I was on the road yesterday, and was unfortunately unable to follow the action of the Online Freedom of Speech Act. But seeing how things panned out (the bill failed), it was definitely one of those days when we in the netroots got a chance to see who believed and supported our medium and who didn't.
Remember, this is legislation that was first proposed by Harry Reid in the Senate. This was the House version of the exact same Reid bill.
I found out that Common Cause, which had given me a personal assurance they would stay out of this fight, wasn't a trustworthy organization whose word I could trust. (In an email explanation to me, they claimed that despite their backstabbing, I had nothing to worry about anyway since this bill was going to pass easily.)
I found that Democrats like Pelosi hid behind a procedural argument -- that the way this bill was introduced prevented any amendments -- when the last thing this simple one-sentence bill needed was to be larded up with amendments. (Pelosi and Waxman's excuses are here, Adam B's perfect response is here.)
I found that "reformer" groups (e.g. Democracy 21) were making calls to hill staff claiming this bill would become a blanket exemption on the internet for all campaign finance laws, even (according to one staffer) suggesting that donors and corporations could circumvent the $2,100 campaign contribution limit if those contributions were made online. All lies, of course. If you want to know what this legislation is really about, read Adam's extensive writings on the issue. ( In short, we just want the same protections afforded to Fox News, Bob Novak, the Washington Times, and the Weekly Standard.)
But rather than dwell on the negative, I'd like to thank those Democrats who didn't fall prey to the fear mongering of the campaign finance groups. These are the Democrats who care about nurturing and protecting our nascent medium from those who'd rather destroy it.
Joe Baca (CA)
John Barrow (GA)
Howard Berman (CA)
Stanford Bishop (GA)
Earl Blumenauer (OR)
Dan Boren (OK)
Rick Boucher (VA)
Sherrod Brown (OH)
Michael Capuano (MA)
Dennis Cardoza (CA)
Ben Chandler (KY)
Lacy Clay (MO)
John Conyers (MI)
Jim Costa (CA)
Bud Cramer (AL)
Henry Cuellar (TX)
Lincoln Davis (TN)
Anna Eshoo (CA)
Chaka Fattah (PA)
Stephanie Herseth (SD)
Mike Honda (CA)
Steny Hoyer (MD)
Patrick Kennedy (RI)
Barbara Lee (CA) (A special thanks to my local congresswoman) |
Zoe Lofgren (CA)
Jim Matheson (UT)
Cynthia McKinney (GA)
Charlie Melancon (LA)
John Murtha (PA)
Collin Peterson (MN)
Nick Rahall (WV)
Mike Ross (AR)
Tim Ryan (OH)
John Salazar (CO)
Loretta Sanchez (CA)
David Scott (GA)
Jose Serrano (NY)
Adam Smith (WA)
Ted Strickland (OH)
Mike Thompson (CA)
Mark Udall (CO)
Maxine Waters (CA)
Diane Watson (CA)
Lynn Woolsey (CA)
Albert Wynn (MD) |
As for those congressman running for higher office:
OH-Gov: Ted Strickland voted for it
OH-Sen: Sherrod Brown voted for it
TN-Sen: Harold Ford voted against it
VT-Sen: Bernie Sanders voted against it
(Hypothetical NJ senate candidates)
NJ-Sen: Bob Menendez didn't vote
NJ-Sen: Frank Pallone voted against it
NJ-Sen: Rob Andrews voted against it
And the DCCC's Rahm Emanuel voted against it.