Just in from ThinkProgress:
“In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT I.P. Act.
“There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved. Counterfeiting and piracy cost the American economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year, with the movie industry alone supporting over 2.2 million jobs. We must take action to stop these illegal practices. We live in a country where people rightfully expect to be fairly compensated for a day’s work, whether that person is a miner in the high desert of Nevada, an independent band in New York City, or a union worker on the back lots of a California movie studio.
“I admire the work that Chairman Leahy has put into this bill. I encourage him to continue engaging with all stakeholders to forge a balance between protecting Americans’ intellectual property, and maintaining openness and innovation on the internet. We made good progress through the discussions we’ve held in recent days, and I am optimistic that we can reach a compromise in the coming weeks.”
Sorry about the lack of detail, but really, there's not much more to say. Supporters have been dropping like flies, and the current whip count in the Senate has gone from 40 Yes / 5 No to 32 Yes / 45 No in just the past week.
Of course, the odds are high that the powers that be will try to slip most of the SOPA/PIPA stuff through under the radar, either under a different name or, more likely, quietly added as an amendment to some unrelated "must-pass" MegaOmnibusDefense bill or whatever. (Sigh...)
Still, a victory is a victory, and we can enjoy the moment.
Now, if we could just work up this kind of enthusiasm over other major issues of the day...
BONUS: OK, this has absolutely nothing to do with the SOPA/PIPA bills, but I can't resist posting this extremely Rapid Response ad by the DNC:
WOW. Talk about shooting fish in a barrel. It runs too long (I presume this is a web-only version, and that 60 & 30-second versions will be airing soon), but it's beautiful.
I just wish they'd waited until after the he has the nomination sewn up before running it.
Still "Believe in the Cayman Islands" is hilarious.