Censuring speech, even offensive speech, isn’t particularly democratic
After congressman Steve King decided to bemoan how phrases such as white nationalist and white supremacist “became offensive” the expected media firestorm broke out and it continues into the weekend. While I’ve written here on multiple occasions that the term “nationalist” is absolutely fine in its traditional meaning (a person who strongly identifies with their own nation and vigorously supports its interests) when you put the word “white” in front of it you’ve basically lost the argument. “White supremacist” has no place in our public debate because we’re supposed to be a colorblind society.
But now that his statements are on the record, what to do about it? When I turned on CNN this morning, Victor Blackwell was interviewing one of the members and asking if they would support censuring King. It’s a subject which has been getting a lot of play this week, particularly among Democrats, and the new Speaker of the House hasn’t ruled it out yet. (Washington Post)
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday left open the possibility of House action to punish Rep. Steve King over his history of inflammatory remarks as the Iowa Republican’s recent defense of white nationalism created a firestorm.
