In a blatant move of censorship, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop’s chief of staff ordered a blog site to be blocked from the state Senate’s Internet server.
Bishop spokesman Matt Marsden told The Associated Press Blogging for Michigan, a left-leaning Web site dedicated to providing news and commentary on Michigan-based political issues, was blocked because using “state time and taxpayer money to surf sites not applicable to the jobs staff were hired to execute is not an acceptable use of state time or funds.”
But a site about politics in Michigan written by Michigan residents seems very applicable to a senator’s job description.
Public information and communication is moving more and more to the Internet, and senators and their staff need to stay informed and up-to-date about what their constituents want and what’s happening around the state.
Lawmakers are using the Internet themselves to inform the public about legislation and other issues, and cutting any lawmaker off from one such Internet source prevents freedom of information both to and from the state Legislature.
Bishop and his staff had no right to block access to a Web site simply because they disagree with the site’s message. The block came after Republicans apparently read posts on the site they didn’t like, and Marsden said Bishop’s office also is reviewing other sites that may be “overtly political in nature,” according to The Associated Press.
Other political Web sites, like the conservative-leaning blog, www.rightmichigan.com, and the liberal site, www.michiganliberal.com, weren’t blocked. Matt Miner, Bishop’s chief of staff, told MIRS, a Lansing political newsletter, www.michiganliberal.com doesn’t “say bad things about us,” according to The Associated Press.
Clearly, Blogging for Michigan is a practical source of information for many Michigan lawmakers, and Bishop seems to be trying to disable or silence the political left because he personally disagrees with its ideas. If Bishop really wanted to block sites not applicable to a senator’s job, he should try blocking sites about entertainment or sports, not politics.
Majority leader or not, Bishop shouldn’t even have the right or ability to block the entire Senate from any Web site, regardless of content. The fact that he succeeded in blocking a site with only his word proves he has too much unchecked power. Senators – political party or personal beliefs notwithstanding – should fight this decision, since it sets a frightening precedent for future censorship.
Senators should have free and open access to any and every medium that allows them to communicate with the public and stay informed. The U.S. is a democracy that relies on freedom of information both to and from the government.
Silencing the public’s voice, even on a small scale, erodes away that freedom.
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