Max Boot works in the newspaper business, allegedly as a conservative columnist, so he probably should have heard by now that right-wingers left Fox News in droves after the network called Arizona for Joe Biden with, what, 1 percent of the vote tallied? (Adding Donna Brazile to the mix didn’t help.) Fox News recently had its lowest ratings in 20 years. And yet, as we just wrote about in our post about MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan, the new narrative is that Fox News has to be reined in if we’re to prevent another storming of the Capitol.
Who would have thought that leftists would use the Capitol attack to call for a “reinvigorated FCC” to crack down on seditious speech? And it’s people in leftist media who know they’re safe under a Biden administration who are doing it.
Biden needs to reinvigorate the FCC to slow the lies and sedition from Fox and other right-wing broadcasters.
Or else the terrorism we saw on Jan. 6 may be only the beginning, rather than the end, of the plot against America.
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) January 18, 2021
Governmental fascism as a solution to authoritarian mobocracy sounds…not great https://t.co/6qjP9LsdFy
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 19, 2021
More journalists against the first amendment.
— One Seat for Liberty: Skelton for Congress (@StevenSkelton1) January 19, 2021
"History repeats first as tragedy, then as farce". Not sure what happens the third time or fourth time…..
— PatchesOHoulihan (@Patches81569974) January 19, 2021
Have we already hashed out the obvious irony of your name? I mean, I have to be late to the game on this, but really Max Boot? It’s comical.
— Eric Schloemer (@SchloemerSays) January 19, 2021
He should change his name to Jack Boot.
— Jackson (@JackChuck422) January 19, 2021
I can give you an extensive list of liberal media lies and incitment of violence. Is it really that hard to admit all news media lie, has their own biases and has uses their platforms to keep people enraged or has Trump broke you mentally?
— Dana (@sparkey909w) January 19, 2021
Wasn’t it Boot’s own paper that just recently threw some gasoline on the fire by falsely claiming that Jacob Blake was unarmed?
Let they without sin cast the first stone. pic.twitter.com/gR2NJNsL3Z
— Don Helpingstine (@dhelpingstine) January 18, 2021
That sounds scary and fascistic.
— Tim Carney (@TPCarney) January 18, 2021
You want to give the government new powers to stifle political expression on the airwaves. The next Trump will be eager to use those powers.
— Walter Olson ? (@walterolson) January 19, 2021
Silence my political opponents! If they had anything good to say, they would not be my opponents!
— NouveauRight (@NouveauRight) January 18, 2021
This wasn't a particularly well thought-out tweet, I have to say.
— Ari Cohn (@AriCohn) January 18, 2021
This seems, I dunno, problematic
— AuntJaney (@scone_eater) January 19, 2021
— Russ Cote (@RussCote) January 18, 2021
It's like violence this summer never happened.
— David (@808to818) January 19, 2021
This idea that the people “in charge” will always think the same way you do, after you enact these insane rules is fascinating in its short-sightedness. You don’t see ANY way setting this precedent could backfire?
— Bill (@BillyEs13) January 19, 2021
A lot of short sighted emotionally driven rage never leads to a sound well thought out decision. Let’s all back away from this crazy censoring conversation for a moment and play it out. Whoever is in power becomes the censor. So you had better never lose. Or respect the 1st.
— fishtechtim (@Tim94244078) January 19, 2021
This freedom of the press thing has really gotten out of hand.
— SWA (@scotswa1) January 19, 2021
Twitter needs to censor @MaxBoot
— freespeakonomics (@freespeakonomi1) January 19, 2021
You can take the boy out of the Soviet Union, but you can’t take the Soviet Union out of the boy.
— furious_Vote_for_Pedro_a (@furious_a) January 18, 2021
What in the world is this
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) January 19, 2021
Fascism.
— Seth Williams (@sethawilliams79) January 19, 2021
Boot indeed. Lick away.
— Kevin on Earth (@kfgravy) January 19, 2021
Love all the "antifascists" in the replies who are unironically praising this idea.
— Wayne (@wcarson) January 18, 2021
Mobilizing government to silence speech you don't like.
Beyond parody, boot.
— Back off, War Child (@silver_shots) January 18, 2021
Yes, let's have the government curate our speech. Excellent idea!
— Panem et circenses (@RonEschaton) January 18, 2021
“Plot against America” – an unserious caricature
— HB (@EYA10) January 18, 2021
I for one look forward to Max Boot recycling this article over and over again for the next four years.
— Dad Ayup (@Dadbyup) January 18, 2021
This you?https://t.co/hVBnofqpGB
— cienanos (@StuckNMyTree) January 18, 2021
The same people who accused Trump of being a despot are coming out with stuff like this.
— Craig Zimmerman (@craigzimmerman6) January 19, 2021
?????
— Chris Conlon (@chrisc334) January 18, 2021
Never trust a grown man unironically wearing a fedora . . .
— Unabashed Papist (@MissingByline) January 19, 2021
* * *
Update:
Speaking of the FCC:
How it started (me in 2017) How it's going (2021) pic.twitter.com/NBdzYgcwFn
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPai) January 19, 2021
The #FirstAmendment has been the @FCC's lodestar over the past four years. I hope it will always be.
My remarks from September 15, 2017 (excerpted in part above): https://t.co/I1HzIegoyJ pic.twitter.com/1sgO2Uawiq
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPai) January 19, 2021
Related:
Mehdi Hasan says MAGA terrorists are more dangerous than Al Qaeda was (after 9/11) because they have Fox News https://t.co/9HaTgNhfuu
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) January 19, 2021
