I think I am even more shocked by the significant percentage of Republicans who are not in favor of total free speech.

Red State

Are you sitting down? OK, so here’s the thing: According to a recent RealClearPolitics poll, more than three out of 10 Democrat voters think the people of America enjoy “too much freedom.”

[. . .]

Here are some of the specific findings of the poll:

Republican voters (74%) and independents (61%) believe speech should be legal “under any circumstances, while Democrats are almost evenly divided. A bare majority of Democrats (53%) say speech should be legal under any circumstances, while 47% say it should be legal “only under certain circumstances.”

Nearly one-third of Democratic voters (34%) say Americans have “too much freedom.” This compared to 14.6% of Republicans. Republicans were most likely to say Americans have too little freedom (46%), while only 22% of Democrats feel that way. Independents were in the middle in both categories.

Although majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents agree the news media should be able to report stories they believe are in the national interest, this consensus shifts when it comes to social media censorship. A majority of Democrats (52%) approve of the government censoring social media content under the rubric of protecting national security. Among Republicans and independents, this percentage is only one-third.

Poll respondents were read this statement: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Only 31% of Democratic voters “strongly agreed” with that sentiment, compared to 51% of Republicans.

Fully three-fourths of Democrats believe government has a responsibility to limit “hateful” social media posts, while Republicans are more split, with 50% believing the government has a responsibility to restrict hateful posts. (Independents, once again, are in the middle.)

Democrats are significantly more likely than Republicans to favor stifling the free speech rights of political extremists. Also, Republicans don’t vary by the group: Only about half of GOP voters favor censorship — whether asked about the Ku Klux Klan, Nazis, or the Communist Party.

In a reiteration of my earlier point, the definition of “tolerance,” in the collective minds of the left, is:

“You must not only tolerate our radical agendas; you must also embrace them. Publicly. However, if we oppose your agendas, we will reject them outright. Publicly. And we will do our damnedest to destroy you if you don’t cease and desist at our command.”

In other words, the American Democrat Party is the most hypocritical group of people on the planet, constantly preaching inclusion and tolerance while showing nary an ounce of it to those they oppose.

The Bottom Line

The best (worst) part of the Democrat psyche is that these people are incapable of self-awareness, of recognizing their own hypocrisy and irony — and they have no idea how much comedic value they provide the rational among us.

That — and their desire to destroy America as we know it, of course.