Democrats once again move to end free speech

Good day all. This story came out yesterday during the Friday night document dump so loved by government bureaucracies everywhere. In this case, it is the Federal Election Commission once again trying to suppress free speech on the internet.

This was a surprise move late Friday when the Democrats on the FEC announced they wanted to add massive new regulations for internet campaigning. They want to go after blogs and even news sites and basically censor them. Here are some of the details from The Washington Examiner:

In a surprise move late Friday, a key Democrat on the Federal Election Commission called for burdensome new rules on Internet-based campaigning, prompting the Republican chairman to warn that Democrats want to regulate online political sites and even news media like the Drudge Report.

The fact that the Progressive Liberal Fascist Democrats want to censor the Drudge Report is old news. They’ve hated him since he blew the whistle on the Clinton/Lewinsky coverup almost 20 years ago.

Democratic FEC Vice Chair Ann M. Ravel announced plans to begin the process to win regulations on Internet-based campaigns and videos, currently free from most of the FEC’s rules. “A reexamination of the commission’s approach to the internet and other emerging technologies is long over due,” she said.

A quick search of that highly accurate source of information, Wikipedia gives a brief synopsis of Comrade Ravel. She is a classic PFLD Moonbat and took her position a year ago. Apparently, she and the other two Communists Nazi’s Democrats were rather annoyed when thy tried to suppress an anti-Obama internet video.

The power play followed a deadlocked 3-3 vote on whether an Ohio anti-President Obama Internet campaign featuring two videos violated FEC rules when it did not report its finances or offer a disclosure on the ads. The ads were placed for free on YouTube and were not paid advertising.

Anyone can upload a video to Youtube and it has literally thousands of internet political ads from one side or the other. I’ve posted links to a few myself on this site. What Ravel and the other two want to do is change a rule regarding free ads like this.

Under a 2006 FEC rule, free political videos and advocacy sites have been free of regulation in a bid to boost voter participation in politics. Only Internet videos that are placed for a fee on websites, such as the Washington Examiner, are regulated just like normal TV ads.

And what is it Ravel is trying to accomplish? I’ll give you three guesses but you will only need one.

Ravel’s statement suggests that she would regulate right-leaning groups like America Rising that posts anti-Democrat YouTube videos on its website.

And from that you can bet she and her cohorts in unconstitutional activities would not move to suppress anything from the Democrat side of the house. Just how bad could these regulations be if allowed to go forward?

FEC Chairman Lee E. Goodman, a Republican, said if regulation extends that far, then anybody who writes a political blog, runs a politically active news site or even chat room could be regulated. He added that funny internet campaigns like “Obama Girl,” and “Jib Jab” would also face regulations. “I told you this was coming,” he told Secrets. Earlier this year he warned that Democrats on the panel were gunning for conservative Internet sites like the Drudge Report.

Since I tend to get rather political on this site, you can bet your bottom dollar that these thugs would be coming after me as well. According to the Washington Times, is afraid that major players might take advantage of the stupid sheep, I mean the voters.

Ms. Ravel said she fears that in trying to keep the Internet open for bloggers, they’ve instead created a loophole for major political players to escape some scrutiny.

“Some of my colleagues seem to believe that the same political message that would require disclosure if run on television should be categorically exempt from the same requirements when placed in the Internet alone,” said FEC Vice Chair Ann M. Ravel in a statement. “As a matter of policy, this simply does not make sense.”

You’re right, so how about this? How about we strip the FEC of most of it’s authority? All they can do is insure that the elections are fair, honest and open and that no voter fraud occurs. Oh wait. They whole purpose of the Federal Elections Commission is to suppress anyone who gets in the way of the PLFD and other statists. Never mind.

She said the FEC should no longer “turn a blind eye to the Internet’s growing force in the political arena,” and she vowed to force a conversation next year on what changes to make.

How about we, the People, tell this tyrannical totalitarian bitch and her to minions that if they try and suppress the First Amendment, then they might just find out why the Second Amendment was written. Fortunately, the Republicans on the commission are having none of this.

The three Republican-backed commissioners, though, said in a joint statement that Ms. Ravel’s plans would stifle what’s become the “virtual free marketplace of political ideas and democratic debate.”

Since when have Democrats believe in honest and open debate?

FEC Chairman Lee E. Goodman said what Ms. Ravel is proposing would require a massive bureaucracy digging into the corners of the web to police what’s posted about politics.

“I cannot imagine a regulatory regime that would put government censors on the Internet daily, culling YouTube video posts for violations of law — nothing short of a Chinese censorship board,” Mr. Goodman said.

And that is exactly what those PLFD’s have in mind Mr. Goodman. The Democrats have been the party of tyranny going back to Woodrow Wilson. Since the 1960’s, they have moved hard to the Anti-democratic left, pushing forward laws and regulations, all designed to suppress any and all individuals and organizations that do not toe the Progressive Totalitarian line.

The Internet, and before that, AM Talk Radio, began to break the choke-hold held by the Progressives. Prior to the Internet, and back when they had the Fairness Doctrine in place, anyone who opposed the move toward the statist totalitarianism of the Democrats, (And to a great extent the RINO’s as well), was essentially blocked from speaking out. Most of the news organizations ignored Conservatives and those who supported the Constitution as it was written.

With the end of the Fairness Doctrine and the advents of Talk Radio and then the Internet, the dead hand of Progressive control slipped off. We have seen a huge amount of debate and discussion on the Internet. No longer are the Conservatives, Libertarians and Constitutionalists blocked from speaking out. No longer do we only hear one side of a story. Today, the Internet along with mobile devices with cameras built in, anyone can say pretty much anything they like.

Such as myself.

It’s time to drive a stake through the heart of the Federal Election Commission. In it’s current form, it serves no purpose at all other then to threaten the very freedoms we enjoy.

Thatisall

~The Angry Webmaster~

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