WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) delivered floor remarks regarding social media in the age of the Biden Administration.

 

To watch Senator Blackburn’s speech, click below or here.

 

 

You can read the transcript below or in the Congressional Record.

 

Madam President, there was such an interesting

occurrence that happened down the street a bit at 1600 Pennsylvania

Avenue last weekend, and it is when White House Press Secretary Jen

Psaki unveiled the scheme that her colleagues in the West Wing had

worked out with Big Tech.

Well, what they are setting about to do is to remove--and I am

quoting her--``problematic'' content from Facebook and other digital

platforms. That is right. They, the White House team, have decided that

they are going to work with Big Tech, and they are going to remove

``problematic''--their term--content from Facebook and other digital

platforms.

Now, I am certain that the White House was very confident that the

press would treat this rather bizarre admission like they have treated

other blatant oversteps coming out of this administration. After all,

they, the press, have provided reliable cover for this White House

since Inauguration Day.

But here is the problem. It is no longer Inauguration Day. There is

now a record to consider, and I will tell you what, no matter what they

do, the mainstream media is not going to be able to turn the clock back

on this overstep.

In just 6 months, the Biden administration has done an admirable job

showing the American people exactly who they are. We have seen enough

at this point to take the admission of being in cahoots with Big Tech

at face value. The administration has intentionally overwhelmed the

airwaves with big promises that are conveniently light on details.

And there is a good reason for that. What President Biden and the

Democrats are trying to do would fundamentally transform this country

into something that we, the people, would have a very difficult time

even recognizing.

They got off to a great start toward their goals by killing jobs in

the name of climate extremism and opening the border to a flood of

illegal immigrants with no plan at all to manage the influx. They just

said: Let's send them to the States, and let local communities and

States cover this cost.

They tried to dupe the American people into getting behind a so-

called infrastructure plan that was anything but infrastructure. Then

they doubled down on a brazen attempt to extend the Federal

Government's control over schools and homes. They labeled this spending

spree the American Families Plan to provide cover for yet another

attack on, what else, the nuclear family.

Then they launched an all-out war on the ballot box in the name of

the people. And now we see that they worked out a perfect system to

force the opposition to shut up--just throw a flag on your opponents

and watch their digital footprint and their freedom of speech

evaporate.

There is a way to shut them down. It is called government-approved

messaging. Obviously, somewhere in the White House, they tucked their

realities that they alluded to back in January, and now this is what we

are seeing.

I know we already have members of the mainstream media who are

running defense on behalf of this little collaboration between the

White House and Big Tech, but it is time to get serious about what is

going on here. The President of the United States is using the full

force of his administration to silence his political opponents. That is

correct.

This isn't just dystopian. It also raises serious questions about how

much pressure the Federal Government can put on a private entity to

restrict political speech. Think about that. This administration,

working with Big Tech, is going to deem certain messages government

approved and others as being open to censorship. It is, indeed, a

complete violation of the trust the American people put in Joe Biden

when they sent him to the White House.

But as the new majority has made clear, to tear down and rebuild the

United States in their own image is something that is a goal. And in

order to do that, they attack the foundation. They have to get rid of

all the things that make America so incredibly special: our commitment

to safety and security, the importance of the family, and the near

sacrosanct promise of free speech and open debate.

They have gotten off to a pretty good start, those Democrats. But for

their vision to take hold, the Democratic majority must convince a

critical mass of their countrymen to adopt their same narrow viewpoint.

Fortunately, the American people are not accustomed to doing what they

are told simply because an authority figure said go do it.

Here is a quote that former President Reagan made regularly, and I

know we have heard it and seen it on this floor several times so far

this year:

Freedom is never more than one generation away from

extinction. It has to be fought for and defended by each

generation.

That is so important for us to remember. It is important because it

is something that we are seeing really kind of lived out right now. We

have to take this as something of a warning when you look at the steps

that this administration is taking. If anything, they are taking big

steps to see just how far they can push the limits of democracy: How

much will the people take? How much freedom are they willing to give

up?

Just about every single policy coming out of this White House has

been used by the Democrats as a weapon to diminish freedom in the name

of a preapproved socialist fantasy. And in that fantasy, there is no

room for free speech or dissent. Censorship becomes normalized. It is

expected. Collectivism replaces individualism. The philosophies of

democracy and self-determination fall victim to the moving goalposts of

a living Constitution, and freedom is reduced to an outdated trope that

only the unenlightened cling to.

I wonder, how many people in this country do you think actually have

that as a goal? How many do you think are wanting to give up their free

speech and their freedom and hand it over to the government and let the

government decide what they are going to give back to them, how much

freedom they are going to allow them to exercise over their daily life,

over their children's education, over the education that they want to

have, or the job they want to have, or the home they want to live in,

or the car that they want to drive? Do you really think that Americans

want to give their freedom up?

Since the 2016 election, the left has existed in a state of perpetual

hysteria. It has been over the threat that our God-given freedom poses

threats to their radical, socialist agenda. But instead of taking the

conventional route of persuasion, they chose a high-pressure guilt

campaign to force people into a prepackaged American experience. They

want everyone marching in line with the daily talking points because we

want calm, they say. Democracy is too messy. It is too unpredictable.

No one wants to exist in that system, they say.

But I differ in my opinion. Yes, it is messy, but this big,

beautiful, diverse mess is what sets this country apart. It makes us

strong and successful and unites us under the common cause of freedom.

And as we are all well aware, it has also turned this shining city on a

hill into a magnet for criticism from nations foundering under the

disastrous consequences of their great socialist experiment.

I would implore my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to stop

trying to fit in with these failing systems. Stop diminishing the cause

of freedom because it inconveniences you. Abandon your fear of open

debate. This constant refusal to engage says much more about the

strength of your policy positions than it does about ours. Above all,

stop ignoring the American people. They didn't vote for this. They do

not want this.

It is so interesting to me every weekend to go home and listen to

Tennesseans who talk about the changes

that they have seen in the Democratic Party and the policies that are

coming forward that they are rejecting because they do not want to give

up their freedom. They are willing to fight for their freedom so that

their children and their grandchildren know the promises of the

American dream and have the opportunity to live their lives in freedom.

I yield the floor.