[goldstategop]

I can damn well contribute to whoever I please and endorse whoever I want. The FEC can go take a hike.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[antaresequity]

This is the camels nose under the tent...

Mark my words...this government will attempt to fully regulate, tax, restrict and control internet content, access and distribution in the coming years.

Given the apathetic nature of the 'ordinary' American citizen...this government will succeed in all of the above.

Trust me...

[CharlesWayneCT]

If you are going to have a law which regulates the money a candidate can use to buy an ad, that law should apply to paid internet ads.

Of course, there should be NO SUCH LAW, but given the law it's hard to see why a paid internet ad should be treated differently from a paid cable tv ad.

[cgk]

I'd bet this is a knee-jerk reaction to the CBS document scandal. FReepers outed them as fakes, and that was right before an election, was it not? That 60 day rule we heard about would've applied had this stinker passed the way they'd like.

[EternalVigilance]

Restore First Amendment free political speech:

Remove all regs and donation limits.

Congress has no right to tell the sovereign citizens of the United States, their employers, how to spend their money, what to say or when.

[philetus]

Seat belt laws will never be used as probable cause.

[kingu]

The proposal would, however, require paid advertisements for federal candidates on the Internet to be paid for with money regulated by federal campaign law.

Paid advertisements is what the FEC reasonably extended the rules to cover as per a court order. If the law covers a paid ad in a newspaper, it should also cover a paid ad on the Internet, or at least that is their reasoning.

Strikes me as a very good compromise to a very stupid law.

Note it wouldn't have affected the uncovering of CBS's attempts to scam the American people; but it would have affected the billion Kerry ads that individuals put forward through google.com (while at the same time denying Bush ads.)