A Florida bill requiring bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis to register with the state has gone too far even for the godfather of far-right Republicanism, the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich.
“The idea that bloggers who criticize politicians have to register with the government is crazy,” Gingrich said. wrote on Twitter.
“It’s an embarrassment that this is a Republican state legislator Florida who introduced the corresponding bill. He should withdraw it immediately.”
The account was introduced by Jason Brodeur. This states: “If a blogger blogs about an elected government official and receives or will receive compensation for that post, the blogger must register” with the appropriate government agency.
The bill defines “elected state official” as “the governor, lieutenant governor, cabinet member, or any member of the legislature.” Penalties for non-compliance include fines of up to $2,500.
Brodeur said last week Florida Politics: “Paid bloggers are lobbyists who write, not talk. Both of them are professional voters. If lobbyists have to register and report, why not paid bloggers?”
Renowned First Amendment lawyer Ron Kuby is unforgettable verified names at the Coen brothers Big Lebowskireleased 25 years ago Monday, NBC said it was “difficult to imagine a proposal that more infringes” on free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution.
“We don’t register journalists,” Kuby said. “People who write cannot be forced to register.”
However, a spokesman for DeSantis NBC said the governor will “consider the substance of the bill in final form if and when it passes the legislature.”
The Florida Legislature recently passed much that pleased DeSantis, given that it is controlled by Republicans the supermajority.
The governor, in turn, followed a tough program based, among other things, on issues of the culture war LGBTQ+ rights and teaching history in public schools.
DeSantis is expected to announce his 2024 Republican presidential bid.
Gingrich, 79, ran for president in 2012. For nearly 40 years before that, he had made a name for himself as a ruthless partisan in Congress and beyond, hounding Bill Clinton throughout his presidency before stepping down as speaker of the House in 1998 because of his conduct under control and the declining state of Republicans. .
Broadly prosecuted As American politics has hardened and the resulting social and geographic divisions deepened, Gingrich has been a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, the ex-president who dominates the polls for the 2024 nomination. DeSantis is Trump’s only real challenger, at least for now.
The irony that Gingrich said Florida Republicans had finally gone too far was certainly not lost on political pundits. Writer and podcaster Molly Jong-Fast is simple tweeted: “When you lose Newt Gingrich . . .”
Congresswoman Anna Escamani, a Democrat from Florida, took a broader view.
She said: “Yes, this bill is really ridiculous and an attack on first amendment rights, but there are plenty of other horrible Florida Republican bills that need to be highlighted as well and we welcome criticism of them lol.”
