Report: Gov. Tim Walz, soon to be our vice president (he  thinks), declares that freedom of speech and the First Amendment do not cover hate speech or disinformation. This is not an odd belief of Walz. It is a common belief among leftists.

It is typical of would-be totalitarians: The Constitution has no fixed meaning. It surely does not mean what the text plainly says. Instead, it means whatever they say it means. Next week it may mean something different:

• The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. But it does not cover hate speech or disinformation. These are defined as anything that disagrees with government doctrine. A biological male boxer punching a biological female is completely fair. The vaccine prevents catching or spreading Covid. Everyone knows these are proven facts not subject to discussion.

• The Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms. But “keep” does not mean actually keep at home or at work, and “bear” does not mean actually carry. Besides, like the First Amendment, the Second covers only what the government approves. AR-15s are not covered. And if the government doesn’t get around to approving any weapons at all,  too bad.