March 8, 2005

Chill Out, or Chilling Effect?

Mike Krempasky at Red State links to this op-ed by Ellen Weintraub, one of three Democrats on the FEC. That would be the same Ms. Weintraub about whom I've commented several times, including in this post. It details a press release I and other bloggers received from the Campaign Legal Center, which is run by John McCain's former general counsel, Trevor Potter. As such, it was part of a coordinated campaign to smear FEC Commissioner Bradley Smith, who had the temerity to warn bloggers about the potential for regulation thanks to a fall 2004 court ruling that ordered the FEC to extend the provisions of McCain-Feingold to the Net.

Ms. Weintraub was one of three Democratic appointees to the FEC who voted against appealing that decision, an act that forced the FEC to act on the court order. That is, Ms. Weintraub had the opportunity to join the three Republican-appointed FEC commissioners, including Mr. Smith, to help get the federal government out of the business of regulating political speech on the Net, and she refused.

Mike at Red State isn't impressed by Ms. Weintraub's latest salvo in the ongoing campaign to decide whether or not the Net remains regulation-free, and neither am I (nor was I when she spoke with the NYT on Sunday). First, she writes (and the link it to Brad Smith's interview with CNET, where her own op-ed appears):

Bloggers of America, chill.

Reports of a Federal Election Commission plot to "crack down" on blogging and e-mail are wildly exaggerated.

First of all, we're not the speech police. We don't tell private citizens what they can or cannot say, on the Internet or anywhere else. The FEC regulates campaign finance. There's got to be some money involved, or it's out of our jurisdiction.

She recounts the court order to look into regulation of the Internet without mentioning her own role in ensuring that the order is enforced rather than appealed, and then writes:

By law, we need to decide on the scope by a public vote, and the rulemaking cannot proceed without the votes of a majority of the six commissioners. At that point, we'll not only publicize what we're contemplating, we'll invite and consider public comment before we make any final decisions. That scope document (called a notice of proposed rulemaking) will be considered later this month. Until that happens, concerns about crackdowns are premature, at best.

Re-read that last sentence: concerns are "premature" at best? Well, I'm concerned about my health; indeed, I'm concerned, in a theological sense, about the day of my death. And I've taken steps to ease those concerns while I'm (hopefully) healthy and with many years to go. That's years, not "later this month," Lord willing.

Her closing paragraph has all the hallmarks of a carefully crafted statement to soothe nerves even as it leaves plenty of wriggle room, if not an escape clause, should things not turn out as she says:

It would be ironic indeed if, in the name of campaign finance reform, we were to try to squelch inexpensive online grassroots political rabble-rousing. Fortunately, I'm not aware of any intent to do so. Suggestions to the contrary are simply partisan scaremongering tactics by those attempting to foment false hysteria in the Internet community. Don't fall for it.

This is hardly reassuring, since it fails to state unequivocally something to the effect that "over my dead body will the FEC regulate the Net." "I'm not aware of any intent to do so" doesn't cut much mustard with me, at least, nor I suspect will it cause many bloggers to "chill out" over the remaining three weeks of this month.

Ms. Weintraub has come in for some public criticism from John McCain, and I don't doubt that they're not best buddies. But as the story below shows, McCain is happy to form alliances with all manner of folks with whom he has sharp disagreements, and on this matter, at least, Ms. Weintraub and the Senator are working toward the same ends: increased federal supervision of political speech. I'm chilled over all of this, but not in the way Ms. Weintraub recommends.

— Winfield Myers

| Mar. 8, 2005 | 11:59 AM