Doing the Walz: Tims free-speech bait-and-switch endangers First Amendment

Roughly five centuries ago, a new dance first reported in Augsburg, Germany was promptly dubbed the “waltz” after the German term for “to roll or revolve.”Today, there is no more nimble performer of that dizzying dance than Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz.Indeed, “Walzing” has become the Minnesota governor’s signature political two-step after his controversial statements on his allegedly socialist views, eliminating the electoral college and other topics.On Sunday, Walz’s dance partner was Fox News host Shannon Bream, who seemed to be fighting vertigo as the candidate tried to deflect his shocking prior statements on free speech.Bream asked Walz about his prior declaration that there is “no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech”— a statement that runs counter to decades of Supreme Court decisions.Walz notably did not deny or retract his statement.Instead, his interview ironically became itself a flagrant example of misinformation.First of all, misinformation and hate speech are not exceptions to the First Amendment: Whether it is the cross burnings of infamous figures like KKK leader Clarence Brandenburg or the Nazis who marched in Skokie, Ill., hate speech is protected.Yet both Harris and Walz are true believers in the righteousness of censorship for disinformation, misinformation and malinformation.The Biden administration defines misinformation as “false, but not created or shared with the intention of causing harm” — meaning it would subject you to censorship even if you are not intending harm.It defines malinformation as “based on fact, but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate.” So you can post “true facts,” but would still be subject to censorship if you are viewed as misleading others with your pesky truth-telling.Furthermore, “book bans” are not equivalent to the Harris-Walz censorship policies.After years of supporting censorship and blacklisting, Democrats a...