Sherrod Brown: “I have always believed in free speech in this institution, and I have always thought that we should have free speech…”

“I have always believed in free speech in this institution, and I have always thought that we should have free speech throughout the country. I have for the last 4 months come to the House floor and read letters from constituents who often do not have a voice in this body, especially when the conservative leaders of this body so often shut down debate. They shut down debate on the $87 billion for Iraq. They shut down debate on discussing whether the President told the truth about Iraq. They shut down debate on the Halliburton scandals and ineptness of the Bush administration in Iraq. Those same people apparently want to shut down the debate in our country by browbeating CBS and threatening CBS to say we cannot run a documentary on a former President. I do not fully understand that; but Madam Speaker, I would like to share these letters about the concerns my constituents have, similar to what John Quincy Adams had done when the conservative leadership 160 years ago shut down debate in this House on slavery.”