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July 28, 2005BELTWAY BLOGROLL
The Best Way To Get A Blogger Exemption
Bloggers have been fighting hard to make sure the FEC doesn't bring them under the umbrella of federal campaign-finance law. Now some of them, with tongues planted firmly in their cheeks, have devised a strategy that just might work: Get one of their own on the FEC.
Mike Krempasky at RedState.org, who testified before the election agency earlier this summer, tossed that trial balloon into the blogosphere yesterday after word spread that President Bush could make recess appointments to the FEC. His pick: Allison Hayward, an attorney who once worked for Federal Election Commissioner Brad Smith and who now blogs at Skeptic's Eye.
"She's qualified, she's sharp, and she wouldn't have the same learning curve that another short-term appointment would neccesitate," Krempasky wrote. "You heard it here first: DraftAllison!" An added bonus, to his mind: "That'd sure scare the bejeebus out of the reformers."
Instapundit snickered at the thought, and Mark Tapscott of Tapscott's Copy Desk offered this more serious plug:
"Here's why Krempasky's idea makes such good sense: Recess appointments are for one year. Hayward already knows the FEC's processes, people and issues and so could hit the ground running, thus enabling the panel to continue its work smoothly while the White House decides what to do about a permanent appointee. Being as sharp as she is, Hayward might well impress Bush so much that he makes her his permanent appointee."
Hayward addressed the prospects of such an appointment on her blog. "While quite flattering," she wrote, "it is more likely I might be recruited as the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers or swim the English Channel."
UPDATE: In a follow-up e-mail, Hayward said she would "be happy to serve my president in any capacity he deems appropriate."
But what about those pending FEC rules? Would she, as a blogger and a member of the FEC, be covered? Here's her answer: "Sure, the Internet rules would apply to anything I'd do online. However, in truth I would probably not blog anymore if I took a position (any position) in government. I think I'd be too busy, and in some contexts it could raise issues about bias and recusal."
Maybe that's why not many people in government are blogging yet.
Posted by | 04:52 PM
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