Rep. Mary Peltola last week voted against a resolution that would bar federal employees from using their official power or influence to promote censorship or to advocate for a third party, such as Twitter or Facebook, to censor Americans or suppress their points of view. Federal employees found to violate the prohibition would be subject to civil penalties. Peltola was on the wrong side of the bill, which passed without Democrat support
The Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act was sponsored by Rep. James Comer of Kentucky. It was supported by the Republican majority in the House, and opposed by Democrats. Peltola and the Democrats also voted on a motion to recommit the bill back to the committee it came from, the House Oversight Committee, but the motion was opposed by the majority.
“Today the House of Representatives took action to protect our constitutional right to free speech from government censorship. The Biden Administration has eroded Americans’ First Amendment rights by bullying social media companies to censor certain views and news on their platforms. Biden Administration officials are quick to label inconvenient facts as disinformation and then pressure social media companies to suppress content on their platforms. To protect the First Amendment, the Protect Speech from Government Interference Act stops federal employees from pressuring social media companies to silence Americans expressing views online. The Senate must take up this legislation to get this bill to the finish line,” Comer said.
However, if the Democrat-controlled Senate does pass the bill, the president must sign the bill in order for it to become law.
The Act expands on the Hatch Act, the law banning federal employees from engaging in political activities in their official capacity. The bill expressly prohibits federal employees from trying to censor free speech.
Rather than defending the Americans so they do not have their First Amendment rights interfered with by the government, Peltola gave a three-minute floor speech on the need to expand Social Security.
The bill prohibits federal workers from using official positions, resources, or powers to coerce a private platform into removing, suppressing, restricting, censoring, or adding disclaimers or disparaging alerts to speech. It provides an exception for legitimate law enforcement activities involving specific crimes.
Heritage Action said it is a good first step: “From the censorship of the NYPost and the Hunter Biden laptop story days before an election to the quelling of COVID-19 evidence contrary to the elite’s established viewpoint, social media firms have been censoring American’s viewpoints and their right to associate – apparently at the direction of government agents. Heritage Action commends House Republicans for advancing H.R. 140, the Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act, and looks forward to further action against Big Tech’s corrosive impact on society.”
Chad Wolf of America First Policy Institute said, “Our First Amendment rights are at stake. Time and time again, we’ve seen the current Administration betray the trust of the American people by pressuring, encouraging, and colluding with Big Tech giants to censor ideology they disagree with. This simply cannot go unchallenged, and we applaud Chairman Comer and the House Oversight Committee for proactively fighting this blatant violation of our most cherished and fundamental right.”
The American Consumer Institute also applauded the passage of HB 140:“The Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act is a step in the right direction when it comes to consumers’ freedom of speech on the platforms they use to express themselves. By preventing the government from unduly restraining protected speech, this bill would ensure that consumers’ taxpayer dollars don’t go toward the suppression of speech. Unlike other legislation that would regulate the moderation decisions of private entities, H.R. 140 focuses on the key issue of keeping the government from tipping the scale in public discourse. It’s encouraging to see offices like Chairman Comer’s working to defend a free and open speech environment.”
Details of the bill can be read at this link.
Thank Sarah Palin for giving Alaska this radical piece of garbage.
As well as Nick Begich. Neither ego could step aside for the good of Alaska.
Right because Sarah Palin who is despised by most of Alaska would have easily won against Peltola in a head to head.
Begich was in it six months before Sarah Palin entered on April Fool’s Day, 10 days after Don Young died. Sarah is a pure opportunist and egocentric maniac. Probably the most hated woman in Alaska. The name Palin is despised in the 49th state, and that doesn’t please me too much.
Agree with Todd. In fact, Todd’s folks had multiple fundraisers at their home for Nick Begich. What does that tell you ……all you brainwashed Sarah Palin sycophants?
This an old and stupid fight. Not to slap anyone in the face here, but the fact here is: If the Begich voters did Not put Palin as their 2nd choice vote on their ballots, they inevitably gave Petola their vote. You chose Petola over Palin. That’s the facts Jack, Enjoy.
