Most of the scare-mongering rhetoric from the New McCarthyists thus far has been about national security and looming terrorism threats. At an event in Manchester, New Hampshire, honoring those who have stood up for free speech, Newt Gingrich made a few comments that indicate a much broader, more overt attack on First Amendment activity in the name of the War on Terrorism. We’re not talking “chilling effect,” here.
According to Riley Yates in the November 28 Union Leader:
MANCHESTER – Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich yesterday said the country will be forced to reexamine freedom of speech to meet the threat of terrorism.
Gingrich, speaking at a Manchester awards banquet, said a “different set of rules” may be needed to reduce terrorists’ ability to use the Internet and free speech to recruit and get out their message.
“We need to get ahead of the curve before we actually lose a city, which I think could happen in the next decade,” said Gingrich, a Republican who helped engineer the GOP’s takeover of Congress in 1994.