Prominent Rightwing Blogger Promises To Work Hard To Defeat Any Rightwing SOPA Supporters In Congress
from the good-for-him,-how-about-the-left? dept
One of the more interesting things about the whole SOPA/PIPA debate (and, as I've pointed out for many years, about any of the intellectual property policy fights) is how non-partisan they are. In fact, I think it's important that they're non-partisan, because when things become partisan, they become... well... silly (on both sides). SOPA/PIPA supporters keep touting how their bills have "bi-partisan" support, but I'd argue what's much more powerful is how the growing movement protesting these bills is almost entirely non-partisan. There are tons of people all over the political spectrum protesting, and none of the discussion has been about broad political philosophies or major party talking points. They've all been about the specific issues with the bill.And that's creating some interesting opposition that may start to wake up Congress. We've definitely seen people associated with both ends of the political spectrum come out against the bills. For example, how often do you see Nancy Pelosi and Darrell Issa agree on something? We've also seen some prominent Tea Party groups, like the Tea Party Patriots, as well as prominent "left" movements/sites like MoveOn and DailyKos come out against the bill.
Now, Erick Erickson, the guy behind the rightwing site RedState, has said that not only is he against SOPA, but that he will do everything in his power to defeat any Republican who co-sponsors the bill. And he challenges people on the left to do the same with Democratic co-sponsors:
A fund should be created and the left should go out and find candidates to take on the Democrat sponsors. The right should go out and find candidates to take on the Republican sponsors.... The money should then be used to fund the primary challenges against the incumbent sponsors of SOPA. Let the right vet and direct the funding on the right so no one thinks the left is trying to pick the challenger and vice-versa on the left.He even admits that this might take out some politicians he really likes and supports, such as Rep. Marsha Blackburn (whose hypocrisy on the topic of regulating the internet, we've discussed in the past). As Erickson says:
Killing SOPA is that important.So important that it's worth campaigning and sending funds against candidates you otherwise agree with.
For a few months now, we'd been warning SOPA/PIPA supporters that this was going to become an election issue. It appears that's starting in earnest, and it's not going to look good for such supporters. And this truly is a non-partisan issue. Rather than this being about some concept of "left vs. right" or Rs vs. Ds, it's about those who understand the internet vs. those who don't understand or are afraid of the internet and wish to control that which they fear. And that's why SOPA and PIPA are becoming toxic politically for their supporters. There are a lot more people who actually do get this stuff out there than are in Congress. And they're starting to speak out as they realize just how big an issue this is.
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Filed Under: bi-partisan, erick erickson, free speech, left wing, non-partisan, pipa, protect ip, right wing, sopa
Companies: redstate
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The R's and the D's pretty much agree on this one: IP is important the US future, and letting the grifters screw us out of that future is something to stand up against, no matter how hard they push and how hard they threaten people's livelihoods and careers.
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So is communication. Lrn 2 rite, Kaptin Speling....
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So, now that we've discussed the **AA business models, when are we going to discuss the internet companies?
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The **AAs don't depend on safe harbors to rip people off. Talk about bullshit. [citation needed] (and no, techdirt isn't citation, it's an opinion blog).
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Compare the different versions of Disney movies that can come out because of copyright laws when compared to folktales based on Grimm's fairy tales. The public domain got screwed.
The **AAs don't depend on safe harbors to rip people off.
Right. Because they download movies and music that's not theirs all the time. Gotcha.
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here's a quick example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKPBtZ0Zzok
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It should have been public domain by now. Learn your history.
Corporations have been stealing from the public for the last 40 years by repeatedly extending copyright. Now the shoe is on the other foot and the only defense is ad-hominy attacks.
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The R's and the D's pretty much agree on this one: IP is important the US future, and letting the grifters screw us out of that future is something to stand up against, no matter how hard they push and how hard they threaten people's livelihoods and careers.
In a related development light is the result of a disturbance in a mysterious substance called the ether, heat is the result of the presence of a fluid called Phlogiston and the Earth travels around the Sun.
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Ahhhh, did you read who Mike is referring to or just hit some script button you have for autoposting on techdirt? (And reddit and slashdot and others, I'm sure.)
Then there's few large herds of D's and R's who oppose this stupidity.
Are you afraid your "sure deal", "done thing" and "mission accomplished" statements were just a teeny weeny bit premature so you're reaching into the bottom of the barrel to see if there's anything there?
I do think you're a troll. Sadly, I am sure you believe this utter tripe.
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> model on taking advantage of safe harbors
So... the law allows for safe harbors, but it's inappropriate for anyone to actually use them.
Gotcha.
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I agree that it is a Congresscritter vs The Public issue. The Public, being the ones being fucked over by this law, and the Congresscritter, being the one that is being paid off to pass this law.
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Kudos to Mike!
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Re: Kudos to Mike!
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Special interest groups have taken over the US government. Most people simply accept that as a given. Any pretense that Congress represents the people is gone.
If SOPA passes it establishes that special interests officially own the government. Schools might as well stop wasting time teaching about things like the Bill of Rights because they can be subverted at the whim of special interests. The schools can use the time they used to use to talk about freedom to implement MPAA/RIAA sponsored curriculum for the next few years, then move on to whatever special interest takes over after them.
On the other hand if SOPA is defeated it shows that there is still some hope. The anti-SOPA effort has awaken some sleeping giants, and just defeating SOPA/PIPA may not be the end of the story.
If nothing else, I hope that a lot of businesses have learned a hard lesson in signing generic letters of support on issues. Organizations that found their names on the SOPA supporters list have learned that signing generic letters of support can be as foolish as signing blank checks.
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BUT Marsha Blackburn did Vote FOR: Patriot Act Reauthorization, Electronic Surveillance, Funding the REAL ID Act (National ID), Foreign Intelligence Surveillance, Thought Crimes �Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, Warrantless Searches, Employee Verification Program, Body Imaging Screening, Patriot Act extension; and only NOW she is worried about free speech, privacy, and government take over of the internet?
Marsha Blackburn is my Congressman.
See her �blatantly unconstitutional� votes at :
http://mickeywhite.blogspot.com/2009/09/tn-congressman-marsha-blackburn-votes.html
Mickey
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Mike Pence
I sent him a second email stating that if I find out he voted for SOPA in either the committee or the general vote, I will personally campaign against him whether he runs for his seat again or, more likely, runs for Indiana governor. Please Pence, don't be a douchenozzle.
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