I haven’t posted about the FEC’s 6-0 decision to not regulate because I was frankly a little stunned at the initial jubilation of many of the bloggers upon hearing this:

In a unanimous vote yesterday, the Federal Election Commission left unregulated almost all political activity on the Internet except for paid political advertisements. Campaigns buying such ads will have to use money raised under the limits of current federal campaign law.

Perhaps most important, the commission effectively granted media exemptions to bloggers and other activists using the Web to allow them to praise and criticize politicians, just as newspapers can, without fear of federal interference.

Wizbang! calls it “excellent news” and the Daily Brief says “we won“. At least Daily Pundit is somewhat skeptical with, “… on balance this seems like it should be good news, right?”

No, no, no, no! That particular government entity did not reject the idea of restricting what used to be Constitutionally protected free speech, it merely chose not to exercise their power of regulation . . . for now. The loathsome McCain/Feingold, passed by our elected servants and signed by our president, remains in place. This is a pyrrhic victory at best.

Brad Smith at RedState briefly touched on this with:

The biggest problem with the rules is simply the principle established – the Internet is now to be subject to regulation. The FEC can change the rules – extend them – when it wants.

But the always-pithy e-Claire goes directly to the heart of the matter:

“It’s a win, win, win,” [FEC] Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub said.

No, Ellen. A ‘Win-Win” would be all together wiping out this fantastically stupid and unconstitutional attack on the First Amendment rights of citizens. Now run along and fine someone for saying ‘boobie.’

Along a similar vein, I am offended by the compromise of principles that so-called conservatives are willing to make in trying to stop liberal 527s, as reported by Tim Chapman:

Yesterday’s conference call with bloggers made it crystal clear that Republicans in Congress are dead serious about applying McCain/Feingold regulations to 527 groups. Despite the fact that many of those Republicans opposed McCain/Feingold on the grounds that it was an infringement on citizens’ 1st Amendment freedoms, they now are willing to extend the law into new areas.

The Washington Post explains why:

Just last year, the RNC raised $105.4 million compared with $56.1 taken in by the DNC. In the competition for small donors, the RNC raised $55 million in gifts under $200, while the DNC raised $32.2 million in under-$200 contributions.

McCain/Feingold is an abomination. Any exploitation of it for political gain is pure evil. Those that seek to do so should be ashamed of themselves. More importantly, they should look past a midterm election and see what they are doing to our rights in the long run.

Technorati Tags: McCain Feingold,
FEC,
Federal Election Commission,
527,
Blogs,
Free Speech,
First Amendment,
Republicans Betray Principles.

Wow — New Sisyphus is quitting blogging and we must say goodbye to an informed analyst with excellent insight.

In the “silver lining” category, because of this the Watcher now has an open seat on the Council. It’s a great opportunity for a blogger.

It was three years ago today that I made my first foray into the blogosphere. On the Ides of March 2003 I made three posts, the first of 4,702 to date. With over 2,500 comments and over 900 trackbacks, I must say that I am so very grateful that so many of you continue to stop by.

Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.

In this month’s TN Business Magazine, Blogfather Glenn Reynolds is quoted:

Bloggers don’t think in terms of Pulitzers or circulation counts. Reynolds says those who seek out a blogger’s “homerun” moments miscalculate the manner in which a blog is truly influential. Ultimately, he says, the best way to measure a blog is not by leaps and bounds but by increments, by the constant hum of its steady presence. By providing day-to-day exposure to opinions, facts and context, and by accepting and publishing feedback, the blog becomes something greater than much of what is offered in mainstream media. After all, a newspaper column is a lecture; a blog is a conversation. Online blogging communities—comprised of the blogger, his or her readership and the news of the day (usually supplied by mainstream media)—continuously feed off each other.

Those 2,500 comments have educated me, refined my views of the world and shaped my political being. I have come to appreciate the views of others and sometimes even been convinced to change my view of an issue.

Again, thank you.

Meanwhile, our elected servants are to debate whether my activities will continue to be legal:

If you’re one of the nation’s 30 million-plus bloggers – or among the 75,000 joining their ranks every day – keep an eye on Thursday’s House vote on the Online Freedom of Speech Act.

Unless the bill passes, you may need a lawyer, if you discuss politics online. If it passes, you may still need a lawyer, if you spend more than $250 a year on your blog.

There’s little chance that this will affect the great majority of bloggers and so I am not worried. Still, how far we have come since McCain insisted that we attempt the impossible task of taking money out of politics.

Technorati Tags: Blogversary,
FEC,
First Amendment,
Freedom of Speech,
AlphaPatriot.

Congratulations to Nancy French for copping an interview with MSNBC. Nancy was a member of the grassroots Mitt Romney contingent at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. (She also recently started a new blog, Tennesseans for Mitt.)

Nancy French, who said she writes political humor for a living and organized the Romney volunteer effort in Tennessee, told reporters that she and other volunteers had spent three weeks preparing for the Memphis event. “If we had twice that, we could have taken the whole thing,” an exuberant French told reporters.

Asked if she – like Romney – was a Mormon, French said, “No, I’m a Presbyterian. Everybody keeps coming over to me and saying, ‘Way to go, Sister French,’ and I’m – like – ‘thanks.’ I feel like I don’t know what to say.”

She said the Romney campaign had not called her to work on the Memphis event and that she and her husband had organized their own pro-Romney volunteer effort.