Note: I think both Begich and Palin both suck, however I plugged my nose while putting either one of them in either order on my ballot as 1 & 2, because I knew Petola sucked even more. But then again we still haven’t cured our voter fraud in this state. Still crickets from ALL of our state legislatures on this subject. I’m saving my fuel next voting season if they don’t do something about this.
“If the Begich voters did Not put Palin as their 2nd choice vote on their ballots, they inevitably gave Petola their vote.”
The opposite is also true.
If all Begich supporters and all Palin supporters had ranked the red, Peltola would not have won the seat. Both Begich and Palin did a poor job of educating their supporters of the importance to rank the other second. In fact, Palin went so far as to cozy up to Peltola.
While I know there is an effort afoot to put ranked choice voting back on the ballot to get rid of it, it is here to stay for the 2024 election. I am hopeful but also doubtful that the Alaska Republican party will figure this out and get its candidates on the same page re: how to work this system.
Quite the little Stalinist, isn’t she?
Im beginning to wonder with her: is she the type to vote to go along with gulags, or the type to push for their creation.
Probably the greatest con job in US history is the Democratic Party of the last 60 years. They fool gullible people into believing they (democrats) give a damn about them, then proceed to do everything possible to destroy their own supporters.
Want to know what Democrats really hate? Look at the people they con into supporting them.
I also wonder if maybe, just maybe, this junior member of the squad was a bit further left than AK Democrats really wanted.
Even in left of center Juneau, a lot of the people I know who voted for her are saying quietly this isn’t what they voted for.
My response: she is, EXACTLY what you voted for. You were just too in love with the letter after her name or her native status to dig a bit deeper and learn who she really was.
All these people had to do was to get off their lazy butts and go to Petolas’ political website before the election and they would have known. She didn’t hide what she was, in fact one of her website statements was that she was in lockstep with all the Biden administration policies.
I’m still waiting for her proposal that only federal subsistence users can hunt federal land in Alaska.
Peltola doesn’t vote per se. She is given instructions from her financiers and handlers and wouldn’t be where she’s at without them. So, Peltola is merely acting out what assignment has been handed to her.
How is that different from what Sen. Sullivan does?
It doesn’t. Swampy is Princess Lisa’s puppet.
Bingo Jim. Mary is there to do as told. Then left to her own devices to enrich herself! I wonder if Dem big money folks Paid Sarah to join at the same time they paid AL Gross to drop out!
The ultimate law of the land The Constitution has no penalties for violating it. Perhaps there should be for all parts of the constitution its amendments, bill of rights? Any wonder why states and individuals violate it?
It is completely outrageous that we even need to have a discussion and a debate over the government censoring free speech! I thought that the US Constitution, in the First Amendment, already dealt decisively with this matter? Ah, but I guess we can never overlook the raging hypocrisy and malicious totalitarianism of radical leftist extremists in trying to defend the indefensible.
Government needs to stay out of people’s lives, that would include this law which ex- President Trump would have violated on a daily basis
Not seeing that.
President Trump would have violated a law that says a Federal Employee cannot use their position to silence/censor anyone?
Nope, not seeing it. In fact, I see President Trump enjoying the Twitter wars with people he disagreed with. He would encourage differing opinions, not squash them.
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But, TDS does not allow one to actually examine facts and actual behavior, preferring instead a made up reality where Trump is somehow guilty of everything.
Suzanne, did Mary address Social Security expansion on the floor of the House during the debate on Comer’s bill?
What?
The debate was allowed for three bills during that period, and one of them was Rep. Jim McGovern’s SS expansion. She chose to speak to the SS expansion. – sd
In almost any other state, she would be doomed in the next election. Alaska? Probably safe.
The campaign against her writes itself. But it requires something we just haven’t got. A GOP with a spine, organization, and vision.
Instead of already recruiting, vetting, and building the machinery to defeat Mary, people as STILL yapping about Sarah/Nick.
And the same group of people who rescinded their censure of Princess because of…reasons?…are still in charge.
The Alaska GOP is in real danger of becoming as irrelevant as the Oregon GOP if they don’t get their heads out of their bottoms and get a vision-any vision- for the future.
