By Logan Andrew, FreeWire Magazine Founder/Editor-In-Chief
The First Amendment is the cornerstone of American democracy. It’s first for a reason. It’s more than just words on a page — it’s the fundamental principle that allows all the other rights to flourish. And yet, here we are, watching as the very people who once championed transparency, free speech, and open discourse suddenly find themselves in power and decide those principles are inconvenient.
Take, for example, the transformation of certain politicians once they gain power. The biggest enemy of Council President Kurt Fankhauser was Candidate Kurt Fankhauser.
You could quite literally put them side by side and watch them debate each other. In fact, I wish we could, because nothing would expose this hypocrisy faster. Many politicians make their names demanding transparency. They fight to expose what they see as government corruption. They ensure that meetings are filmed, that citizens have access to information, and that their voices are heard. For years, they champion public discourse — even when it gets messy, even when it turns against them. It becomes their defining characteristic. And then? Then they want to shut it down. Then they want to turn off the cameras. Then they want to silence the very people they claimed to fight for.
Sure, they can shut down the comments on their personal YouTube channels if they’re afraid of discussion and discourse. They can mute all the criticism they want on their own private platforms. But the government is not their personal YouTube channel. If you are afraid of debate, if you are afraid of disagreement, if you cannot handle public criticism, then stay out of public office. Because let’s be clear: this isn’t about one silly “threat” from a fake profile that probably doesn’t even belong to someone in Ohio. This isn’t about safety. It’s about control. It’s about power. It’s about shutting down dissent. It’s about ensuring that once you’ve climbed the ladder, you kick it down behind you so no one else can follow. It’s the same strategy you see on Wall Street, on K Street, on Pennsylvania Avenue, and now, apparently, on Sandusky Avenue too.
The people who fight the hardest for access to power are often the first to lock the doors behind them when they get inside. And now, we have politicians and candidates (looking at you, Mr. Taylor) throwing around labels like “left-wing mob” because anything they disagree with must be left-wing. It’s a page straight out of the Donald Trump playbook — slap a moniker on something, expect the public to be too ignorant to question it, and pretend like it explains everything.
The so-called “left-wing mob” is left-wing insofar as Ronald Reagan raising taxes was left-wing. The real label for this mob? Constituents. That’s what other politicians call them. Some people just don’t like to admit that a coalition of people from all walks of life, with all types of political views, have watched a few choice Republicans veer into crazy territory from which there seems to be no return. And because these constituents voice their criticisms of said Republicans, suddenly they’re left-wing, suddenly they’re a mob.
You’re all smart enough to see this for what it is: political posturing, grandstanding, of the highest order. Here at FreeWire, we reject that entirely. We fight bad speech with better speech. We believe in open debate, in discussion, in engaging with people — even those we disagree with. Have we had to step in and enforce the rules? Of course. Have we issued suspensions for people who crossed the line? Sure. But a 24-hour suspension on a private platform is not a First Amendment issue, and more importantly, we are not the government.
The First Amendment does not protect you from the consequences of your own words. But in a government setting? The ability to speak, to question, to challenge those in power — that is sacrosanct. So to suddenly declare that public discourse is a “mob” because it no longer serves personal interests? That’s not just hypocrisy — it’s cowardice. And it would be funny if it weren’t so serious.
This isn’t a mob. This is democracy. Calling it a mob is like calling a city council meeting a riot because people showed up to voice their opinions. It’s like calling a vote a coup because you lost. It’s an insult to everyone who genuinely believes in the power of the people. Shutting down the very discussions that once seemed to be the pinnacle of their achievements — because now the conversation is uncomfortable? That’s not leadership. That’s self-preservation. And it’s ridiculous beyond compare.
If politicians who built their careers on demanding government remain open, honest, and accessible suddenly abandon that now, they’re proving that all of it — all the activism, all the outrage, all the speeches — was never about transparency. It was about power. And now that they have it, they have no interest in sharing it.
The First Amendment is first for a reason. It is the foundation upon which all other freedoms rest. And anyone who thinks they can wield it only when convenient has already failed the very people they swore to serve.
If leaders want to be known as champions of free speech, then they’d better start acting like it. Because if they don’t, history will remember them not as defenders of democracy, but as those who built their careers demanding a microphone, only to yank it away the moment they got control of the volume. And anyone who enables them — anyone who stands with them in silencing criticism — will be remembered as complicit.
