March 28, 2006

THAT SHOULD SIDETRACK CAMPAIGNS PRETTY EFFECTIVELY:

FEC Rules Exempt Blogs From Internet Political Limits (Thomas B. Edsall, March 28, 2006, Washington Post)

In a unanimous vote yesterday, the Federal Election Commission left unregulated almost all political activity on the Internet except for paid political advertisements. Campaigns buying such ads will have to use money raised under the limits of current federal campaign law.

Perhaps most important, the commission effectively granted media exemptions to bloggers and other activists using the Web to allow them to praise and criticize politicians, just as newspapers can, without fear of federal interference.

The rules "totally exempt individuals who engage in political activity on the Internet from the restrictions of the campaign finance laws. The exemption for individual Internet activity in the final rules is categorical and unqualified," said FEC Chairman Michael E. Toner. The regulation "protects Internet activities by individuals in all forms, including e-mailing, linking, blogging, or hosting a Web site," he said.


It's the Web Developer Full Employment Act of 2008.

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 28, 2006 8:00 AM
Comments

Fari enough OJ, but let's then call all campaign finance legislation what it is as well..."Politicians' Lifetime Employment Act."

All campaign finance regulation goes against the spririt of the Constitution. If there was ever a time to invoke "penumbras & emmanations," smacking down politicians' protectionist legislation would be it.

Posted by: Bruno at March 28, 2006 8:59 AM

This is good news. I'm with Bruno, but I have this belief that we take on one Goliath at a time.

Posted by: Ptah at March 28, 2006 9:32 AM

[Speaks in funny Orrin voice]: No, Ptah, one David at a time.

Posted by: Michael Herdegen [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 28, 2006 9:56 AM

You don't understand, Bruno: The slaying of this big Goliath renders all the other Goliaths impotent. Check the price of BlogAds or other Internet ads nowadays to see how the pols who signed up to this FEC action will rue the day they did so.

McCain, Feingold, what are you going to do about it?!

Posted by: Brad S at March 28, 2006 9:56 AM

BTW, disclosures for paid political ads on the Internet will do nothing to stop a John Thune from paying a bunch of bloggers to write political nasty stuff designed to put media/political opposition on the constant defensive. What that campaign did against Tom Daschle was truly more visionary than anything Markos Moulitsas has come up with.

Posted by: Brad S at March 28, 2006 10:00 AM

Paying bloggers to write is a waste of money.

Posted by: David Cohen at March 28, 2006 11:37 AM

It may be a "waste of money," but it certainly opened doors for those John Thune paid. All are now on his staff.

Posted by: Brad S at March 28, 2006 12:31 PM

I didn't mean from the blogger's perspective.

Posted by: David Cohen at March 28, 2006 6:41 PM

Dave,

I don't get it...What other perspective is there?

Posted by: Bruno at March 28, 2006 7:02 PM

lol

Posted by: David Cohen at March 28, 2006 7:17 PM
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Tracked on March 28, 2006 9:23 AM