The captain, is on another mission. One that hits us close to home. McCain Feingold Campaign Finance Reform ruined elections. It did nothing but spawn groups like moveon and swift vets. It was a law that was well intended, but once again we see that when the government tries to fix something it ussually makes it worse.

The captain has suggested writing your senators. This is a non-partisan issue. Not only will the conservative blogs be affected, so will the liberal blogs. This will end every ones ability to voice their opinions and views. Here is the letter that the captain has written and would like people to write their own, or endorse his and send it out to their own senators. The captain is a Minnesota lad, same as me, so I’ve both Dayton and Coleman the folowing: Please feel free to use this or make your own. Find your senators and email them.

Senators Dayton & Coleman, I am one of the bloggers whose rights are being taken away. Bloggers use the internet to not only gather information, but to exercise free speech. A good gentleman at www.captainsquarters.com (a local Minnesota blog) has written this letter below. I’m sure as his Senator, you have already received this, but I want you to know that I endorse it as well. The McCain/Feigold bill has had more detrimental effects on political and free speech than was intended. The internet was safe from this unfair law, but not now it appears the FEC has changed its mind. I am asking that you do what you can to repeal the McCain/Feingold bill, or atleast stop it from spreading. It has already taken away my abilities to support or oppose candidates in the print and TV media. Don’t let it take away the web, it is our only hope to true political free speech. If it falls to this law, what is next? Thought control? I think we may already be there. Stop this assault on free speech.

Andrew Aplikowski
Blaine MN

Begin forwarded letter:

To the honorable Senators McCain and Feingold, et al:

I have read with considerable dismay the effect that your recent lawsuit against the Federal Election

Commission, upheld by Judge Colleen Kollar-Ketelly, will have on political speech on the Internet. I write a

political media-watchdog blog, Captain’s Quarters, which enjoys a not-insubstantial daily readership. No

one pays me to do this; I operate my site and write on topics purely from personal convictions and a deep

desire to improve the world around me and make the nation stronger. I can unequivocally say the same

about my many colleagues in the “blogosphere”, both liberal and conservative.

Now we understand from Bradley Smith, one of the FEC commissioners, that your lawsuit forcing them to

regulate speech on the Internet will have the effect of turning our efforts into in-kind contributions,

especially when we provide hyperlinks back to candidate sites for referencing their positions and excerpt

text from their on-line documents. Hyperlinks allow our readers to check our references to ensure our

accuracy and context, and perform the hygienic task of holding our politicians accountable for their

campaign practices. All of this not only should fall under the protection of the First Amendment, but it

should be the primary reason for the First Amendment — to protect and encourage free political speech

and foster genuine debate.

Your legislation and the accompanying lawsuit that forced the FEC to regulate Internet political speech

threaten all of that. If my links to political sites such as Georgewbush.com and Johnkerry.com counted as

contributions and I was forced to accept responsibility for the cash value that the FEC designated to them,

I would have been charged with several misdemeanors and possibly felonies, as I provided many such links

during the past election cycle. During this cycle, my blog published over 680 essays on the presidential

election. In fact, I linked to Senator Kerry’s site four times as often as President Bush’s site, which would

have meant to the FEC that I was a major contributor to his campaign — when in fact I opposed Senator

Kerry and supported President Bush. These regulations would have forced me to retain the services of a

full-time accountant and retain an attorney to understand when and where I overcontributed. At the very

least, the burden of proof would be on me to make the FEC believe that my blog does not constitute in-

kind contributions subject to the limits imposed on both hard and soft money contributions.

The effect of this would have been to force me to shut down my blog, or convert it to something else. In

fact, it would have caused me less legal heartache to convert my site to a porn blog and do nothing but

post hard-core pictures all day long. In the twisted environment of the McCain-Feingold Act, that kind of

website would enjoy greater First Amendment protection than my political speech, a result for which every

single Senator should feel shame and outrage.

Each of you should read the Constitution you swore to uphold and defend, and reflect on the unequivocal

language of our forefathers:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise

thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to

assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

We may debate about the effect of unregulated cash on our electoral system, but if this new FEC effort

comes to pass, the only people debating will be the corporate-owned media and the politicians. The rest of

us will have been effectively bound and gagged, unable to contribute in any way thanks to the efforts of

those who fear their own constituents. You can be assured that none of us in the blogosphere will fail to

recognize those who do not act to defend our rights to free and unfettered political speech, and regardless

of political party, none of us will rest until those voices of repression are stripped of office by the voters

they hold in such low regard.

I, for one, will not be daunted by your attempts to stifle us. My many friends and colleagues on both sides

of the political aisle stand as ready as I to defend the Constitution. We demand a hearing on McCain-

Feingold, with open testimony before the press and our colleagues, and we demand action to reform or

repeal this dangerous and un-American muzzle on political speech.

We await your response, sirs.

Edward Morrissey

Captain’s Quarters

This entry was posted on Friday, March 4th, 2005 at 8:29 am and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.