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CapitolLink: Reaction To Vote On Internet Speech

RedState is the place to be these days for Republican lawmakers eager to make the case for a bill to protect Internet political speech. In the days since the House dealt the legislation a procedural setback on Wednesday, three lawmakers have posted entries at the site.

Bill sponsor Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, was the first to post an entry -- just hours after the House 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."

Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican who is fast becoming a semi-regular contributor to RedState, also commented on the vote. She blamed the setback on lawmakers who refuse to acknowledge that their passage of the 2002 campaign finance law at the root of the current debate "has been a disaster."

"You had a lot of people on soapboxes denouncing those opposed to the 2002 reform as despicable and corrupt, and it has turned out that the 2002 reform has only complicated the system and infringed on free speech," she said. "In my opinion, we ought to scrap the 2002 bill altogether before it gets its hooks into the Internet."

And Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia, who started posting regular diary entries at RedState in late October, lauded RedState contributors and readers for their role in the debate. Kingston wrote, "You all make a difference in the legislative process, and I am confident that RedState.org will continue to educate members of Congress on the importance of this issue to ensuring that free speech remains just that -- free."

He also noted that House Speaker Dennis Hastert is an advocate of the legislation. Hastert, R-Ill., blogged about the bill before the vote, and his press secretary posted the Speaker's reaction afterward. "This bill will come back under regular order," he said in the release, "and I encourage all those who support free speech on the Internet to make their voices heard."

RedStaters have praised the various lawmakers who have suddenly started joining the policy conversations in the blogosphere, but one had a good suggestion for the RedState board. "Is there some way to get the posts of congresspersons collected at one location, or perhaps get the contributors listed in the sidebar or something?" the reader wrote in the comments to Kingston's post. "I'd like to see who's posted here historically, as well as what they've posted."

Posted by | 07:41 AM

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