An assault on First Amendment Rights in Minnesota?

Minnesota Democrats Exposed; a blogger, who, in my opinion, has been a thorn in the DFLs side since its inception, has come under a lawsuit by Blois Olson (Blois?!? gads! I thought Pusateri was bad--and Pusateri is a last name (for some belly laughs check this out). Do you pronounce it Blou-ah? You can never tell with French) who is a consultant for this firm. Note:

The lawsuit pits Blois Olson, the president of PR firm New School Communications and a well-known Democratic political commentator, against Michael Brodkorb, a Republican operative who publishes the blog "Minnesota Democrats Exposed."

So Blois is a mere Democratic political commentator while Brodkorb is a--gasp--republican operative (insert musical stinger here)! Seems to me like Blois isn't the only one with an agenda. But I digress.

The issue here is one of libel vs. freedom of political speech, which, until the passage of this encroachment was pretty well protected under the First Amendment. Like the virtual ignorance with regard to the first of the triad of rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence, we are, I am afraid, about to see the erosion of our most basic right to freedom of political speech which was heretofore unfettered under the First Amendment. Should MDE argue and lose its case, you may as well just go and scrap the whole damned bill of rights, as it will be deemed meaningless, with its application subject to the whims of those who would stand to gain the most by having other voices silenced. Even if MDE argues and wins, the financial costs for Brodkorb to mount such a defense will be substantial. Lawyers ain't cheap. The culminative effect of the fear of possible litigation will only serve to put a damper on what would otherwise be robust political discourse; which would still amount to be an absolute abomination in a society supposedly built on unfettered discourse in such arenas.

Either way, this is a lose-lose situation.


(Filed under First Amendment Assaults)