Some Republicans Warn of Government Overreach on Free Speech | Hacker News Reader

Some Republicans Warn of Government Overreach on Free Speech

wsj.com

53 pointsdoener20 comments

They should put their money where their mouth is and impeach.

Or at least stop participating in that farce of 'we always have exactly enough rotating no votes to win every vote, while providing plausible deniability for the vulnerable seats'.

Until they do either, they are fully complicit in what the executive does.

Look, impeachment and removal from office IS the correct thing to do. But criticizing would-be King is a good first step. Let's allow them to take that first step.

They're not doing the first step.

They're criticizing Democrats. They're saying Trump is using this power for good, but he should stop because Democrats will use it for evil.

This isn't a principled criticism of a fascist crackdown on speech. It's openly-cynical political strategizing.

They just worry they wont be able to keep power forever and then democrats may use some of it against themselves.

I remember when everyone who said this will happen and that this is conservative project was stupid and paranoid. I remember when those who said they want to do this were supposed to be just edgy teenagers to be ignored, even when they were 40 and organizing.

Part of me thinks: if only that that was a threat! If only the terrormongers seeking to hurt Americans & spread fear- if only Fox News and Newsmax- had some kind of barrier to spreading fear and distortion endlessly.

Liberal society has allowed basically unchecked growth of extremist propaganda domestically. The result speak for themselves, one side radicalized in dangerous and ways. Which of course is why the administration is trying to hide these well known facts & reports. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/17/justice-depa...

I value free speech, real free speech a lot. But America is divided into so many people who have entirely different narratives about what the world is, who have information diets feeding them bespoke crafted realities. I don't want to end this, I still want to cling to 'the best remedy is more speech'. But POTUS himself standing up again and again and saying he hates half of America, being forever an inciter: it feels terrible watching private industry and watching a post-partisan government run so amock, act forever against sense or sensibility, to push insane over the top narratives about crime, to forever be engendering fear and hatred. It's so sad seeing Free Speech endlessly abused by the very powerful to podcast America into tearing itself apart, to have so many so eager to believe in their secret realities.

They were all silent when the government wrote up a list of banned words in science...

Could someone please ask them if they also think that is a problem?

The thing is that Republicans are unlikely to do that kind of science. However there is a lot of podcast bros between Republicans or Republican sycophants so they could be hit in the future with the same hammer Kimmel is hit today

Not for long, they won't. There is exactly one center of gravity in the GOP, and finding yourself mis-aligned with that is not a good move, politically. People will grumble privately, but that's as far as it will go.

Too bad they are collectively fighting for top billing in “Profiles in Cowardice”

More free whitewashing for the GOP. A better title would have been "Most Republicans Completely On Board With Ending Free Speech".

Most notably "free speech absolutist" Elon Musk and apparently 100% of Silicon Valley's "libertarians" like A16z

Most hackers are free-speech absolutists, not part-time fairweather enthusiasts, but full-boat free-speech absolutistism. It seems pretty likely this new Federal taste for censorship is something that will offend most members of HN.

Notice however that their arguments are pragmatic rather than principled:

"Democrats will use this against us when they come to power again," not "It's morally wrong to censor the speech of your political opponents."

I haven’t found a morally-intact politician in many years. If pragmatism gets us to the right place, I think it’s good

I wonder if they're just saying that not to annoy the king though? Like maybe they are genuinely concerned and want to put a spin on it to keep the boy king happy?

I think you're being way too charitable with them. If the past few months have shown us anything, it's that these people have no principles.

Remember when it was all "just jokes" ? I do...

The future of fascism hasnt looked this bright since the 1930

Check this guy's Steam account.

“Oh it’s about ME now?!..”

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