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The Slashdot candidate
By Ned | February 21, 2008
There’s been quite a bit of buzz on the Internet these past few days about this Lessig fellow considering a run for Congress. I knew of him passingly as the mind behind the Creative Commons license, and with his focus on reforming copyright laws and promoting net neutrality and the free exchange of ideas online, it’s no wonder that the wonkosphere is pumped at the thought of a Lessig run. I mentally filed it away as a race that, like the Donna Edwards race, I would follow with interest but not necessarily blog about.
Then I saw the above New York Times article, with this passage inside:
The potential campaign would be part of a national effort, called Change Congress, to have politicians swear off lobbyists’ money and Congressional earmarks and embrace public financing of campaigns.
Woohoo! This guy’s like the patron saint of geeky pet issues. Lessig for Congress!
That being said, I’m going to preemptively disassociate myself from any efforts to turn the online grassroots effort for Lessig into the second coming of the Ron Paul campaign with all of the obnoxious comments spamming that implies. I appreciate voter enthusiasm as much as the next guy, but when I read the comments on YouTube for dramatic prairie dog, I really don’t care about who you’re voting for. I just want informed, intelligent commentary about dramatic prairie dogs, dammit.
Topics: Civil Liberties, Congress, Corruption, Elections |