How does anyone solve the problem of dealing with an individual who consistently fails to produce results but, due to that person’s position, it is imperative that he or she is seen as effective and competent? There is a simple answer, which involves assigning that individual a task that will achieve no immediate measurable results. This is likely why Kamala Harris has been tapped to head up a new White House effort to combat online harassment. Thus, on June 16, Harris introduced the Biden administration’s latest attempt to gut the First Amendment in the form of a “Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse.”
The Oval Office might as well have launched an initiative to stop people being mean to each other – or, for that matter, to stop people being kind to each other. After all, both things happen, organically, many thousands of times a day. The idea that the government can prevent either is, quite frankly, preposterous. The only reasonable and logical conclusion to be drawn, then, is that this is a very specifically targeted effort, aimed at suppressing opinions and views with which the administration disagrees.
As is the case with many initiatives Democrats launch, this one is dripping with moral superiority. The official presidential memorandum gives the impression that the task force is mainly focused on protecting the “LGBTQI+” community from online bullying. But so much of it directly contradicts what is happening in real life across America – with the full knowledge and approval, it would appear, of Mr. Biden, his cabinet, party, and supporters.
For example, the memo talks about combatting sexual harassment, though it could be argued that children as young as six or seven years old attending public schools are being submitted to such harassment on an almost daily basis. Michigan’s radical left-wing Attorney General, Dana Nessel, recently suggested there should be “a drag queen for every school.” Young children – pre-pubescent children – are being encouraged to not only explore, but to question, their sexuality, by teachers who are willingly acting without the consent of parents. If that doesn’t qualify as sexual harassment, then nothing does.
Additionally, the White House memo appears to single out “women and LGBTQI+ political leaders, public figures, activists, and journalists” as being especially worthy of protection from any form of criticism. The implications of this are quite frightening, for reasons that hardly need to be explained. Let us just say, hypothetically, that Mr. Biden declined to seek re-election in 2024 and the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination was bestowed upon his deputy, Harris. Suddenly, enforcement actions recommended by this task force – the body Harris herself now leads – could be used against anyone who uses online platforms to challenge or criticize a future presidential candidate Harris in any way.
But this is not just about Harris, of course. The establishment of this task force appears very much to be a step on the road to shutting down – and perhaps even punishing – anyone who expresses an opinion deemed hurtful or hateful toward any female or anyone who identifies as a member of the “LGBTQI+” community or even an advocate for the rights of that community. The potential scope for the suppression of free speech is almost without boundaries. It is worth remembering, after all, that what some people like to call “hate speech” is absolutely protected by the First Amendment. There is no constitutional right to not be offended.
The memo lists just about every federal government department and agency, meaning that this newly established task force has been empowered with conducting an all-out government assault upon freedom of expression. Luckily for Kamala Harris, no quantifiable results can possibly be produced, which means her success or failure can never be measured – but for the land of the free, the long-term effects could be nothing less than devastating.