110% agreement with you about people still carrying on over sarah vs nick. Race is over people and RCV won. Get rid of RCV or keep letting the dems win.
Even more in agreement with you about the ‘top’ of the GOP. You know. The ‘central committee’. Those vaunted individuals that always seem to be a step ahead of the actual party members. The same people that removed the censure of lisa even though the party bylaws bar campaigning for a member of another party. That special group of almost 100 people that conduct party business in secret.
The only way to take back control of the party is . . . to take back control. Show up to precinct and district meetings. Be involved. Be vocal, that’s why we have meetings. You’re not alone as the abject collapse of the party finally made me (and many friends) get off the sidelines and become involved in party business. When we become active we get opportunities to push the reps to follow our demands and also become the reps for the districts. Only then can we get control of the party.
We need to start looking at her bank account.
It amazes me how the D’s are always mouthing off about being the champions of freedom but then are all, 100% against this bill. How can allowing people in positions of power to suppress a constitutional right be an act of defending freedom? We all know it’s not because what the leftists truly believe is that humans, in general, aren’t capable managing the freedoms they’ve been guaranteed.
Nothing amazing about it at all.
Politicians will lie right to your face, and expect you to believe it. And, for some stupid reason, people do.
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As a general rule, the title of a bill is opposite of the expected outcome of the bill, if passed into law. The “For the People Act” would have put control of elections into the hands of the people who would benefit from it. The “Inflation Reduction Act” would have increased inflation, not reduced it. Gun safety laws have nothing to do with safety, etc…
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When a politician says they support “freedom” it really means they want to control you, and actually reduce/remove your freedoms.
Her vote is consistent with Bush ethics to respect those in authority (and everyone…). I’m glad for the resolution, but brandon will veto it if it gets past the Senate.
She’s just a puppet that was “installed” by the Democratic Party. Dark money from some of the most liberal lobbyists bought her seat. This is the first of many due to the rank choice voting scheme. Take a look at CA, OR and WA and the cesspool of welfare, drugs and crime, that’s the future of Alaska!
The future? Look around, it’s here now.
WHO ARE YOU PELTOLA???? Seriously? Just what country do you think you reside in???? I knew you were a leftist but holy c—!!!!! YOU, ARE TRULY CLUELESS!!!!
she has no clue!
RCV has got to go!
Isn’t it funny that we have this woman and Murkowski in office after neither won their elections and yet, our state GOP is doing NOTHING to force the “Republicans” in the legislature to repeal proposition 2? Makes you almost think they are part of the uni-party.
I agree with you. They do little of nothing other than infighting and back biting. Perfect example,,,,,Dan Sullivan bit chin about the China spy balloon after it had already passed threw the country, the entire country! Hello!!!!! Too many examples to even mention. Allot of finger pointing is all either side does. Almost like they are all doing everything they can to take the attention off themselves and keep the American people fighting amongst themselves. All the wrong doing on both sides even with massive evidence goes unpunished. They keep there jobs either way. How about my president Trump, even he calls for the death penalty at rally for drug dealers and then gives a multi felon like Pfizer immunity from prostitution and a pat on the back for there amazing vaccine? What’s up with that? Corporations get a pass? Politicians get a pass? Yes or yes???? How about you politicians stop throwing rocks out of your glass house windows and get something productive done for this country that is literally coming apart at the seams! Disgusting!
Republicans in Juneau are just plain ol STUPID.
Don’t disagree, but this is a statewide problem.
Blaming us avoids the harder issue that we keep re-electing this buffoons and aren’t involved at the grass roots level.
Sign the rescind rcv petition.
Where can I do this?
I go all around Anchorage daily and have yet to be approached by anyone to sign this petition
All this crap has done is make me hate Facebook and use much less of it, which is better for me anyway. I just email links like it’s 1999. Twitter is for teens and celebrity morons, so I have no use for it.
Lets turn this into a betting board (or possibly a drinking game):
List each and every personal freedom guaranteed by both the U.S. and state constitution. Then each person can place a bet on the exact date she will vote against that freedom. A winner for each of mary’s votes. Then a grand winner for the person that bets on the exact date she votes against the final freedom, for a 100% ‘against’ list.
