Rick Perlstein

Donald Trump only has one power, and that's to give orders. The rest of us 300 million have the power to refuse or accept those orders, right? And so it's up to us whether the First Amendment survives or dies. But this is a real gut check moment. It's kind of one of those first they came for the Palestinian activist. And I did not speak because I was not a Palestinian activist.

Donald Trump only has one power, and that's to give orders. The rest of us 300 million have the power to refuse or accept those orders, right? And so it's up to us whether the First Amendment survives or dies. But this is a real gut check moment. It's kind of one of those first they came for the Palestinian activist. And I did not speak because I was not a Palestinian activist.

Donald Trump only has one power, and that's to give orders. The rest of us 300 million have the power to refuse or accept those orders, right? And so it's up to us whether the First Amendment survives or dies. But this is a real gut check moment. It's kind of one of those first they came for the Palestinian activist. And I did not speak because I was not a Palestinian activist.

And we all know how that story ends.

And we all know how that story ends.

And we all know how that story ends.

So this guy, William F. Buckley, he burst onto the scene in his early 20s in 1951 with a book called God and Man at Yale. It launched his career as the most important intellectual on the right. And the entire argument of that book was that universities and college professors specifically should not be the ones deciding what young people learn, right? They should not be able to set their curricula.

So this guy, William F. Buckley, he burst onto the scene in his early 20s in 1951 with a book called God and Man at Yale. It launched his career as the most important intellectual on the right. And the entire argument of that book was that universities and college professors specifically should not be the ones deciding what young people learn, right? They should not be able to set their curricula.

So this guy, William F. Buckley, he burst onto the scene in his early 20s in 1951 with a book called God and Man at Yale. It launched his career as the most important intellectual on the right. And the entire argument of that book was that universities and college professors specifically should not be the ones deciding what young people learn, right? They should not be able to set their curricula.

The curricula should be set by the boards of trustees because they're rich people. Christians who have skin in the game. And so that's been a kind of a generational project ever since. Decade after decade, Ronald Reagan in the 1960s, one of the first things he did as governor was end free tuition for the University of California. That was a reaction to the protests there.

The curricula should be set by the boards of trustees because they're rich people. Christians who have skin in the game. And so that's been a kind of a generational project ever since. Decade after decade, Ronald Reagan in the 1960s, one of the first things he did as governor was end free tuition for the University of California. That was a reaction to the protests there.

The curricula should be set by the boards of trustees because they're rich people. Christians who have skin in the game. And so that's been a kind of a generational project ever since. Decade after decade, Ronald Reagan in the 1960s, one of the first things he did as governor was end free tuition for the University of California. That was a reaction to the protests there.

It was basically manufacturing liberals. Hmm, hmm. And the people who protest, protest are, you know, what we call conservatives, right? And the conservatives are on the catbird seat right now.

It was basically manufacturing liberals. Hmm, hmm. And the people who protest, protest are, you know, what we call conservatives, right? And the conservatives are on the catbird seat right now.

It was basically manufacturing liberals. Hmm, hmm. And the people who protest, protest are, you know, what we call conservatives, right? And the conservatives are on the catbird seat right now.

Well, that's a legal phrase, right? And this suddenly makes this this foreign policy issue, right? If we have an enemy abroad, as declared by the president, suddenly this whole different category of laws applies.

Well, that's a legal phrase, right? And this suddenly makes this this foreign policy issue, right? If we have an enemy abroad, as declared by the president, suddenly this whole different category of laws applies.

Well, that's a legal phrase, right? And this suddenly makes this this foreign policy issue, right? If we have an enemy abroad, as declared by the president, suddenly this whole different category of laws applies.

This is a legal scaffolding to outlaw whole categories of speech, you know, using kind of bad faith arguments about, you know, Americans facing threat abroad.

This is a legal scaffolding to outlaw whole categories of speech, you know, using kind of bad faith arguments about, you know, Americans facing threat abroad.