This is in response to Steve Wilson’s letter to the editor. No one is trying to silence folks on the right. But people speaking in the public forum must make every effort to be sure the evidence they use is truly factual. That means no lies; no deliberate slanting; no twisting or purposeful omissions. For example, Wilson had a post deleted about using an out of state diver’s license to vote in Michigan elections. He posted incorrect information. A voter must have a Michigan State driver’s license to vote. Students must have a Michigan State driver’s license to vote. No one may use an out of state license or ID to vote. I know this because I called the Michigan Office of the Secretary of State and spoke to a representative there.
The internet platforms Wilson mentions are commercial businesses. They are allowed to set their terms of use. This means that they can be sued for allowing slander and liable. Both Fox and Newsmax are facing multibillion dollar lawsuits for slandering electronic voting machine companies. There is no evidence that the election was stolen. Even Mitch McConnell said so.
I did not see the Stephanopoulos interview, but I did see Mark Lindell on Newsmax repeating Donald Trump’s big lie. He was taken off the air for repeating the Big Lie. Newsmax is already in litigation for liable. Any number of fact checking sites have exposed over 30,000 of Trump’s lies. I wish Wilson had been clearer about what he is calling the “cleansing of the Trump supporters.” It is clear that former President Trump has incited an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by telling lies and spreading hatred. I hope that those on the right who feel under attack can learn that they must use undisputed facts when they speak in public. And I am still waiting for the list of conservative principles that Democrats are trying to silence.
Dan Booher
Crawfordsville
