal rights in favor of state power and jeopardizing the social contract.

Joined by activist groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Human Rights Campaign, the left side of the political spectrum argued for years that the Christian right was coming to take away your personal autonomy. Slogans like “my body my choice” underscored a powerful conviction that the government should not interfere with your ability to live your life as you see fit. From marriage to police surveillance and abortion to free expression, Democrats gained votes by advertising themselves as the defenders of individual rights in this nation. For many years, they could claim that title.

In the era after the demise of Jim Crow, the political and cultural left vastly expanded the reach and breadth of institutions and ideologies devoted to the protection of individuals rights and will. Progressive intellectuals championed the moral imperatives of freedom of speech and expression as keys not only to an effective academic environment but a thriving economy and polity. Universities represented bastions of learning and open debate. During the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s campuses brimmed with ideas for the improvement of the nation and the world, many of which were wrong but at least open for discussion. The American Civil Liberties Union, one of the most devoted advocacy groups, insisted on the fundamental right to speech even for odious causes.

How times have changed. Widespread calls for safe spaces, the incessant demands of progressives to be made comfortable, and the constant disruptions of conservative speeches and talks on campuses have since replaced rallies championing the First Amendment. Airing an opinion about biological science, including one that that was universally accepted throughout the entirety of human history barring the last five years, was sufficient for J.K. Rowling to be exiled from the realm of acceptable speakers. Advocacy of free market principles is on the precipice of being deemed hate speech. Free speech has firmly given way to groupthink where there is a constant race to the bottom. Only the most woke survive, to the detriment of healthy speech and debate.

All this leads the Democrats vying for the 2020 election and their counterparts in Congress to increasingly become nanny staters. Against the First Amendment are proposals to restrict the use of money to affect policy under Democratic proposals to constrain lobbying, shut down free speech under Democratic proposals ostensibly aimed at “hate speech” but which really aim to shut down conservative speech, and to reduce the ability to exercise religious conscience under Democratic proposals to strip churches of tax exempt status. Little remains of leaving people free to run their own lives. Instead, the new doctrine is more related to the idea that everything is political. “All within the state and nothing outside the state,” is not just a frightening concept on its own, but effectively an unintentional copy of the core philosophy of Benito Mussolini.

Republicans are certainly not perfect on civil liberties by any means, but the strong libertarian streak that runs through the party still demonstrates itself in many ways. Although President Trump is a flawed messenger for the argument that Americans should be left to simply pursue their own best interests, he is actively trying to push power from the Washington swamp back to the states and to your wallet.

If Trump is not good enough on civil liberties for your taste, the Democrats are worse. Their proposals are straight from the Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter days of attempting to fix everything through federal mandate. Elizabeth Warren wants to set up a series of federally funded daycare centers that not only will cost $70 billion, but will also replace traditional family bonds with the state. There is no more basic right than familial autonomy, which would sink away after such plans. Bernie Sanders is even more extreme, opposing the ability for homeowners to control their own dwellings. As the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg is most remembered by the long list of activities he banned, from large sodas to styrofoam packages to loud music.

These are not the policies of a civil liberties party. They are an inducement to relinquish our autonomy to Washington politicians. Anyone who believes that is a fair trade is marching the nation down the road to serfdom. As Gerald Ford said, “A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”

Kristin Tate is a libertarian writer and an analyst for Young Americans for Liberty. She is an author whose latest book is “How Do I Tax Thee? A Field Guide to the Great American Rip-Off.” Follow her on Twitter @KristinBTate.

https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/475769-republicans-are-the-party-of-civil-liberties-as-democrats-walk-away

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