The more the government comes to control people and companies, the more it can throttle freedom of speech to silence unwanted critics.

Consider the bludgeoning of Humana by Senator Baucus for its temerity in criticizing an aspect of his bill. The Wall Street Journal discusses this ugly and revealing business here.

In several First Amendment cases, the Supreme Court has said that the proper response to speech you dislike is not censorship, but more speech. If Humana’s claims are mistaken, Baucus can try to refute them. But rather than do that, his instinct is to threaten the company with federal regulators. Demagogues are like that.