DON’T LET THE LITTLE PEOPLE SPEAK:
WASHINGTON (AP) – Online political expression should not be exempt from campaign finance law, the House decided Wednesday as lawmakers warned that the Internet has opened up a new loophole for uncontrolled spending on elections. . . .
The vote in effect clears the way for the FEC to move ahead with court-mandated rule-making to govern political speech and campaign spending on the Internet.
You might not like what they say. (Via Steel Turman).
UPDATE: Andrew Roth:
With spending out of control, this vote shows that not only do politicians take our money, they take our freedom to speak against them as well. That should scare the pants off of anyone.
Indeed.
What is happening here is that certain people–the editorial board of the New York Times, the Democrats on the Federal Election Commission–are trying to put sites like this one out of business.
Yes.
ANOTHER UPDATE: A somewhat more positive take from one of the bill’s sponsors:
As many of you might have just witnessed on CSPAN, the House voted 225 to 182 on the Online Freedom of Speech Act (H.R. 1606) — a majority but less than the two-thirds required for a “suspension” bill to clear the House.
I am encouraged that this important legislation received the support of a clear bipartisan majority. Most Members of Congress support protecting free speech on the Internet. . . .
We proved that we can pass this bill in the House under regular order. Working with leadership, I hope we can achieve this worthy goal before the FEC issues new regulations that will prohibit Americans from exercising their First Amendment rights over the Internet.
I hope so, too.
MORE: Via an update to the Power Line post above, here’s the roll call vote. If you’re unhappy with how your representative voted, let ’em know.