5 warnings to fellow conservatives over this Charlie Kirk moment

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

Something big is happening.

When big things happen … all kinds of abuse happens as well.

#1. Don’t rob our youth of their moment. Charlie Kirk was unique, in that he offered a lot of opportunity and speaking engagements for GEN-Z at his events. He made room at the table for them. Conservative Gen-Z influencer, Brett Cooper, (1 million followers) said young people like herself, “were written off by most people in politics, especially on the political right here in America, except for one person, and that was Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk never gave up on Gen Z, and we are witnessing the impacts of that right now.” Those of us with audiences and existing political structures need to be open to handing our microphones to students and Gen-Zers and let them speak for themselves, and let their voice be heard.

#2. Don’t let the consultants and profiteers steal the moment. When the 2010 Tea Party movement happened, it was near-historic on the level of spontaneous rallies held around the nation for lower taxes and for fighting government corruption. Then marketing firms began national tea-party themed fundraising campaigns that swept up tens of millions of dollars that they spent on themselves (huge scandals ensued). Additionally, in-fighting within the movement (purity tests, power struggles, competing visions) also derailed the Oregon Tea Party movement. Expect, a rush of national Charlie Kirk exploiters (not related to Turning Point) to flood your cell-phone and mailbox with fundraising appeals.

#3. With every conservative success comes fringe toxic, activists ready to act-like conservatives to join the movement. We saw this during the Trump rallies in Oregon. At a 2020 Salem Trump rally, an unidentified speaker said lawmakers “should be shot dead” and dragged in the streets. That made the lead story on the evening news that night. Other Oregon rallies at the time involved people physically attacking journalists or breaking doors to the State Capitol. The lesson is that a normally peaceful patriotic rally can quickly be hijacked by a few troublemakers who can derail the whole event. This is not a problem with just the Right side, the Left faces the exact same problem in Oregon, but the media is more forgiving on what Leftist do. Charlie Kirk also faced this problem and dealt with it. Early in Charlie Kirk’s movement there was a sustained and highly successful effort to block white supremacists who wanted to politically airdrop into his movement but were denied at every chance. Expect them to try again in his death. Again, if Oregon sees Charlie Kirk inspired rallies, be warned that political success attracts all of the worst kinds of activists who wish to make it their own.

#4. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi made a serious bad claim on free speech. Bondi said at a press conference last week that she is launching a new effort to crackdown on “hate speech” after the Charlie Kirk assassination. This brought widespread corrections from conservatives across-the-board and libertarians. As a longtime free-speech defender, we would be amiss if we did not correct the record as well. The First Amendment protects bad speech which includes (non-violent) “hate” speech. What AG Bondi should have said is that she targeting “violent” or “threatening” speech. Even Charlie Kirk once said, “My position is that even hate speech should be completely and totally allowed in our country. The most disgusting speech should absolutely be protected.” Calling something “hate speech” has been used by liberals (when in power) to censor and sue conservatives. Bondi needs to clarify her statements that has alarmed the conservative movement.

#5. The FCC should not threaten to shut-down TV stations over talk-show hosts expressing incorrect opinions. Last week, conservative broadcaster, Benny Johnson, interviewed and encouraged the head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, to consider the idea of pulling ABC broadcast license over late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s, monologue which included a false reference to Charlie Kirk’s shooter being a Trump supporter. Texas US Senator Ted Cruz said of FCC Carr’s threats, “That’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’ ” and “What [Mr. Carr] said there is dangerous as hell. It might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it.”

We do not want the FCC threatening news organizations over perceived news they do not like. Imagine the Biden administration shutting down Fox News or the Daily Wire or Newsmax because the Federal government claimed a false statement was issued. There is also a huge difference between a news organization issuing a (knowingly) false statement and a comedic monologue by a talk-show host. This is why conservatives believe in limited government to stop such abuses by the Federal government.

Whatever power you grant the Federal government today — it can and will be used against you tomorrow when different ideologies are in power. This should have been the debate over Jimmy Kimmel (below), not the FCC jumping into a private dispute.

Before you leave … check out the long disturbing list of Oregonians cheering Kirk’s death.

5 warnings to fellow conservatives over this Charlie Kirk moment

— McMinville councilor under fire for Kirk death comments

— Lincoln City teacher: Kirk “deserved to die”

— Wilsonville official: “Churches should give thanks Kirk is no longer with us”

— Student walkout over Springfield school staff Kirk comment

— Portland activist calls for political violence

— Another school employee on leave over Charlie Kirk post

— Councilor who cheered Kirk’s death resigns

Oregon Catalyst