I met Nancy at the convention a few hours ago. I found her to be delightful, sincere and very very pumped about Mitt. And that was before the straw poll results were announced.

From left to right, Rob from VOLuntarily Conservative,
Nancy of Nancy’s Niche, and Rob’s wife Angela

Technorati Tags: SRLC,
Southern Republican Leadership Conference,
Political Conventions,
Republican Politics,
Memphis,
Mitt Romney,
Straw Poll,
Hotline,
Hotline Straw Poll,
Blogs,
Tennessee.

Seven of the eight candidates for president of Finland are writing blogs to show that they are just like everyone else:

“Oops, I used my dog’s shampoo in the shower today”, or “Gee, ice skates are hard to get used to after rollerblades”: welcome to the blogs of Finland’s presidential candidates ahead of Sunday’s election.

Technorati Tags: Finland,
Blogs,
Campaign Blogs,
Political Blogs.

The antics of our elected officials are downright embarrassing at times but the thing that most concerns me is that our public servants remain exactly that: focused on the good of their constituency. There should never be the slightest appearance that a politician is in somebody’s pocket.

Moreover, their activities should be open for inspection. We the people are putting the future of our lives and our children’s lives into the hands of those we elect; we deserve to know that they are trustworthy and should certainly be able to tell when they have violated that trust.

The need for ethical leadership cannot be overstated, which is why I am adding my voice to this statement that appears at Truth Laid Bear:

An Appeal from Center-Right Bloggers

We are bloggers with boatloads of opinions, and none of us come close to agreeing with any other one of us all of the time. But we do agree on this: The new leadership in the House of Representatives needs to be thoroughly and transparently free of the taint of the Jack Abramoff scandals, and beyond that, of undue influence of K Street.

We are not naive about lobbying, and we know it can and has in fact advanced crucial issues and has often served to inform rather than simply influence Members.

But we are certain that the public is disgusted with excess and with privilege. We hope the Hastert-Dreier effort leads to sweeping reforms including the end of subsidized travel and other obvious influence operations. Just as importantly, we call for major changes to increase openness, transparency and accountability in Congressional operations and in the appropriations process.

As for the Republican leadership elections, we hope to see more candidates who will support these goals, and we therefore welcome the entry of Congressman John Shadegg to the race for Majority Leader. We hope every Congressman who is committed to ethical and transparent conduct supports a reform agenda and a reform candidate. And we hope all would-be members of the leadership make themselves available to new media to answer questions now and on a regular basis in the future.

Signed,

N.Z. Bear, The Truth Laid Bear
Hugh Hewitt, HughHewitt.com
Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit.com
Kevin Aylward, Wizbang!
La Shawn Barber, La Shawn Barber’s Corner
Lorie Byrd / DJ Drummond , Polipundit
Beth Cleaver, MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
Jeff Goldstein, Protein Wisdom
Stephen Green, Vodkapundit
John Hawkins, Right Wing News
John Hinderaker, Power Line
Jon Henke / McQ / Dale Franks, QandO
James Joyner, Outside The Beltway
Mike Krempasky, Redstate.org
Michelle Malkin, MichelleMalkin.com
Ed Morrissey, Captain’s Quarters
Scott Ott, Scrappleface
The Anchoress, The Anchoress
John Donovan / Bill Tuttle, Castle Argghhh!!!

If you agree and would like to add your support, click over and add a comment. You won’t believe how long the list already is!

Hat tip to reader Bat One.

Bill Hobbs claims that he is calling it quits. This saddens me not just because he trail-blazed Tennessee political blogging, but because he was one of my inspirations to begin blogging nearly three years ago.

Les Jones is skeptical and is running a poll. Go vote.

Half-Bakered Mike is touchingly pessimistic.

As for me, I’ll say au revoir in the hopes that the incredible Bill Hobbs will return.

Now excuse me, I have to go wash my hands after typing a French phrase.

We’re one third through the voting for the 2005 Weblog Awards.

Remember, you can vote once per day and voting goes through the 15^th.

This year there are two great benefits from the awards. First is the discovery of some really great blogs that you didn’t know about. Just peruse the list.

Second is the humor war between Cox and Forkum and Day by Day. Here’s the first shot across the bows (click image for full size original):

WizBang! is taking nominations for the 2005 Weblog Awards. Pick your favorites and put ‘em in the running. I know I will!

US Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN and my congressman) goes online at RedState.org to post her disappointment on the failure of H.R. 1606, the Online Freedom of Speech act. In part:

One of the reasons I think you’ve seen some oppose H.R. 1606 is because they supported the 2002 campaign finance reform legislation and they’re trying to defend that vote still. In many ways H.R. 1606 is a recognition that the 2002 reform has been a disaster. And I have no doubt at least a few voted no on H.R. 1606 in order to bolster their assertion that the 2002 reform was a positive.

I agree completely.

Compare and contrast with Rep. Todd Platts’ (R-PA) reasoning for voting against the legislation, posted by Captain’s Quarters:

As the last election cycle demonstrated, the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act has been successful in reducing the role of large, undisclosed “soft money” contributions to political parties and candidates without diminishing free speech in any way. As such, I voted against H.R. 1606, which would have undermined the 2002 law by creating a new, potentially huge soft money loophole.

Platts goes on to assure us that the FCC is drafting regulations that will protect bloggers.

Why am I not reassured?