Protect Yourself

By Erick Posted in Congress — Comments (7) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

If you remember 2006, bloggers on the left and right banded together to fight off legislation that would have regulated bloggers under campaign finance laws. The fight was successful.

The Federal Elections Commission then issued regulations that made it very clear bloggers are not to be subject to disclosure requirements if they dared support or oppose a candidate.

Unfortunately, those are just regulations, easily changeable by a new FEC. Congressman Jeb Hensarling, leader of the House conservatives, is seeking to solve that problem.

Congressman Hensarling is introducing the "Blogger Protection Act of 2008," which would condify the protections online activists have to rally to or oppose candidates. Hopefully this legislation will get the bipartisan support it deserves.

You may have forgotten, but it really was only two years ago that Congress came very close to deciding that online activists who support a candidate must file disclosures with the Federal Election Commission. You don't have to be a blogger to understand the far reaching implications of Congress making an ordinary citizen register and file documents because the citizen dares to take their support of a candidate onto the information superhighway.

I would urge you to call your Congressman at 202-225-3121 and ask him to sign on as a cosponsor to Congressman Hensarling's Blogger Protection Act. You can see the legislation here.

I'm glad he's my district's by jrqberry

I'm glad he's my district's Congressman (smallish East Tx area.) Whenever I get depressed about the current landscape of politics, I remember that there are some genuine politicians out there who aren't crazy. Keep it goin' Jeb!!

Jeb in 2012

Reply To This — User Info — #1

Whats doing with getting our guy Hans Von Spakovsky by Joliphant

onto the FEC ? At the very least we would at least have some balance. Then again can they actually do anything without a full commission ?

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777

Reply To This — User Info — #2

Rep Jeff FLake R-AZ agrees. by PhxG

Or so says his staffers.

_____________________________

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle

Reply To This — User Info — #3

Stupid by morganm

Why should we have this narrow exception for bloggers, are we all in agreement that somehow blogging is a special form of speech to be protected above the others? We had the First Amendment already-- there is ZERO exciting to me about Congress 'allowing' a group to have free speech. It should already extend to everyone, in every medium, for any reason, at any time, for any price, or no price at all.

Thanks John McCain, for opening up a giant, easy target on your side, and just in time for election season! What a moron.

Who do we call to support the Citizen Protection Act? Or are we only worthwhile if we belong to some group now? "I'm a blogger." "I'm disabled." "I'm Pacific-Islander American." "I'm a congressman-- I can help you."

Reply To This — User Info — #4

Whoosh by Neil Stevens

(The following post will probably make Brad Smith and the other lawyers wince, but I hope I'm getting the general thrust correctly)

The point is that existing CFR law distinguishes between personal communications, mass media news and opinion, and advertising. The first two don't get hit by CFR requirements, but the third does. Some who hate free speech want to get any individual who writes on his own website on the Internet into category three if he is open about supporting a candidate with images and posts and whatnot.

I think any reasonable understanding puts most sites in either the first (in the case of my personal site) or the second (in the case of Red state) categories.

Basically, with this fight, we're taking abreak from trying to tear down the unconstitutional system in order to make the system consistent with itself, in order to minimize the harm.

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"If we want to take this party back, and I think we can someday, let’s get to work." – Barry Goldwater

Reply To This — User Info — #5

From the title, I thought this was an update on condoms by civil truth

Though maybe it is in a way...about fitting condoms over the heads of the FEC to protect us from them doing us any harm.

And Rightly So!

Reply To This — User Info — #6

Ever Vigilant by Whitehorse

We must remain ever vigilant against things such as this & those who would impose.

Reply To This — User Info — #7

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