Gloria Allred wants free speech for her, but not for Rush Limbaugh

By David McElroy · March 10, 2012

I’m astounded at those on the progressive left who claim to champion civil liberties, but then make it obvious that what they really want are liberties for people who agree with them — not for those they hate. Attention-seeking feminist lawyer Gloria Allred is high up on the list of hypocrites.

Those of us who believe in liberty — both economic and social — hope we can count on conservatives on economic liberty and progressives on social liberties, because their rhetoric at least agrees with us in most of those areas. But many in both camps disappoint us — as they make it clear that their objective is to attack people they don’t like, not fight for consistent principles.

Allred said Friday that she’s asking a county prosecutor in Florida to investigate conservative radio icon Rush Limbaugh for called Sandra Fluke a “slut” and “prostitute” on the air. There’s an old Florida law that says anyone who “speaks of and concerning any woman, married or unmarried, falsely and maliciously imputing to her a want of chastit” is guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor.

Although Allred is apparently still a practicing attorney, you have to wonder whether she’s ever heard of — much less read — the case law surrounding the First Amendment.

I’ve made it clear in the past that I have no use for Rush Limbaugh. And this past week, I made it clear that what he said about Fluke was wrong and unfair. We’re all free to say that his words are vile. We’re free to protest him. We’re free to say that he’s clueless on a range of issues. But it’s disgusting for anyone — much less an attorney who represents herself to be a champion of civil rights — to try to use the law to silence someone she disagrees with.

A friend of mine whose views are generally on the progressive left side of the mainstream noted on his Facebook page earlier this week that he was surprised to see a number of comedians circulating a petition to have Limbaugh taken off the air. He pointed out that these are people who make their living by going on stage and saying things that are going to offend many people. Shouldn’t these people understand that a more intolerant world is one that’s more likely to shut them up when they offend someone?

Sadly, a lot of the responses — from those who would describe themselves as liberals — betrayed a startling disregard for tolerance of speech they disagree with. I fear that many people who talk about tolerating free speech — in the abstract — really feel that way mostly when the speech is from people they agree with. It’s yet another example of the rampant political hypocrisy all around us — from people of every political stripe.

Gloria Allred should be ashamed of herself for trying to use the law to stop speech from someone she hates. She has no chance of winning on this issue, but the fact that we even neeed to discuss it contributes to a lousy atmosphere for robust public discourse.

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