Donna Shalala, Freedom Fighter

Yuval Levin explains why awarding Donna Shalala the Medal of Freedom is such an outrage:

The Medal of Freedom for Donna Shalala - one of the Clinton administration's foremost abortion advocates and welfare reform opponents - really is baffling. The Medal of Freedom is not just a pat on the back; it is a great and high honor, and should not be thrown around lightly or used to check boxes or bean-count. Some of the hardest working and most dedicated conservatives in this administration have been those at HHS striving these eight years to undo some of the damage Shalala did during her time there, and this is simply a slap in the face to all of them and their work.

Shalala's Medal of Freedom is also a slap in the face to those who believe in the First Amendment. While Shalala was chancellor of the University of Wisconsin--Madison, the university established "a code against 'hate speech' that would punish students for uttering 'racist' or 'sexist' remarks to others. Shalala shrugged off concern about First Amendment rights, calling it a convenient dodge 'for everyone from visiting rock stars who extol woman bashing to tenured professors who spew ethnic slurs.'" The speech code was later found to be unconstitutional by a federal court.

I guess fighting against free speech is now a qualification for receiving the Medal of Freedom.