[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26207]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         IN DEFENSE OF DISSENT

  (Mr. McCLINTOCK asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I rise today in defense of dissent.
  It is a sad milestone when it becomes necessary to do so, but the 
ferocity with which this administration is pursuing its critics in 
business and journalism is becoming alarming.
  This isn't the first time Presidents have lashed out at dissenters. 
But when a government has seized the power to commandeer companies, 
dictate salaries for private citizens, establish government monopolies 
covering entire sectors of our economy, threaten companies with 
official retribution for merely communicating with their customers, 
and, as of yesterday, to punish thought itself, it evinces a design and 
an intent that transcends robust debate and becomes deeply threatening 
to the freedom of expression that our Constitution protects.
  If they can intimidate institutions like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 
and Fox News, they know that others will fall silently into line. And 
that, Madam Speaker is a disturbing prospect.

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