Joe Biden “Transition Team” Operative Richard Stengel Spoke Against First Amendment, Called for Criminalizing Speech
Richard Moorhead
|
A former Obama administration official tasked with leading governmental media agencies in Joe Biden’s shadow transition has called for criminalizing what he defines as “hate speech,” calling for “guardrails” against legally protected free speech he finds inconvenient.
Richard Stengel made a comprehensive argument in favor of government-enforced censorship in a 2019 Washington Post op-ed, citing European-style restrictions on speech.
“Since World War II, many nations have passed laws to curb the incitement of racial and religious hatred. These laws started out as protections against the kinds of anti-Semitic bigotry that gave rise to the Holocaust. We call them hate speech laws, but there’s no agreed-upon definition of what hate speech actually is. In general, hate speech is speech that attacks and insults people on the basis of race, religion, ethnic origin and sexual orientation.”
“I think it’s time to consider these statutes.“
Stengel appears on MSNBC and is on the staff of the globalist Atlantic Council. He has been tasked as the “Team Lead” for the US Agency for Global Media, an oversight agency for government-controlled news entities such as Voice for America and Radio Liberty. The outcome of the presidential election is still unclear, with President Trump filing litigation alleging voter fraud and recounts pending.
“Yes, the First Amendment protects the “thought that we hate,” but it should not protect hateful speech that can cause violence by one group against another. In an age when everyone has a megaphone, that seems like a design flaw,” argued Stengel in a Washington Post op-ed.
In an ironic twist, Stengel worked for the National Constitution Center from 2004 to 2006. He must not have paid much attention to the First Amendment of the organization’s namesake when he worked there.
In another irony, Stengel advertises that he’s appearing at a “Journalism Under Fire” conference in New Mexico on Saturday on his personal website. Potentially, he’ll have the opportunity to hear from actual journalists distinct from MSNBC’s “Corporate/Government” media model who value the right of free expression.
Share: