A Private Stasi

For John, BLUF:  The idea of private organizations labeling groups so that public institutions can go after them seems fairly Unamerican.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Judeo-Christian Group Sues Michigan for 'Orwellian' Witch Hunt Based on SPLC Labels

SPLC is the Southern Poverty Law Center, a known hate group favored by the left.

From PJ Media, by Mr Tyler O'Neil, 4 March 2019.

Here is the lede plus four:

Last Thursday, the Judeo-Christian law firm American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) sued Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) Executive Director Agustin Arbulu for using the arm of the state to quash their First Amendment rights.  Nessel and Arbulu had referenced the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) "hate group" labels in launching a new hate-crimes unit "to fight against hate crimes and the many hate groups ... in our state."

"It’s one thing for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is a private organization, to engage in political propaganda and political hyperbole," Robert Muise, co-founder and senior counsel of AFLC, told PJ Media on Monday.  He said it's a violation of the Constitution "when you have the attorney general who’s relying on that political propaganda to investigate and target us with the power of the state."

"You now have the government giving its endorsement to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s nonsense — that now triggers our constitutional protections," Muise insisted.

He summarized the new policy in Michigan succinctly:  "'We're going to keep files on you.'  It's Orwellian.  It's Big Brother.  It's the thought police."

The AFLC lawsuit brings three claims against Nessel and Arbulu: violation of free speech rights under the First Amendment; violation of expressive association rights under the First Amendment; and violation of equal protection as guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment.

I am not sure that substituting the word hate for the words ignorant or stupid is doing us much good.  It sure doesn't do anything for civility.  Didn't the Democrats once promise us a "new civility?"

The Democrats, being the party of science, should realize that across the bell curve of human beings there will always be small numbers at both extremes.  Having those people will not change that.  On the other hand, love might shrink the numbers at the edge.

Remember the words of Governor Huey P Long, when Fascism comes to America it will call itself Antifascism.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff