The Left reminds us, again, that free speech has become a rightwing value

For most of its history, the contemporary American Left has honored intellectual Noam Chomsky as a major liberal hero. Chomsky famously said, “If you’re in favor of freedom of speech, that means you’re in favor of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise. Otherwise you’re not in favor of freedom of speech.”

https://twitter.com/medialens/status/1498616805400752132

For most of Chomsky’s life, protecting free speech was liberalism 101.

Matt Taibbi is significantly younger than Chomksy, but for most of his life he has been a talented, award-winning, yet openly left-leaning, journalist. By his own admission, when he was told that there was a treasure trove of data showing that Twitter had partnered with the U.S. federal government to censor news and speech, his journalist instincts led him to uncovering this obvious monstrous affront to liberalism.

Which is now a rightwing position, apparently. Being in favor of free speech, is rightwing. Taibbi is rightwing for daring to expose government censorship of speech.

Just ask Left Twitter.

https://twitter.com/the_nerd_skull/status/1633903887420903424 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1633861071894368266 https://twitter.com/Paultx890/status/1633868863707262977 https://twitter.com/TeachAllAmerica/status/1633863748409769985

To be clear, Taibbi’s alleged “right-wing grift” is reporting that a major social media company worked in tandem, deeply, with the federal government to regulate speech, manipulate news, and directly violate Americans’ First Amendment rights.

https://twitter.com/jackhunter74/status/1520509868687470594

Last year, for both BASEDPolitics and The Spectator, I covered this emerging phenomenon of free speech becoming more and more an exclusive concern of the Right and something today’s Left increasingly rejects.

It’s weird as hell.

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1520421050550571008 https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1515707570832515073

Given the primacy of identity politics on the Left, some have even suggested that concern for free speech is the obsession of white males.

https://twitter.com/jackhunter74/status/1520518522601971712

Those who wrote the First Amendment were white males. Chomsky is a white male…

So maybe they’re right!

Noam Chomsky is also a liberal. Or used to be. 

In 2023, that’s questionable.

https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1633830022451707905

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