Erwin Chemerinsky, a dean and professor of Law, (Raymond Pryke Professor of First Amendment Law), at the University of California at Irvine School of Law, penned a pointed letter focusing on Senator Ted Cruz’s distortions and out right lying regarding the Democrats position regarding the first amendment.
Chemerinsky’s letter, which was published in the local political copy, “The Hill,” this past Thursday, tore at Cruz for continuous lying regarding the Democrats position on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, (Free Speech). The scathing article articulates many inaccurate statements by Senator Cruz, stating Senator Cruz’s statements regarding campaign finance law “fall below even minimal standards of honesty.”
The key comment that that Chemerinsky challenges Cruz about is the Senator’s statement and presentation to the Senate Judiciary Committee during which Cruz stated, ““This amendment here today, if adopted, would repeal the free speech protections of the First Amendment. . . . This amendment, if adopted, would give Congress absolute authority to regulate the political speech of every single American, with no limitations whatsoever.””
Chemerinsky pointedly responded by stating: ““The amendment does nothing of the sort. It gives no authority to the government to ban or limit anyone’s speech. It provides the government no power to “muzzle” messages the government doesn’t like. It does not change in any way the long-standing First Amendment principle that the government cannot restrict speech based on the content of the message or the views expressed.
The amendment would do no more than allow the government to regulate spending in election campaigns…””