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November 03, 2005BELTWAY BLOGROLL
A Setback For Bloggers
Bloggers were the focus of attention for about an hour in the House yesterday, and they managed to win the backing of 225 lawmakers for a bill designed to limit the application of campaign finance law to blogs and other Internet communications.
But the final tally, 225-187, fell 47 votes short of the two-thirds majority necessary to pass the Online Freedom of Speech Act under a procedure designed to expedite passage. For now, that puts the debate about applying campaign finance law back at the Federal Election Commission, where a court-mandated rulemaking has been under way since this summer.
Yesterday's House vote is not technically a defeat for the legislation, which would exempt blogs and other Internet communications from the definition of "public communication" under a 2002 campaign finance law. Lawmakers could debate the bill again after approving a "rule" to govern floor time and perhaps allow amendments, which were not possible under the expedited procedure known as suspension of the rules.
Key opponents of the bill in its current form want the chance to offer an amendment aimed at protecting blogs and other forms of communication without creating what they call a new Internet loophole in campaign finance law for special interests. "The issue here is not individual speech," said Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass. "The issue is corrupting soft money."
UPDATE: Mike Krempasky of RedState blamed yesterday's setback on Democrats. But then he said the first order of business in moving the bill forward is educating the few Republicans who voted against the measure.
He names names -- and takes a poke at the newest House Republican, Jean Schmidt of Ohio. Five of Schmidt's Ohio colleagues also were among those opposing the legislation. And Krempasky noted that one of the House's few bloggers, Illinois Republican Mark Kirk, voted "nay."
He has made some calls to the offices of lawmakers, including Schmidt, for explanations of their votes. No word yet.
Bill sponor Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, also made another appearance at RedState to discuss the vote. "We proved that we can pass this bill in the House under regular order," he wrote. "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."
At the liberal blog Daily Kos, lawyer Adam Bonin urged readers of that site to contact Democrats who voted against the bill. He also restated the case for applying to various Internet news technologies the broader "media exemption" to campaign finance law.
"True protection ... would best come from a robust expansion of the media exemption to the Internet, allowing for anyone who engages in 'news, commentary and editorial' on the Internet to have the same freedom to do so without regulatory interference as do The New York Times, Fox News, National Review and the Excellence in Broadcasting network," Bonin wrote. "So long as vibrant netroots activity is protected, restrictions on 'soft money' sources can be negotiated -- but since no such bill has been introduced in Congress yet, a blanket exemption ... is preferable to the FEC regulation, which now will soon follow."
Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas Zuniga mentioned the few Democrats who voted for the bill -- and noted that Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel voted against it. Key activists in the Democratic netroots and the DCCC are divided over political strategy, among other issues.
Posted by | 12:00 PM
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