Another Stake Into The Heart Of The First Amendment.

Thursday, March 03, 2005 Another Stake Into The Heart Of The First Amendment. "John McCain and Russ Feingold have become two of the most dangerous politicians to American liberty since Huey Long." - Captain Ed. The execrable McCain-Feingold campaign finance act, the most odious piece of legislation since the Smoot-Hawley tariffs, might now be coming to the internet. I admire John McCain for a lot of things. He survived being aboard the USS Forrestal when it went ablaze (it was his plane exploding that started the fire aboard that aircraft carrier) only to land in Hanoi, spending a loooong time hanging from a wall by his dislocated shoulder. But I have to fault him for destroying the very core of the first amendment, and this is absolutely unforgivable. Make no mistake, no one in the entire history of the United States has done more harm to YOUR free speech rights than John McCain. McCain-Feingold eviscerates political speech, the essence of our free speech rights. If linking to campaigns or candidates somehow becomes a sort of 'in kind' contribution that falls under campaign laws, all bets are off. I, for one, will not submit. UPDATE: Patterico has called on bloggers to make this explicit pledge - "If the FEC makes rules that limit my First Amendment right to express my opinion on core political issues, I will not obey those rules." I hereby agree to this pledge wholeheartedly. Here, at last, is one topic that the left and right can agree on. I think we can expect massive disobediance in the blogosphere should the FEC try to regulate us . . . 7:19 PM | | |