Grass-Roots Activists and Bloggers Brace for New Regulation [McCain gunning for the Net]

Newsmax ^ | 3/23/06 | Jason Barnes

[defenderSD]

They are two of America's free, unregulated voices of political activism but a gathering storm of Washington regulation threatens to stifle them forever.

Grass-roots activists and Internet bloggers, who largely escaped the restrictions of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act, are the targets of a looming, two-pronged government assault which aims to lasso and corral the last wild mustangs on the political range.

Regulating Grass-Roots Activists

The Senate is scheduled to debate lobbying reform shortly after it returns from this week's recess. While most congressional attention has focused on measures aimed at traditional lobbyists and lawmakers, there also have been attempts to impose restrictive new rules on grass-roots lobbying organizations.

Senators John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., are pushing a proposal to require these organizations to register and to report to Congress on their activities. Failure to comply would result in civil or criminal penalties.

The proposal has grass-roots organizations understandably nervous. Using direct mail, phone banks and the Internet, these groups hail from all points on the political compass and portray themselves, not always accurately, as outsiders to the Washington scene.

The underlying goal for every grass-roots operation is to mobilize an army of citizen activists to support their pet issues. Typically, they encourage the bombardment of congressional offices with constituent communications. Alerted and prodded, citizen activists daily send thousands of letters, e-mails, faxes and phone calls to Congress.

Occasionally, these efforts make life exceedingly difficult for congressional interns and lowly staffers charged with responding to each communication.

However, they also inform lawmakers about issues which engage their constituents' support and opposition – if by no other measure than the sheer volume of constituent contacts.

McCain's proposal defines grass-roots lobbying broadly. He wants to regulate "any attempt to influence the general public ... to engage in lobbying contacts, whether or not those contacts were made on behalf of a client." In a rare bit of leniency, he exempts attempts to influence fewer than 500 people.

Opponents put it more bluntly. "Basically, it tells groups that if they want to petition Congress in any significant way, they have to tell Congress about it first," explained Jason Wright, executive director of LobbySense, an ad-hoc coalition formed to oppose the McCain proposal.

"If you want to attack a lawmaker's proposal, you have to tell them you're going to attack them before you do it," he continued, ‘and you have to provide the details of how you're going to solicit support, too.

"The more folks outside the beltway bubble learn about the anti-grass-roots provisions of this bill ... the more outraged they become. This issue is igniting and uniting grass-roots activists like few ever have."

Reformers say the bill is aimed at stopping so-called "astro-turfing;" the use of grass-roots marketing techniques by major trade associations and lobbying firms without an explicitly stated connection to the effort. McCain and Lieberman argue that these tactics are dishonest and prone to abuse. Some charge that embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff covertly used the "astro-turfing" loophole to spend money from casino-operating Indian tribes on anti-gambling campaigns against competing tribes.

But opponents are undeterred. "I don't know enough about the Abramoff situation," said LobbySense's Wright, "but I do know how most grass-roots lobbying firms work, and there's nothing untoward about those operations.

"Look - there are laws on the books that took care of Abramoff. He's going to jail. We're not against punishing the bad guys. We're against re-defining who the bad guys are."

Bloggers – The Second Front

The House, meanwhile, is considering the Online Freedom of Speech Act proposed by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, The "blogger protection bill," as it is known in some circles, simply codifies the current status of Internet bloggers. Senators Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., are co-sponsoring a similar bill in the Senate.

Blogger-backers believe the bills are necessary because the Federal Election Commission is considering whether to apply the rules of McCain-Feingold to Internet communications. In fact, FEC Chairman Michael Toner delayed a long-awaited decision on the matter until the end of March to allow the House to consider Hensarling's bill.

Given Toner's public support for the measure, bloggers believe the delay was a warning. "It couldn't be more clear," wrote Michael Krempasky, one of the founders of Red State, a popular conservative blog. "Pass [this bill] or face regulations on the Internet, period."

Instead, the House passed on the opportunity to vote on the bill. It was held up in committee. At present, it does not appear that it will pass before the FEC decision. A staffer in Hensarling's office told NewsMax they anticipate floor debate sometime during the week of March 28, but it's still unclear whether it will pass at that point.

All this uncertainty has bloggers right and left in full activist mode and has made for some strange bedfellows. Markos Zuniga, founder of the ultra-liberal Daily Kos blog, has teamed with Krempasky to organize bi-partisan support for the bill. In an open letter to Congress, the unlikely duo explained why there is no need for campaign-finance reform on the Internet.

