Democrats' Third World Media Law Must Be Stopped

The attempt by Senate Democrats to define who is, and is not, a journalist is only the latest assault by the left on the First Amendment during the Obama era. From their attacks on free speech in opposition to the Citizens United ruling, to their assault on religious freedom in the Obamacare mandates and gay-marriage fight, Democrats–once the party of civil liberties–have now added press freedom to their list of targets.

The Democrats want to allow some journalists to be able to protect their sources, but to deny that privilege to others. It is a tacit acknowledgment that the non-traditional media have become more vigorous in exposing government corruption than their traditional counterparts. Ironically, the traditional media to be protected by the new bill are responsible for some of the more damaging recent national security leaks.

At the same time, the Obama administration continues to hire mainstream journalists, affirming what the public already knows about the media’s leftist tendencies. But that sympathy is not enough for nervous Democrats, who want more control over the press. Their efforts are shamelessly third-world in nature, akin to South Africa’s recent media law, also justified in the name of national security. They must be stopped.