According to the Democrat outlet NPR, legal battles are emerging against the Trump administration over language posted on federal websites and used in government emails that blame the Democrats for the government shutdown. Critics argue that these messages are partisan, but supporters say they reflect the truth.
An Obama-appointed federal judge ruled that the Trump administration violated the First Amendment rights of Education Department employees when it replaced their personalized out-of-office email notifications with partisan language blaming Democrats for the shutdown.
“When government employees enter public service, they do not sign away their First Amendment rights,” U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper wrote in his decision on Friday, “and they certainly do not sign up to be a billboard for any given administration’s partisan views.”
The lawsuit was brought by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). Rachel Gittleman, president of AFGE Local 252—which represents many Education Department workers—called the administration’s actions “a clear violation of the First Amendment rights of the workers at the Education Department.” She added that it is “one of the many ways the Department’s leadership has threatened, harassed and demoralized these hardworking public servants in the last 10 months.”
It is notable that almost all of these employees are Democrats, which adds to the tension surrounding the issue. Critics argue that ordering the type of language a Secretary can use in official communications seems like a First Amendment violation and an overreach of power.
Democrats and their judges are accused by some of not being able to accept certain political truths. When in power, it is claimed, they have posted misleading content on government websites and even framed a president in what has been described as a coup attempt. Therefore, critics say, they lack moral authority on these issues.
For example, an email sent to the Forest Service stated clearly: “The Radical Left Democrats shut down the government.” Supporters of this messaging argue that President Trump wanted to keep the government open, and that the language used in these communications reflects an accurate account of events.
However, retired federal land managers described this language as “chilling.” Some have dismissed this reaction, suggesting it does not take much to “chill” these employees and calling them “wimps” for being upset. Others argue that employees should be more concerned that Democrats appear to be sacrificing them for ideological reasons.
In related commentary, conservative voices have expressed concerns about broader political threats:
> “I have never written that there is a threat of fascism in America. I always considered the idea overwrought. But now I believe there really is such a threat and it will come draped not in an American flag, but in the name of tolerance and health.”
> — Dennis Prager
> “It’s better to live one day as a lion than a dozen years as a sheep.”
> — Charles M. Schulz
> “How do you tell a Communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.”
> — Ronald Reagan
> “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist.”
> — Hannah Arendt, *The Origins of Totalitarianism*
These quotes underscore a broader debate about truth, political ideology, and the limits of government messaging in a polarized era.
https://www.independentsentinel.com/obama-appointed-judge-to-control-ed-secretarys-email-language/
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