Simon & Schuster's political punishment of Josh Hawley will backfire

In the wake of the chaos at the Capitol, the private sector has taken steps to hold the responsible parties accountable. Most recently, publisher Simon & Schuster announced it would pull Sen. Josh Hawley’s forthcoming book due to his role in the Electoral College challenge.

However wrong Hawley’s actions might have been, silencing him is not the solution. Aside from the fact that they would not do this to a Democrat (Barbara Boxer faced no consequences for her similar stunt), this is an excellent candidate for the Streisand effect. Quashing dissent will only make it louder, especially when the dissenting parties have attracted enormous followings over their concerns about censorship.