An overreach of our Constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression is not surprising when it comes from liberals, because that is what liberals do. But, watching the Republicans of the House Judiciary Committee today standing in defense of the Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261) smacks in the face of every conservatives who helped them gain a majority in the House in 2010.
Introduced by U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, SOPA gives law enforcement and copyright holders the tools to combat piracy of intellectual property with a two-tiered approach to foreign and domestic Internet sites, supporters claim.
However, even a cursory read of the bill reveals what many--except for Smith and his 24 co-sponsors--have already discovered: SOPA favors a handful of businesses rather than the freedom of expression for millions of Americans.
Combating piracy is a worthwhile cause, but not at the cost of jobs in the tech sector let alone the loss of access to some of the Internet sites we visit most often, including social networks like Facebook and Twitter, to media sites including YouTube, Tumblr and others.
A true conservative supports the Constitutional limits of government, and no more. And yet, 15 of the 25 co-sponsors of this bill are Republicans.
At what point does a conservative learn to stop trusting a candidate because he or she is an incumbent, or worse, only because they have an 'R' trailing their name?
Smith, as an example of a wolf in sheep's clothing, carries little credibility as a conservative after voting for the Farm Security Act, Medicare Part D and the bailout. It hurts to admit he is a fellow Texan, acting instead as only a creature of Washington can act.
If you are as tired of this dog and pony show every two years, conservative friend, here is what you can do:
First, contact your representative and tell them to vote against SOPA, or we might not be able to have the kinds of chats we have about these issues as we're doing now in the future.
Second, if you live in the area of one of the co-sponsors or authors listed below, make sure to find yourself a viable challenger for the Republican nomination in 2012, or consider backing a local Libertarian or, if you have to, conservative-minded Democrat.
Whatever you do, don't vote for one of these people again. They aren't real conservatives:
- Mark Amodei, R-Nev.
- Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
- Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif.
- John Carter, R-Texas
- Steven Chabot, R-Ohio
- Elton Gallegly, R-Calif.
- Robert Goodlatte, R-Va.
- Tim Griffin, R-Ark.
- Peter King, R-N.Y.
- Thomas Marino, R-Penn.
- Alan Nunnelee, R-Miss.
- Dennis Ross, R-Fla.
- Steve Scalise, R-La.
- Lamar Smith, R-Tex.
- Lee Terry, R-Neb.
--Brandon De Hoyos, Guide to IM
Comments
“favors a handful of businesses rather than the freedom of expression for millions of Americans.” Sounds like Republicans to me!
““favors a handful of businesses rather than the freedom of expression for millions of Americans.” Sounds like Republicans to me!”
My thoughts exactly.
Hypocrisy in the GOP? From the Patriot Act to this, how ironic republicans complain of overreaching government.
It would be ironic, except for the fact this is the Conservative Politics blog and not the Republican Politics blog. There are some good, conservative Republicans in Congress, but we could use more, just as there are a lot of good conservatives who aren’t Republicans at all. You can read about conservative alternatives to the Republican Party.
Whether Republican, Libertarian, Constitution Party or Reform, I know any of these can do much better on their worst day than a liberal Democrat on their best day!
Doesn’t sound like something a conservative would do? That sounds EXACTLY like something a conservative would do. Liberals support personal rights and economic restrictions. Conservatives support economic rights and personal restrictions. Allowing corporations to limit what websites average people have access to is doing both at once. If you’re thinking of a political ideology that both supports economic rights and personal rights, that is a Libertarian, not a Conservative.
Liberals support personal rights and economic restrictions.
Oh, really? Then you must not have heard about the U.S. Senate version of this bill, backed by a majority of Senate Democrats, entitled the Protect IP Act, which essentially does the SAME EXACT THING as the House bill. You are fooled, sir, to believe that liberals will protect personal rights and economic restrictions.
Were the Repubs being hypocritical in supporting the Patriot Act? Perhaps. But it’s amazing that the Liberals who recall that forget all about the Dems renewing it when they had complete control of the government. Suddenly with a Dem in the White House, the Dems nor the media had any problem with it. I wonder why?
This is why I live in Canada