Posted on 03/23/2006 11:31:44 PM PST by Lancey Howard
(Go to the link for the first half of this excellent and informative column for some the background info. Presented below is the best part, and I believe this provides a pretty good summary of what Jim, and hopefully everybody else, is concerned about. This is deadly serious business.)
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In any case, on the question of internet regulation, the FEC in fact brought its expertise to bear, and determined that it would not be wise to apply traditional regulation to the internet - indeed, as outlined here, it determined that the internet did not pose a threat or political corruption, and so exempted much of the web from regulation. The result was that Representatives Shays and Meehan sued, with the support of Senators McCain and Feingold, to force the FEC to regulate the internet. And won.
So here is where we are. The FEC, appointed for its expertise in the area, has determined that the internet does not pose a threat of corruption, and exempted it from much of the McCain-Feingold law's coverage. We have no idea if the President, charged with executing the law, agrees with his FEC appointees, because he has not said. Moreover, even if he did say, he cannot legally bend the FEC commissioners to his will, nor remove them for not following his policies, so he cannot be accountable. On the Congressional side, Senators McCain and Feingold, and their House counterparts, Representatives Shays and Meehan, lacking any meaningful way to exert legislative oversight (and probably lacking a majority to do so), decided to invoke the third branch, and so went to courts and sued. A judge, not appointed for her expertise in campaign finance or the internet, held that the FEC was mistaken.
With the FEC now under Court order to act, Congress as a whole seems lost as to what to do. A majority of the House voted to preserve the FEC's original regulatory exemption by writing it into the statute - but because the bill was brought up under special rules, it needed a 2/3rds vote to pass, which it did not get. Last week, the House simply punted on the issue. It seems fairly clear that the question of the internet exemption is exactly the type of issue that Congress intentionally left to the expertise of the Commission - expertise then ignored by Federal District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, at the behest of four members of Congress, represented by a bunch of foundation funded lawyers who work for "public interest groups" with no members.
This is the state of the modern regulatory state. It seems a far cry from the separation of powers and popular accountability envisioned in the Federalist papers.
Doesn't change the fact that the FEC hits conservatives more than liberals.
That's funny!
Bump, BTTT, Good Night and all that stuff.....
We're with ya, Jim.
bookmarked for morning
Bump for the morning crew.
Have you considered that it just might take somthing like this to spark the fire that finally either removes the present power structure, or leads to drastic yet orderly change?
I have pointed out to friends and family for years the following 3 questions over and over again...they can always answer the first two and they always answer them the same.
Its the last question that they are afraid to answer...
1. Over the last 25 years has government grown larger and more intrusive OR smaller and less intrusive into the private lives and rights of the individual?
2. Given that you agree that it has grown larger and more intrusive, do you think the pace of that growth will: diminish, stay steady, or grow?
3. Given that you agree it will stay steady or grow, at what point will you draw your line in the sand and say enough is enough?
Nobody wants to answer the last of the three questions. Nobody knows what their line in the sand is.
Whats your line in the sand Jim?
HA!
LOLOL!
That sketch of Ruthie always makes me laugh. ;o)
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