Josh Richman scans the SecState's initiative website and finds a whopper (PDF).
Amends constitution to hold candidates for public office, government officials and employees, and members of the media criminally liable for intentionally making a false statement of "material fact" about legislative acts, elections for public office, or the employment or dismissal of government employees. Imposes on violators a 2 to 10 year prison term, a $10,000 to $500,000 fine, or both, and a lifetime ban on serving as a government official or employee, or member of the media.
Yay! That would be grrrreeeeaaattt for Calitics. Or something. But wait it gets better, this language is familiar. From Richman
But if the "false, scandalous and malicious" thing sounds familiar, that's because I didn't make it up - it's verbatim from the Sedition Act enacted in July 1798 to quell political dissent.
Yeah, that one worked sooo well that we should definitely bring it back. And goodness knows I'm not tough enough, a few years in the clink would serve me well. And the banning from the media would also save me a lot of time too.
Full text of the proposed initiative here.
UPDATE: You can find the Legislative Analyst's review of this measure here. |
