One of the first conservative voices to run to the defense of Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson was none other than Sarah Palin.
Writing on her Facebook page after Robertson’s controversial comments about gays and African Americans, Palin said that “free speech is an endangered species.” But in an appearance on Fox News this Monday, Greta Van Susteren seemed to try to talk some sense into the former Alaska governor.
Starting out the segment, Palin seemed to slightly retreat from her earlier rhetoric, saying she would leave it to the lawyers to decide whether it’s a “free speech rule of law or not,” and would herself focus on the larger question of “whether we’re allowed to express our personal opinions without threats of intimidation and mockery and criticism and loss of jobs and revenue.”
But Van Susteren, a former lawyer, couldn’t quite seem to let Palin’s poor understanding of how the concept of free speech is meted out slip by.
“I think people loosely use the term ‘free speech,’” Van Susteren replied.
She went on to note that “if the market wants to be such that people don’t want to watch someone, so be it.”
Palin agreed, yet she still seemed to convey a misunderstanding how free speech works in regards to Roberston’s comments, saying that attorneys can decide whether it’s a “legal free speech issue or not.”
Earth to Palin: it’s not.
Watch:
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