Elitist Media vs. Bloggers: H.R. 1606

I wanted to share the good news about the growing support we have in the House for HR1606, the Online Freedom of Information Act sponsored by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).

As y'all know, I have blogged extensively on this website about how important this bill is to ensuring that free speech remains free, especially on the Internet. (Read HERE and HERE.)

If you have a second, take a moment to check out the blog of Rep. Mike Conaway of Midland, Texas who today wrote an excellent post on his blog about his support for the Online Freedom of Information Act.

In his post, Mike takes a shot at the New York Times Editorial Board:

"Proponents of regulating the internet including the New York Time's Editorial Board argue that the internet will become "a cornucopia of political corruption." I couldn't disagree more. A better argument for the The New York Times would be to tell America that they really want to end political conversation on the internet to resurrect their power over political commentary."

I agree with Mike that some of the critics of this bill could have motives of their own.  Here are some of my questions:

• Does the NYT (and all elitist MSM) have a curious motive in keeping bloggers "out" of the political process?
• As the influence and importance of blogs begins to rise, are traditional media outlets concerned about their livelihood?
• Some could argue that the FEC has its hands full trying to regulate the entities that it currently regulates. In June 2003 there were 100,000 blogs. As of today, there are 30.6 million blogs (Source: Technorati.com). Is it technically//physically possible to regulate 30.6 million blogs (growing by nearly 100,000 blogs per day)?

I don't know all the answers to these questions, but I hope you'll leave your comments on the matter.

Despite its critics, HR1606 is a step in the right direction to helping ensure that political speech remains free on the Internet.

Because of the strong leadership in the House, and in the blogosphere, the House will vote, and likely pass this bill tomorrow. You can count on me to strongly advocate and support its passage.

Thanks for your friendship,

Jack

Check out Jack's Blog and subscribe to The JackCast.

Cross-posted at RedState.com. Leave a comment at RedState.com.