MyDD prints a press release by Mark Glaze of Democracy 21, that emphatically states that FEC Commissioner Brad Smith's claims about McCain/Feingold and blogs are incorrect. US Rep. John Conyers is circulating a letter to the FEC for signatures that urges the press exemption McCain/Feingold be extended to blogs. Julia thinks the whole thing is a smokescreen. Mark Schmitt basically agrees with Iron Mouth (who has more thoughts, and who read the court decision that set Brad Smith off so you don't have to), and tells us all to not worry about it. Here in town, the Lone Star Times announces that they "will start issuing press credentials to any blogger who asks for one" in the event we should have worried about it. Finally, Patrick reminds us that Declan McCullough, the writer who did the interview with Smith that started all this, was the guy who popularized the myth about Al Gore inventing the Internet. 'Nuff said.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on March 05, 2005 to National news | TrackBackI read Declan's article right after Atrios posted on this and came to much the same conclusion: Brad Smith was just tossing out typical GOP scare tactics ("See what McCain-Feingold has wrought? The FEC Democrats want to take away your freedom to blog!") and Declan was just the kind of reporter who would let him.
I read plenty of Declan's conservative libertarianism in the late 90's. Sometimes he's good (e.g., on censorship), but as the saying goes, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Far more often, he combines the typical libertarian blind faith in the magical powers of the "free market" (he has no problem with Microsoft being a monopoly, for instance - for him, that just "proves" how good their software is!) with an equally blind faith in the GOP as its best protector. This is the first I'd heard about Declan's involvement in the "Al Gore claimed he invented the Internet" myth, though. That means he bears a disproportionate share of the responsibility for our current pResident. Thanks.
Posted by: Mathwiz on March 11, 2005 3:34 PM