NH Democrat HCR 10 Calls For A Constitutional Convention To Limit Political Speech - Granite Grok

NH Democrat HCR 10 Calls For A Constitutional Convention To Limit Political Speech

Will Democrats defend Obama silencing the press?
HCR-10 would silence you

With few exceptions, typically at the very (very) local level Politics is expensive.  That’s why incumbents have a natural advantage.   They already have name recognition.  They are able to use their connections to amass war-chests of cash with which to engage in campaigning.    And campaigning is nothing more than paid political speech.  So to complete the word problem, if you need money to run for office, and running for office is political speech, then you need money to engage in political speech.

Political incumbents, and a manifold of professional political “speakers” are always offering resolutions like HCR-10 to institutionalize political speech.  Their goal is to frighten you with the chimera of rich corporations “buying elections,” but when you look at all the kinds of legislation offered by politicians to address the so-called problem, it is the everyday citizen who is ultimately silenced.

HCR-10, SB120, the Hassan-Sullivan bills that preceded them, and the entire progressive movement against what they call ‘corporate speech’ not only does nothing to prevent special interest influence, it exacerbates the problem, while effectively silencing everyone else.

Businesses pay a lot of taxes.  If you make it difficult or impossible for them to speak openly, they will gather into associations and hire paid lobbyists to work the legislative halls to make sure they are heard.  Who benefits most from that?  Elected politicians, lobbyists, and no one else.

So-called anti-corporate political speech laws actually benefit corporations, business associations, monied special interests, non-profits (who do not need to provide lists of donors) and anyone who has the time or resources to retain lawyers to ensure that they optimize their ability to dominate speech deliberately, for every ounce of premium political advantage.

Neither you nor I, nor any small business owner, or interested local grass-roots group, will ever have the time or resources to risk tangling with complex “speech” laws, loaded with trip wires.  Speech becomes a luxury commodity protected for the wealthy and well-connected, at the exclusion of a majority of the populace.

If and when smaller groups of citizens or business owners attempt to combine resources to compete in “free speech” any real risk will be met head on by political professionals who will file lawsuits or complaints based on speech limiting legislation.  Political parties, progressive non-profits, and corporate speakers, will have the money and resources to pursue even fraudulent accusations, if they even find they have to.  The mere threat of a protracted suit and the costs to private businesses or citizens will typically be more than enough to silence them.  This is a deliberate feature of any movement to control paid speech.  Remember, the goal is not to silence the rich politically motivated professional speakers, it is to silence the general population so that only the ‘experts’ in politics, law,  industry, and the mdia may be heard.

Efforts to control paid speech create a two-class system of political speech.  Those who can afford to say anything they want, and those who are afraid to say anything at all.

It multiplies the number of deep budgeted lobbyists bending the ears of your elected officials.

It places a virtual gag order on everyone except those who are either wealthy, well-connected, or feeding at the trough filled with your money, and legislating ways to make the trough bigger and deeper with less and less of your interference.

The local resolutions to control “big money” in politics are a lie.  HCR-10, the reolution to cll a convention is bsed on the same lie.

All they will do is attempt to institutionalize speech within a protected political class who…coincidentally, are also the ones looking to shut everyone else up, so they can spend your money without your interference.

HCR 10, by the way, is up for a vote tomorrow in the New Hampshire House.  Some consider it to be a means to a different end–a way to get to a constitutional convention to make meaningful changes that will benefit the conservative and pro-liberty positions of a more efficient and accountable Federal government.

Take a look around at the political landscape.  Look at who is running things, the partisan divide, the establishment Republican intolerance for limiting spending and controlling federal growth.  We have a president who legislates, a court that legislates, a propaganda press and a congress that equivocates.

Nothing good would come from a Constitutional convention. Not now.  Keep your powder dry.  Ask your House rep to vote no on HCR 10.

>