Many people have been very scared about the FEC restricting free speech on blogs today. They were all scared by hypothetical musing from a Bush appointee. Everyone needs to settle down and do two things: Consider the source and consider what other problems might need top be addressed.
1) Consider the source.
Bradley Smith is a far right Republican who believes we should go back to the days of 1972 and Nixon's Creep with wads of cash and no regulation whatsoever. You can find more about him here.
He is trying to drum up Democratic support for an extremist position. So be wary of his predictions and think about the second angle.
2) Consider the use.
In South Dakota bloggers were paid by the Thune campaign and promoted with no disclosure what-so-ever. Right now nothing is regulated on the internet thanks to a decision by the FEC. Campaign activity is regulated everywhere else.
The FEC is simply trying to bring modern campaign rules to the internet like tv, radio, and everywhere else. Which means if campaigns pay for airtime they have to tell us. Preventing the funneling of money they love so much. Not making everyone who even mentions a candidate must pay the candidate.
We need to think more before we become reactionary.
Josh Marshall links to simple post about this article that comes to the same conclusion:
Bush-appointed FEC Commissioner Bradley Smith is not a big fan of McCain-Feingold. He would love to have everyone believe that free speech equals the right of any anonymous donor to funnel millions into any campaign they want.
But the left loves McCain-Feingold. So how to get them to hate McCain-Feingold? Imply that you are going to start to try to shut down free speech and bloggers on the Internet because you are being forced to do so by those hateful Democrats on the Federal Election Commission. The best way to do that? How about an interview at CNET entitled "The Coming Crackdown On Blogging." And people ranging from Atrios at Eschaton, Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo, and Armando at Daily Kos seem to be falling all over themselves trying to make alliances with right-wing bloggers to try and stop the "new law."
People, this is a transparent power play. There is no new law. Its just a few off-hand comments one Commissioner made to a reporter at CNET. Just because Bradley Smith implies the Commission is going to go that way doesn't make it so. Even the smallest drop of knowledge about First Amendment law would tell you that such an interpretation has probably one of the steepest climbs in all of jurisprudence. Smith wants to make an end-run around the other members of the committee by undercutting their support. But they don't need support. They don't take orders from anyone. Why would Brad Smith think this? Because he does.
So before you go and submit a torrent of E-mails to the Democratic members of the FEC, stop and think. Am I really doing the right thing by reflexively doing the will of the Republican chair of the FEC?
Please recomend this diary so people can think twice about their hasty judgements of the FEC comissioners and Senators McCain and Feingold.