Dominion, Smartmatic, FoxNews, and Mike Lindell, Would Like To Have A Word

DeSantis says "there's no way you could ever have a defamation action" under current libel laws, which is just patently untrue https://t.co/OZz3sE0Dle

— Aidan McLaughlin (@aidnmclaughlin) March 23, 2023

What about this seems like a political winner in a GOP primary? Or even in Florida?  Without Sullivan, FoxNews and Lindell would be in an even greater world of hurt, because Dominion and Smartmatic wouldn't have to clear the high bar of "actual malice."  (It's still remarkable FoxNews made that so easy for them.  But imagine a world where that wasn't necessary.)

And a reminder that NYT v Sullivan shut down the Southern public official practice of suing civil rights workers and others for accurately describing Southern public officials as racists and white supremacists.  The defamation suits were used as a weapon to silence dissent and public disagreement with state government policy.

So it's a legitimate question:  does Gov. DeSantis pine for the "Good old days" when government critics could easily be sued into silence?  Because especially today, that door swings both ways.