"While wealth allows a campaign or large donor to dominate the available space on TV or in print," they wrote, "there is no mechanism on the Internet by which entities can use wealth or organizational strength to crowd out or silence other speakers." They argue that the Internet is an equal playing field where anyone can start a Web site and "content is king."

Traditional media organizations have come out in favor of increased regulation. "It is imperative," wrote the New York Times in an editorial, "that the courageous lawmakers who supported the McCain-Feingold reform law four years ago stand together against making the Internet a cornucopia of political corruption."

Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, countered, "A better argument for the New York Times would be to tell America that they really want to end political conversation on the Internet to resurrect their power over political commentary."

Some congressional opponents are pushing an alternative bill which bloggers say does not provide them with enough protection. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, admitted as much on the Hill. "They might well have to file," Allen said of sites like Daily Kos and Red State, "but that's the whole point."

Ulterior Motives

Grass-roots activists and bloggers insist there is little, if any, corruption in their respective and often overlapping realms. They ascribe ulterior, more sinister, motives to their would-be regulators. Zuniga believes they are motivated by a desire to quash grass-roots media because sites like Daily Kos and Red State threaten traditional bases of power. That belief is essentially the thesis for "Crashing the Gates," his new book and first foray into traditional publishing.

Zuniga reserves his strongest venom for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "This is intended to squash citizen media," he said. "Pelosi and company are complicit, no matter how much they lie about their intentions."

Wright believes at least one of the would-be regulators is animated by revenge. "John McCain has real issues with the grassroots," he explained. "This spans back to 2000 and I think he still holds a grudge against grass-roots America. "I've heard rumors saying Senators are for this because they say they're tired of hearing from these grass-roots groups," he said.

"We have the right to annoy the hell out of them, as does every single citizen in the United States. They serve us - we don't serve them!" he added.

Richard Vigurie, a pioneer in grass-roots lobbying, finds still other motives. "Washington is about power," he wrote in an op-ed piece for the Washington Times. "Those who have power fear losing it ... Independent grass-roots causes inherently threaten incumbents' power by empowering citizens." As a result, he argues that grass-roots reform is an attempt to "pre-empt critics," making grass-roots lobbying more difficult and protecting vested power.

The Ultimate Destination?

In the absence of a crystal ball, it is unclear where either of these proposals will end. Wright believes the Senate will reject the McCain proposal, but he's not willing to pronounce the bill dead just yet.

Blogger opinions are mixed on the ultimate outcome of the bill which targets them. Brad Smith, a former chairman of the FEC and frequent blogger on Red State, says bloggers are winning, but others are less optimistic, pointing out that Congress already has had ample opportunity to protect bloggers but declined to do so.

One thing is certain - there will be a constitutional courtroom clash if either regulation comes down on grass-roots activists or bloggers. Grass-roots activists and bloggers hope it never gets to that point, so they are doing their best to persuade lawmakers to their side. In so doing, they are using the very methods that might become highly regulated or illegal in just a few months.

In an ironic twist, Zuniga concluded his rant against Pelosi by listing her office phone number and urging readers to contact her office. Six months from now, he might have to file not just one but two reports with Congress for permission to speak his mind in such a manner - one for his role as a blogger and yet another, as a grass-roots lobbyist communicating his message to over 500 citizens.

[Stellar Dendrite]

JOHN MCCAIN GOT FUNDS FROM GEORGE SOROS

the article below might give you some more insight ,the website this article is posted to is david horowitz's, and the author is Richard Poe. remember him? JIM ROBINSON wrote the forward for his book "Hillary's Secret War"



John McCain Gets Soros Cash
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1360852/posts

Senator John McCain's Reform Institute has suffered some bad press recently due to its involvement in an influence-peddling scandal with Cablevision. As usual, however, mainstream media have failed to go to the root of the matter.

Founded on June 26, 2001, McCain's Reform Institute for Campaign and Election Issues has long served as a nerve center for the so-called "campaign finance reform" movement – a movement which has done nothing to clean up campaign finance, but has done a great deal to empower federal judges and government bureaucrats to regulate political speech, in defiance of the Bill of Rights.

Now here's the kicker. The list of donors published on the Reform Institute's Web site reads like a veritable Who's Who of radical, leftwing foundations, including the Tides Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Proteus Fund and George Soros' Open Society Institute. (hat tip, Winfield Myers)

Not surprisingly, in view of the above associations, Arianna Huffington serves on the Reform Institute's Advisory Board. Huffington has long acted as a front for George Soros' "campaign finance reform" efforts. In 2000, she organized the so-called Shadow Conventions which provided John McCain with a bully pulpit to stump for his now-infamous McCain-Feingold Act. George Soros shouldered about one third of the cost of the Shadow Conventions.

