June 30

　　You have to go back to the Alien and Sedition Acts of the 1790s to find Congress so outrageously trying to stifle dissent. Signed by President John Adams to quash newspapers aligned with rival Thomas Jefferson, some 25 people were arrested and 10 editors and publishers convicted under these laws. This time around, at least, the resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday condemning news organizations for publishing classified information has no force of law. It’s pure political theater.

　　Warring with the mainstream media is standard Republican foolery. The first President Bush encouraged his supporters to heckle the press. ANNOY THE MEDIA—RE-ELECT BUSH was a popular bumper sticker in 1992—Bush backers even charged through the media center at the Republican National Convention shouting the slogan. But the media bashing wasn’t enough to salvage the race for Bush, who lost the presidency because he had lost the confidence of conservatives.

　　政治戏剧

　　你必须重温18世纪90年代的“异己和煽动法案”才能感觉到国会是如何蛮横地压制不同政见的。这项法案由约翰·亚当斯总统签署，是用来镇压与他的竞争对手托马斯·杰斐逊联盟的报纸的。根据这项法案，有25人被捕，10名编辑和出版人被判有罪。这次由美国众议院在星期四通过的谴责新闻机构公开保密资料的决议至少不具有法律效力。这纯粹是一出政治戏剧而已。

　　对主流媒体开战是共和党典型的愚蠢行为。老布什总统曾鼓动他的支持者去诘难新闻界。1992年， “骚扰媒体， 再选布什”是一条贴在汽车保险杠上的流行标语。布什的支持者甚至在共和党全国大会上高呼这个口号，以此来挑衅媒体。但是对媒体的攻击不足以拯救布什的竞选。他失去了总统的宝座，因为他失去了保守派的信任。