Bradley Smith Calls It Quits at FEC

Brad Smith, the FEC commissioner who blew the lid off efforts by his colleagues to crack down on Internet speech in a March interview with CNET magazine, is resigning from the FEC effective midnight August 21, 2005, according to this article.

Here's the text of the news item, from ZDNet, with links:

Bradley Smith, the outspoken member of the Federal Election Commission who sounded an alarm about a crackdown on bloggers, is leaving his job.

Smith said Wednesday that he has submitted his resignation to President Bush, effective midnight August 21, and will return to his previous job of teaching law at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

In a March interview with CNET News.com, Smith warned that the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act--better known as the McCain-Feingold law--could lead to an unprecedented crackdown on political speech online. Even hyperlinks to candidate Web sites and forwarding e-mail statements could be covered by government regulations, Smith warned.

After his warning, an army of bloggers mobilized to oppose intrusive regulations and prominent members of Congress warned the commission not to be overly aggressive. As a result, the FEC proposal was substantially less onerous than one proposed internally just weeks before. A public hearing is scheduled for June 28.

Smith is known for being critical of government regulation of political speech, especially laws that infringe upon grassroots activities.

In his letter to Bush, Smith warned that the trend toward greater control of politicking--online and offline--may eventually have grave consequences. "Political activity is more heavily regulated than at any time in our nation's history," he wrote.

"For example, in accordance with the law, during my tenure the FEC has assessed penalties against parents for contributing too much to the campaigns of children; against children for contributing to the campaigns of parents; and against husbands for contributing to campaigns of their wives," he wrote. "We have required citizens to respond to complaints for the display of homemade signs supporting a candidate. These are just a few examples: The commission's regulations take up nearly 400 pages of fine print."

More information as I learn it.

Update: Skeptic's Eye has the text of Smith's letter of resignation. Here's a pertinent paragraph:

I remain concerned about the effects our campaign finance laws are having on grassroots political participation. Political activity is more heavily regulated than at any time in our nation’s history. For example, in accordance with the law, during my tenure the FEC has assessed penalties against parents for contributing too much to the campaigns of children; against children for contributing to the campaigns of parents; and against husbands for contributing to campaigns of their wives. We have required citizens to respond to complaints for the display of homemade signs supporting a candidate. These are just a few examples: the Commission’s regulations take up nearly 400 pages of fine print. I urge you to consider the effects of regulation on grassroots, citizen political activity when proposals arise for still more regulation.

Go to Skeptic's Eye for the rest of the text. Written by Allison Hayward, it's the best single source for everything FEC.

Update II: Mike Krempasky reflects the views of most of the blogosphere when he says:

I've said it before and it remains true: to find a more effective advocate for free speech, to find a more important conservative in Washington, DC - you'll have to look very, very hard.

Amen to that. Through his fearless opposition to those who would heavily regulate political speech for the benefit of the political class, Brad has fought the good fight, and effectively. To see what such courage earns from the minions of the reform lobby, take a look at this post of mine from this past March.

More recently, Brad continued his campaign to warn bloggers and others of the impending threat of regulation in an interview with Nick Schulz of TCS.

Oddly enough, I was on a radio show this morning (True North Radio) at eleven to discuss campaign finance reform and its potential effects on the blogosphere. I had no idea that, as I was lauding him over the air waves, Brad Smith was tendering his resignation. I'm glad he's staying through the summer, as he'll do all he can to reign in the regulators at the FEC. Great job, Brad, and know that you return to teaching law with the gratitude of legions of bloggers, our readers, and all who value free speech.