[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 3, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4519-H4520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CIVIL LIBERTIES FOR ALL

  (Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I am fascinated with the 
process by which right-wingers have become devotees of civil liberties. 
A few years ago, when a lot of them were getting indicted, they became 
great supporters of such procedural protections as due possess and the 
fifth amendment.
  Now we have seen a great rightwing rush, late in life, but I always 
like conversions, to embrace the principles of free speech. They have 
now decided that people who say crazy, irresponsible, dangerous things 
under the first amendment should be allowed to say them. I agree with 
them. I have always felt that way.
  The problem is that they only imperfectly understand that. Because 
the fact is that the right to say these kinds of things--irresponsible 
and obnoxious and in some cases threatening--cannot only go to their 
rightwing caricatures. It goes to the left as well.
  I am particularly struck by the fact that many of those who wanted 
the rapper Ice-T to be shut up and taken off the air, because he talked 
about killing policemen--and he certainly was, in my judgment, 
obnoxious and irresponsible--turn around and want to honor G. Gordon 
Liddy.
  Now, they got a little embarrassed after the Oklahoma bombing, so 
they backed away from Liddy a little bit. But the fact is, there is 
very little difference morally or in the nature of the rhetoric between 
Ice-T and G. Gordon 
[[Page H4520]] Liddy. I suppose at a future Republican senatorial 
dinner, we will see both of them doing a duet.


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