Declan McCullagh has an interesting story for CNET on how our nation’s campaign finance laws may interact with blogs. One thing is certain, it won’t be pretty. Perhaps the saving grace of distributed media and independent writers will be what James Madison observed about factions.
“It is in vain to say, that enlightened statesmen will be able to adjust these clasing interests, and render them all subservient to the public good. Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm: Nor, in many cases can such an adjustment be made at all, without taking into view indirect and remote considerations, which will rarely prevail over the immediate interest which one party may find in disregarding the rights of another, or the good of the whole.”
What I meant to say is that reliance interests will rule. Democrats, Republicans and a wide range of fringe political forces all love the blogosphere and won’t stand for it to be sucked into the morass of McCain-Feingold.
