Smith often championed the idea of allowing party members to speak their minds more freely back then. It's good in theory, since it never looks good when a leader starts muzzling their underlings (right Stephen?). But that was a practical example of why it can be bad. Smith allowed herself to get caught in a no-win situation there as she had to either go back on her free speech policy or she could state her disagreement without condemnation and try to absorb whatever fallout occurred. She chose the latter and paid for it.
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