McCain-Feingold's Mission Creep

The fallout from McCain-Feingold continues apace, as special interest groups representing the entrenched political class continue to press their campaign to restrict political speech on the Internet and further weaken the real-world impact of the franchise. This orchestrated, high-end effort, which has seen the collusion of U.S. Senators and Congressmen, powerful liberal foundations, and big media, has not been deterred by this month's reporting on their actions by bloggers, online journals, and, finally, some elements of the mainstream press.

Granted, the second draft of the FEC's proposals for regulating Net-based political speech was less draconian than the March 10 draft -- a fact we know only thanks to Mike Krempasky at Red State, who obtained the earlier document. But this not only shows that bloggers can make a difference -- IF they pursue a story relentlessly; it reveals the true intentions of the three Democrats on the FEC. If allowed, they and their Beltway allies at outfits like Democracy 21, Common Cause, and the Campaign Legal Center would create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation among bloggers and other Net writers that could reduce this remarkable new medium to little more than a memory.

If this sounds overwrought, or if earlier posts here and at other blogs caused you to shrug, you should read on. And you might want to do so keeping in mind the sheer number of lawyer-bloggers who take this threat very seriously. Hugh Hewitt, who initially dismissed the threat, now believes it demands our attention. Glenn Reynolds, Eugene Volokh, John Hinderaker, Scott Johnson, Paul Mirengoff, Steve Bainbridge, Steve Dillard, our own Brent Tantillo, and many others have taken a stand against this power-grab. So have such media watchdogs as Mark Tapscott, Michelle Malkin, and Ed Morrissey. And the list goes on.

Ryan Sager, who revealed the role played by Pew and other liberal foundations (although Pew is now a nonprofit) in his reports on whistleblower Sean Treglia's remarkable speech a year ago at USC, has a new column this morning that not only recounts the story's development and summarizes what we now know, but adds new information.

Take a look at the Amicus Brief (pdf) filed by the Campaign Legal Center (CLC, run by Trevor Potter, John McCain's chief counsel in the 2000 primaries, and the source of this press release smearing FEC Commissioner Bradley Smith), and you'll find that they're joining cause against North Carolina Right to Life. Here's the CLC's March 15 press release. It's further proof that "reformers" are not content with current limits to campaign or political donations, and that, as Ryan Sager says, they intend to press forward with greater restrictions until incumbents are virtually assured of reelection. Again, it's a case of the political class running roughshod over the First Amendment.

In this case, they're attempting to extend federal limits on donations to political committees to the state level. That's called encroachment, or mission creep. Here's a bit of that CLC press release. Note the frequent usage of such words as "limit" and "regulate":

And:

They claim to fear money in politics, but their real fear is that money will go to the wrong sorts of people, namely challengers and organizations that are fed up with Beltway shenanigans. Add to that list, of course, bloggers who, until now, have created what many have correctly called the most democratic means of voicing one's opinions to a wide audience ever invented. Recall this story about John McCain's pet nonprofit, the Reform Institute, which specializes in blast faxing McCain's many achievements and is headed by his former advisor Rick Davis, who draws a cool 110k per year for keeping his boss in the news. Bully for the NYT for breaking that story -- would that they and their peers would maintain that level of vigilance throughout these debates over "reform."