Say What You Think -- What a Revolutionary Thought

I believe that Homer Simpson put it best when he said, "Woo-hoo!" The FEC sides with the blogosphere...

The Federal Election Commission decided Monday that the nation's new campaign finance law will not apply to most political activity on the internet.

In a 6-0 vote, the commission decided to regulate only paid political ads placed on another person's website.

The decision means that bloggers and online publications will not be covered by provisions of the new election law. Internet bloggers and individuals will therefore be able to use the internet to attack or support federal candidates without running afoul of campaign spending and contribution limits.

"It's a win, win, win," Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub said, adding that the rule would satisfy concerns of campaigns, individuals and the internet community about whether the campaign finance law applies to online political activity.

Now, if someone can get the noxiously stupid McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act repealed, things would be really good. Of course, a lot of credit belong to forces as diverse as Mike Krempasky at Redstate and Atrios. Left and right coming together should mean something -- whether it's good or bad may depend on your perspective. But free speech -- true free speech, political free speech -- is a cause that should be celebrated by all.

As Krempasky noted, there is the concern that the "reform" community may sue the Commission to get it to reverse the ruling. But we've won a huge battle.