Friday, September 07, 2007

From the Waste of Money and Time Files

According to The Raw Story, John Bambeck, the blogger who filed the complaint with the FEC alleging that DailyKos is a political committee, a theory rejected by the Commission, is considering an appeal.

Even readers of Bambeck's personal blog think the idea of Kos being a political committee and subject to regulation is a bad idea. But here is an interesting twist:
Responding to a question about Redstate, a leading conservative blog whose directors state is "dedicated to the construction of a Republican majority in the United States," Bambenek alluded to a gray area within the law.

"There are no bright line distinctions here," he said, speculating about the point a blog crosses over into what he defines as political action committee territory. "On its face, Redstate gets close...but there are lots of ways to build a majority without directly calling for the election [of Republicans]," he went on to say, adding that Redstate's mission was more akin to an "advocacy of ideas."

Redstate co-founder Mike Krempasky previously criticized Bambenek's Daily Kos complaint, calling it "a sorry attempt to use government institutions to silence opponents" and saying that "the stunt has zero chance of success."
Krempasky and DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas Zuniga don't agree on much politically, but they both agree that their respective sites should not be subject to FEC regulation as committees.

As Professor Hasen noted, Bambeck "should get a lawyer to advise him that such an appeal has virtually no chance of success."

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