EDIT: Owing to too little sleep, I’m sad to report that I misread this report and the bill is in the Iowa state legislature, not Congress. We can only dream I suppose. Hey… could anyone in D.C. work on a matching version? The article has been edited to reflect this.(Jazz)

We’ve long since grown used to stories coming from the nation’s college campuses where “safe spaces” are set up for everything from Halloween costumes to the results of the presidential election. But some universities have taken it a step further, setting up special counseling sessions for “grieving” students and additional classes, much of it on the taxpayer dime. The Ivy League schools have gone so far as to consider making themselves miniature “sanctuary cities” to protect illegal immigrants on campus from anticipated increases in law enforcement efforts.

One GOP member of the Iowa state legislature decided earlier this week that the madness needs to stop and has introduced a bill being very appropriately nicknamed the Suck It Up, Buttercup Act.

Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican, plans to introduce a bill that echoes the eye-rolling frustration expressed by many who think colleges are “coddling” their students. He’s referring to the piece of legislation as the “suck it up, buttercup” bill and he hopes to introduce it when the legislature resumes in January, the Des Moines Register reported. The bill would take aim at state universities that offer election-related sit-ins and grief counseling beyond the resources normally available to students. Those colleges that use taxpayer dollars to fund these extra programs would be subject to a budget cut for double the amount they spend.

There’s more to this legislation than meets the eye. The top line item is the obvious one, providing for cuts to funding for schools which could add up to double what they spend on all of this safe space and hand wringing activity. That seems like a measured response which would keep an eye on the taxpayers’ money. Unlike the sanctuary city plan, which I’ve already stated should result in full cuts of federal funding, setting up some grief counseling sessions doesn’t strike me as a serious enough matter to slash their cash flow entirely.

But a second feature of this bill will, I’m guessing, garner a lot more popular support. It proposes to impose additional criminal penalties on people who intentionally block the highways as part of their “protests and free speech.”

The legislation would also create new criminal penalties for protesters who shut down highways, Kaufmann told the Des Moines Register.

I’m still looking for the final language in this bill, but this is something which has deserved attention for a long time now. We’ve seen this from Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter and a host of other liberal initiatives which result in masses of people taking to the streets. Now it’s happening with those unable to come to grips with the idea that they lost an election. When people turn their “protest” into an organized effort to such down streets and highways without a permit, they are shutting off the nation’s infrastructure. There is also the ever present possibility that there will be an ambulance in that traffic jam trying to make it to an emergency room or any number of other critical scenarios. That’s not free speech… it’s a crime, and it deserves to be treated as such.

If Kaufmann is serious about getting this bill passed, it’s the road closure aspect that he and GOP legislators should be hammering on. The funding for schools is interesting but isn’t as likely to get people up in arms. But what percentage of the population do you think is going to be in favor of having protesters force them to sit in their cars for hours on end even if they’re simply trying to get home from work? I think this bill could be wildly popular and the Democrats are going to metaphorically slash their own political wrists if they go out on record opposing it.