Reactions to Controversial Public Figures and the Ethics of Celebration

Donald Trump and several of his top officials have promised to unleash a partisan crackdown in Charlie Kirk’s honor, even as the notion that Kirk’s assassin was in league with the institutional left becomes more far fetched.

In light of the week’s developments, we discuss:

* Our personal reactions to the Kirk murder, and the contours of the overall public response;

* What we know about the GOP plan to use it as a pretext to crack down on political dissent;

* The differences between using free speech and believing in free speech; the related differences between good-faith debate and propaganda.

Then, is MAGA’s seamless fusion of partisan propaganda with state functions actually a source of political power for the GOP? Between Trump’s sinking poll numbers on issue after issue, public rejection of his immigration crackdown, and spiraling, trollish foreign policy, is there any reason to believe Americans won’t reject a speech crackdown, too? And if the administration is embarking on a losing abuse of power (even if only to generate yet more propaganda) is there any good reason why Democrats shouldn’t fight them by seizing the mantle of free speech?

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Further reading:

* Matt’s extremely conflicted take on the looming government shutdown.

* Brian on the GOP’s recursive cycle of abusing power to generate propaganda to justify further abuses of power, and how to respond;

* The extensive fallout of the propaganda-driven Hyundai factory raid.