[Valin]

McCain's proposal defines grass-roots lobbying broadly. He wants to regulate "any attempt to influence the general public

Is he INSANE? I wonder, how many phone calls it would take to shut down the Senate phone system?

[Valin]

Well if you're not doing anything wrong why would you have a problem with this?
/Worldclass sarcasm

[Valin]

Tides Foundation, isn't that Teresa Kerry's?

[Jimbaugh]

Is McCain in the Republican party or the NAZI party?

[freepatriot32]

rare double ping to both my lists

"We have the right to annoy the hell out of them, as does every single citizen in the United States. They serve us - we don't serve them!"

bears repeating and we have got to do sometihng this election year to make sure they never forget that if an incumbent is running in your district vote against them(preferably libertarian) if no one is running against your incumbent run against them.(again preferably As libertarian)

now if you wanto contact nancy pelosi i have provided all her publicly available contact info for her officethat is all on her government run website paid for by you the taxpayers below and as you can see i have provided her fax number. But I must warn you if you are considering sending multiple black faxes from public fax machines that cant be directly traced back to you easily(an all black piece of paper through the fax lines which uses up almost all ink in a fax machine quickly causing loss of money and time from having to change ink every few minutes instead of days ) I must and I repeat must discourage you from doing so. So please dont even consider doing that ever we are better then that and should show the respect to nancys office that it deserves

Web Site: www.house.gov/pelosi E-mail: sf.nancy@mail.house.gov Washington Office: 2371 RHOB Washington, D.C. 20515-0508 Phone: (202) 225-4965 Fax: (202) 225-8259 Main District Office: 450 Golden Gate Ave., Burton Fed. Bldg. San Francisco, CA 94102 Phone: (415) 556-4862 Fax: (415) 861-1670

Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

updated List of Ping lists vol.III(Get Your Fresh Hot Pings Here!)

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here

[jan in Colorado]

Ping for later.

[ccmay]

Yep. Its time to engage in MASS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE. That's the way to gum up the works. Like I said, if they want to silence us, they're going to have to arrest people.

Preach it, brother! Move the servers off-shore, flip two big insolent birdies to McCain, Liberman, Pelosi, Feingold, Bush and the Supreme Court, and carry on as before. We must never knuckle under to this fascist outrage.

-ccm

[Smokin' Joe]

bump4later

[KoRn]

"This situation is worse than I thought. We all have to get cracking on this issue and defend our 1st amendment rights."

Those rights were sold out back in '02 with the stroke of The President's pen.

[Jim_Curtis]

And in the Senate I think it was the usual suspect RINOs that joined the 'rats so there was no fear of a veto.

Meant to say they couldn't override the veto.

[adam_az]

" So please dont even consider doing that ever we are better then that and should show the respect to nancys office that it deserves"

Taxpayers pay for it in the end. Good going.

[Sometimes A River]

McCain is a Republican, Bush is a Republican, the House is run by Republicans as is the Senate.

McCain-Feingold had to get past all of three Republican controlled chambers.

Let's stop blaming the not-in-power Democrats.

[Jim_Curtis]

Holding you head high & voting Libertarian is better then holding your nose and voting republican

Are you a big advocate for open borders, Libertarian?

[nopardons]

bttt

[Jim_Curtis]

Let's stop blaming the not-in-power Democrats.

We should blame the rat RINOs and cast them out of the Republican Party. I dare say it should be a higher priority than even beating Democrats since they hold seats that at least belong to a constituency that is willing to vote for Republicans.

[freepatriot32]

Are you a big advocate for open borders, Libertarian?

No i didnt have a problem with open borders before sept 11th but after thati change my position because it wont just be mexicans and canadians walking across open borders it will be muslims there have already been muslims caught on the mexican borders soi am all for sealling both borders and militarizing them if neccassary

also i would say about half of the libertarians are now against it and many state LP leaders have been calling for the removal of that part of the platform so i wouldnt be suprised to see that removed before the 08 elections

[freepatriot32]

Taxpayers pay for it in the end. Good going.

yeah thats why i specifically told everyone not to do it.

[old republic]

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new guards for their future security -- Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. -- The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

[Jim_Curtis]

No i didnt have a problem with open borders before sept 11th but after thati change my position because it wont just be mexicans and canadians walking across open borders it will be muslims there have already been muslims caught on the mexican borders soi am all for sealling both borders and militarizing them if neccassary

How the hell can you be a Libertarian then? Have you read their platform? And congratulations on spelling "militarizing" correctly.