Of course she voted against this.
The Federal government is revered in Bethel & other bush locations.
Native people have been heavily under the control of the Feds since the West was won.
Her spouse is a lifer (& now a grifter) in the Federal system.
She stands for MORE CENTRALIZED POWER, always.
She just continues to make one mistake after another, proving that she was fundamentally a terrible mistake for Alaska and Alaskans. The state GOP really needs to get-it-together in the next election cycle.
So glad she’s a proud Coast Guard mom and fishing boat captain at age 14 and only candidate that will protect out privacy rights and freedom to choose. This sounded like touchy-feely hucksterism during her campaign and certainly rings hollow today. Elections have consequences. Thanks ranked choice voting. Thanks Sarah Palin. Thanks Republican Party for not identifying and preparing solid candidates a decade before Don Young’s death.
Rollo,
We had a good solid candidate that would have whipped Mary, Mary, quite Constitutionally Contrary, if Sarah stayed in AZ and Florida. His name is Nick.
The problem stems from one that afflicts all of our Society, that being Celebrity Worship. Sarah is a B- Lister Celebrity.
Critical thinking was lost as the volume of Sarah Screeching turned up. Following that the ability to reason was drowned out in bleating chants of MAGA, MAGA. Trump appears in Anchorage ostensibly to get some pay back against Lisa and the result is he gave us Mary by way of Sarah.
Thanks DJT!
Had enough? I sure have.
I’m thinking that we need informed leaders, real leaders, not egomaniac. I’m looking at DeSantis and Pompeo. Hopefully , Nick will try it again in ’24 too.
Soooo . . . . It’s the candidates fault? Really? I would have settled for either sarah or nick instead of mary, but if you take out the names and substitute any other names, the outcome would still have been the same. RCV is the base problem. By design it breaks up the largest block of votes, which is republican right now.
So, of course we need better candidates, as that should always be the goal, but until RCV is overturned there will NEVER be a republican winner in Alaska.
Paul, Sarah had negative polling of over 60%. Mary would have beat Sarah straight up even if RCV did not exist and or Nick bailed.
Not buying it Robert. Liberals get their marching orders and are behind their candidate from day one. Conservatives need the primary to get all the arguing and fighting done. Most, if not all, anti nick and anti sarah voters believe either ‘anti’ candidate would have been better than mary, so I believe that we would have won if we had a primary election to settle on a single candidate. RCV is designed to do exactly what it did to republicans: prevent a single primary winner and keep the rivalry between candidates alive in order to split their votes.
“I’m thinking that we need informed leaders,”
While I do not disagree, we need informed voters more.
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Most of our political problems are because the average person does not pay attention until the people elected screw them over. Then it is too late.
Where is Nick??? Not much from him about the RCV petition,.. The dog that didn’t bark!!
We need to start a write in campaign to get our own law passed that it is illegal for politicians and lawyers to lie to the general public. And we need the voters to insist that the lobby passed that any politician caught lying, is kicked out of office and goes to jail.
Like it, but it will never happen. Too many loopholes.
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However, I do have a way to get the average person to start paying more attention to what their elected officials are doing. Stop allowing employers to withhold taxes.
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If the average person has to write a check to the IRS once a month, or every three months, instead of having their employer do it for them, I bet they will start paying a LOT more attention to what the Government is doing. But, out of sight, out of mind.
Remove the monetary incentive to hold office. Require full financial disclosure before and during tenure of elected position. Implement a ‘Vote of no confidence’ procedure within the Alaska Constitution serving all levels of state and local governance.
Watch’em skidaddel south,,,
And this should be no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. She is a communist and is therefore going to support communist policies that are contrary to the oath of office and a violation of the Constitution.
How is Mary doing on the Fish and Family part of her campaign promises/slogan?
Imagine actually voting for her and being proud of it. Probably the same people still wearing a mask alone in their car, or at all.
Indeed, John. Those are just the mindless herd of servile, non-critical-thinking conformists, who confuse kneejerk obedience to authority with virtue.
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