One Republican Refuses to Pass Law to Protect the Press from Trump
The 'Press Act' won't pass before Trump takes over. The media becomes a sitting duck.
In 30-something days, HE takes over. Will it be the end of the world? No. Will it be the end of the experiment launched on July 4th, 1776? Yes. Is this hyperbolic? No. Why? It will be the official end of our “we the people” approach to governance, but really, at least at first, it will be difficult to notice a difference in our country between January 19th and January 20th. The representatives of the people stopped representing the people decades ago.
Unofficially, the rise of Ronald Reagan started the end of people’s interests being represented by citizens chosen to go to Washington on their behalf. Since Reagan’s declaration that the “government is the problem,” however, the rhetoric against representation and for an authoritarian leader has reached a boiling point. America is now ready for a “great and all-knowing wizard” to guide it through troubled times (times created thanks to decades of Republican policies focused solely on the rich).
Since the moment that God-forsaken escalator brought him down to that podium from where he launched his presidential campaign in 2015, Donald Trump has whittled away like a talented carpenter at our nation’s most precious and uniquely American institutions. Each column supporting our democratic foundation came under attack, and nothing was overlooked. Trump even managed to discredit the U.S. postal system, and for a while, his most ardent supporters regarded mail carriers as enemies of the deep state. What was once the pride of the country became just another pawn in Trump’s long game for destroying our belief in America and turning us into a shadow of Russia by instilling everything with the stink of conspiracy (Russians hold no single, accepted truth about anything).
Fearing future attacks from Trump-like (no one could imagine that Trump would actually return!) candidates, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the PRESS Act in January of this year.
Fears of a press crackdown under Donald Trump’s second term deepened with his nomination of Kash Patel as FBI director — given his calls for retribution against journalists. Yet a rare chance to protect press freedom has emerged. The bipartisan Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (Press) Act, the strongest press freedom legislation in US history, is on the brink of a vote. While President-elect Trump has urged Republicans to block it, the Senate could still deliver it to Joe Biden before the lame-duck session ends in January (Trump’s Threat to the Media).
The bill finally made it to the floor of the Senate yesterday, and Democrats asked for an immediate passing. The authoritarian president-elect, however, flexed his fast-food-filled muscles and demanded the Senate reject the bill, and one of his pit bulls complied.
Sen. Tom Cotton has blocked a first-of-its-kind federal shield law for journalists against revealing their confidential sources, arguing its passage would represent a threat to national security.
“The liberal media doesn’t deserve more protections,” Cotton (R-Ark.), who will chair the Intelligence Committee next year, said on the Senate floor. “The press badge doesn’t make you better than the rest of America or put you above the law.” The Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act — or the PRESS Act — previously passed the House by voice vote in January.
Cotton said he was providing the “sober second thought” to the “rash, impetuous, hasty, impulsive” action by the House on the legislation (Cotton Blocks Journalist Shield).
Tom Cotton, the MAGA dope from Arkansas, a state in which his ancestors probably harvested cotton thanks to the free-labor of other Americans, decided that the “liberal media” was already too well protected. Almost suggesting that it needs to be roughed up a bit by the good, unseen hand of an orange authoritarian leader.
What does the PRESS Act propose to do?
The bill includes a broad definition of the term “covered journalist” that includes anyone who regularly gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, investigates, or publishes news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public. So, the PRESS Act protects anyone who engages in journalism, not just professional journalists. Additionally, protection will extend to unconventional journalists and upstart outlets for which the expense of battling a subpoena can pose an existential threat (The Press Act).
Going after journalists has not solely been the realm of Republicans. The Obama administration and the Biden administration went after journalists, demanding to know sources for articles deemed to touch on national security. Trump, however, doesn’t care the least bit about national security. Donald Trump will be going after journalists critical of him and his buddies — Putin and the rest of the dictators for whom he has man-crushes.
If Cotton doesn’t reverse his position, hunting seasons for journalists open on January 20th. As of this writing, it does not look like the bill will be passed.