Michigan Republicans are going further than they realize with this threat:
Michigan state Rep. Matt Maddock and his wife, Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock, have repeatedly been called out by fact-checking journalists for promoting baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and falsely suggesting that covid-19 is comparable to the flu.
Now, the Republican lawmakerwants to create new obstacles for fact-checkers who might challenge politicians over unsubstantiated claims.“My legislation will put Fact Checkers on notice: don’t be wrong, don’t be sloppy, and you better be right,” Maddock wrote in a Facebook post announcing his proposal last week.
Maddock’s bill, the Fact Checker Registration Act, was introduced Tuesday andwould require fact-checkers to register with the state and insure themselves with $1 million fidelity bonds. Any fact-checker who did not register with the state could face a $1,000 per day fine. The proposed legislation would also allow anyone to sue a fact-checker over “any wrongful conduct that is a violation of the laws of this state.” [WaPo]
It seems unlikely this attempt at suppressing the free press will go anywhere. If it makes it into law, some of the big players in the free press will sue, and a judge will fold the law up and toss it in the trash can.
But the real problem is that this is an attempt to take away the responsibilities of the citizens. They are the consumers of the free press, and it’s up to them to be the fact checkers of the fact checkers. By attempting to muzzle the fact checks, the Maddocks are really telling the citizens that there’s nothing to see here, no evaluation needed, and whatever WaPo is saying should be … ignored.
Telling the citizens that they’re really just irresponsible babies, and the Michigan GOP will take care of them.
Now that’s disrespectful.
