TALK ABOUT SCARY – AT 12:08 P.M. ET:  As readers know, my enthusiasm for Donald Trump is under control.   One reason for my hesitation is his vindictiveness, his utter hatred of any opponent.   Now Trump is going after the media, one of my favorite targets as well.  Maybe I should be cheering him, but what he's saying chills me to the bone.  This is not legitimate criticism of a biased, lazy press.  This is totalitarianism, plain and simple.  From AP:

Washington (AP) — Donald Trump said Friday he will weaken First Amendment protections for reporters as president, making it easier for him to sue them.

The celebrity businessman turned Republican presidential front-runner said he wants to “open up” libel laws at a rally in Fort Worth, Texas. The changes envisioned by Trump would mean that “when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money,” he said.

Huh?  Don't journalists have the right to create negative articles?  There are plenty of bad and biased journalists and plenty of bad reporting.  This is not the way to deal with the problem.

Trump added that, should he be elected, news organizations that have criticized him will “have problems.” He specifically mentioned The New York Times and The Washington Post. Trump last month threatened to sue the Post after the newspaper wrote an article about the bankruptcy of his Atlantic City casino. On Twitter, Trump has routinely criticized reporters who cover him and their news organizations, including The Associated Press.

First Amendment advocates condemned Trump’s suggestions.

“His statement shows why we need libel protections,” said Gregg Leslie, the legal defense director for the Washington-based Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “Trump gets offended, he gets upset and he wants to sue to retaliate. That’s not a good reason to sue someone.”

Libel law in the United States generally makes it difficult for public figures to sue reporters or other people who criticize them. To win such a case, the plaintiff must demonstrate that factually incorrect statements were made with actual malice or a reckless disregard for the truth.

Trump said he would like to lower that standard. “We’re going to have people sue you like you never got sued before,” he said.

COMMENT:   Trump is typical of moguls of his class – on the phone with his lawyers too much of the time.  He is symbolic of the lawsuit society. 

His comments are very threatening to the Constitution.  Bad journalism is a serious problem in this society, but lawsuits will only destroy some journalists and intimidate others.   Journalists will hesitate to conduct investigations of powerful figures for fear that they'll be hauled into court.  The main beneficiaries of Trump's changes will not be people who are improperly attacked in the press, but people, some of them probably very bad people, who have the money to pursue lawsuits.

By the way, I believe there is a proper place for lawsuits against news organizations.  But Trump's vindictive sledgehammer doesn't qualify.

February 27, 2016