Priebus Muses About Repealing First Amendment

Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ~ First Amendment to the US Constitution

For a quarter of a millennium these words have been the holy grail of freedom. Then came Donald Trump.

I think it’s something that we’ve looked at. How that gets executed or whether that goes anywhere is a different story. ~ Rance Priebus responding to a question about changing the Constitution to allow Trump to sue the news media for critical articles

Stifling an independent media is a vital step in building an authoritarian regime.

Within months of gaining power in 1933, the German government seized the printing presses of all newspapers opposed to Nazi rule.

In 1973 when Gen. Augusto Pinochet's ousted the elected government of Chile and formed a military dictatorship, he shut down all leftist newspapers and radio stations. Rightwing media was left free to praise the junta.

Upon its founding in 1922, the Soviet Union established an agency (the Glavlit) to control and suppress every aspect of Russian free expression.

Until now, Trump has been content with condemning a free press as "fake news." Yesterday was the first open suggestion that Trump and his minions consider that insufficient. They are now openly musing about destroying the bedrock of American liberty - freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

But Trump's followers are unconcerned because repealing the First Amendment just means elevating their beloved gun amendment to the top spot.