Conservatives seem to have developed a belief lately that the First Amendment's right to free speech also entitles one to immunity to criticism or repercussions for the things that one might say.
This theory was once again on display on Glenn Beck's television program last night when he opened with a long monologue defending the importance of the First Amendment by blasting the on-going fall-out surrounding comments made by Paula Deen, seemingly taking the position that Deen, and everyone else, ought to be able to say anything they want without having to worry about suffering any sort of consequences ... because apparently the possibility of there being ramifications for actions is nothing more than McCarthyism.
Beck literally compared the practice of "discouraging people from speaking their minds" to putting explorers like Magellan and Columbus in jail or preventing Martin Luther King from standing for civil rights, saying that the Food Network's decision not to renew Deen's contract has "contributed to the growing un-American atmosphere of fear and silence; hello, Joseph McCarthy!"
Somehow, this is all related to Nancy Pelosi being booed while speaking at the Netroots Nation conference last weekend, which Beck cited as proof that "eventually progressives run out of people to blame and they go after anyone, anyone who's not in power, and they'll go after liberals as well; welcome to the America that you've helped create":
