First Amendment applied to Trump’s critics, and it still applies – The Highland County Press

In the designated uptown historic district of Hillsboro, there is at least one small business with a "Let's Go Brandon" T-shirt in its storefront window display. I thought about buying it for the Sasquatch who stands guard (there's a hidden surveillance camera behind his eyes) in my own storefront window display.

Frankly, as an erstwhile fan of NASCAR racing, I have no issues with Brandon Brown and his great victory at Talladega, Ala. last month. Nor do I have any problem with any local business selling T-shirts in his honor or for any other reason. (Think First Amendment rights.)

Of course, some liberal media outlets the usual suspects have criticized the "Let's Go Brandon" message as a "vulgar taunt" against Joe Biden. Maybe it is.

But are we as a nation really ready to erase the phrase "Let's Go Brandon" from our lexicon? Let's hope not.

For a brief refresher, the phrase's secondary meaning was certainly hurled at President Donald Trump throughout his four years in office.

There was the aging, broken-down actor, Robert De Zero, saying "F--- Trump" multiple times on a national stage at the Tony Awards in 2018. There was the female joke teller whose name and work I'm happily ignorant, who carried an ersatz severed bloody head of the former president. There are other examples, to be sure.

For four years, the vulgarity against President Trump went mostly ignored by the liberal mainstream media.

Locally, one retired public school teacher complained to this newspaper about a private citizen displaying an anti-Biden banner on his private property. Law enforcement was contacted. I reached out to the county sheriff and the county prosecutor on behalf of the complainer. Again, think about our First Amendment rights.

By the way, to date, not one person has complained to me about the F--- Trump verbiage.

But that's often how it is with liberals. They like the First Amendment when it applies to Hollywood, pop music and what they deem as acceptable "art" and "literature."

Whether we care to admit it or not, politics is and always has been a blood sport. Those with thin skin need not apply. Trump and his supporters received criticism both fair and unfair. The same goes for Biden.

As former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote in a recent column for the Washington Examiner: "What we need is not necessarily political or ideological unity. What we need is to be unified in our respect for each other's freedoms, to show respect for our fellow Americans, and to trust in our fellow countrymen to govern themselves as they see fit."

I agree. Of course, since this message is from Mike Pompeo, it is immediately dismissed as partisan rhetoric. It shouldn't be.

* * *

With rising prices from food to fuel and everything in between, perhaps Biden should pay heed to Pompeo's advice. In a recent address before the Fourth Estate, Biden chastised the press for doing a lousy job of reporting on the nation's supply chain debacle. That may backfire on the media's darling figure politic.

Biden's criticism of the Third Rail of the Democrat Party (close behind the DNC and Hollywood elites) is ill-advised at a time when his polling numbers are falling faster than the Cincinnati Reds' 2022 team salary.

Look, Joe, Americans understand the supply chain, and we always have. We have understood it during the nation's founding. We have understood it during floods, famine, fights, freezes and fires. We...frankly, get it.

We don't need a liberal press to carry your water or to explain it to us. We are smart enough to remember that a gallon of gas sold for $1.70 in Hillsboro in October 2020 one month before now-remorseful voters elected you. It is now $3.35 a gallon and rising. With higher energy prices, come higher prices for everything else.

Biden inherited a good system. There is an old saying: If it ain't broke, don't fix it and in Biden's case, don't break it.

With Biden's executive orders and foolhardy decisions, he has created a myriad of problems that did not exist upon his arrival to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. From the Afghanistan disaster, to the border crisis, to ever-increasing inflation to our nation's lack of respect across the globe, this is all on Biden's watch.

Biden doesn't need to make loose cracks against his pals in the press, or dismiss the high price of gas or give us any inflated or pretentious speeches full of flatulence and signifying nothing.

Take a look at what's happening across the real America. Your policies are making it more and more difficult for Democrats to get elected on the local and state levels. Many of these may have been competent candidates, too. But you are creating a toxic environment for your old-school Truman, Kennedy and (dare I say it?) Clinton Democrats.

Democrat operative James Carville explained it well enough last week. You'd be wise to listen to him instead of taking selfies on Rehoboth Beach with the good doctor.

And we've got three more years of this?

* * *

On a lighter note, Fox News' Dana Perino introduced her new family friend this week. His name is Percy Vizsla, and he was born in Highland County (at Highland Vizslas) on Sept. 22.

In an address to Fox viewers this week, Perino said: "Whos ready for some good news? Well, I have some to share. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Percy Vizsla. He was born in Hillsboro, Ohio on Sept. 22, 2021. Its an honor to introduce you to him first. He will be, as Jasper was, your dog, too. Percys the newest member of the Fox family, and were just starting to get to know each other. Hes remarkably good and smart. And quite the heart mender, too."

For more, visit https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/dana-perino-america-meet-percy-vizsla.

Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press, Highland County's only locally owned and operated newspaper.

See the article here:
First Amendment applied to Trump's critics, and it still applies - The Highland County Press