Lessig For Congress? 137
luge writes "With the unfortunate passing of Congressman Tom Lantos, parts of Silicon Valley and San Francisco will be holding a special election in June to send a replacement to Congress. Given the area, it would be great to have someone who is both tech- and policy-aware fill the seat — and it looks like that just might happen. Lawrence Lessig has apparently bought 'change-congress.com.' A 'Draft Lessig' group is forming on Facebook, featuring some of Lessig's old co-workers at Harvard and Jimmy Wales, among others. No word from Lessig himself yet, but he's been increasingly vocal about politics of late. If it happens, it would be a huge step forward for the representation of technology in Washington."
Real chance? (Score:1, Insightful)
I'd vote against him (Score:1, Insightful)
I hope I'm not trashing the wrong lawyer...
Best of a bad bunch? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Founder of Creative Commons (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I'd vote against him (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Real chance? (Score:5, Insightful)
Perhaps not in the Senate, but this is the House, and he's a Bay Area resident. We have a few little companies here that are full of employees who feel pretty strongly about rational technology law; you know, Google, Apple, Yahoo, and about seventy-three thousand startups. House elections are local.
Re:Founder of Creative Commons (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Copyright or corruption as his platform? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I'd vote against him (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Real chance? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:ESR For Congress! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Intellectuals in politics (Score:5, Insightful)
Proof of this is readily available when you look at documentation of the CIA's activities in the early 60's. That is what happens when you give a bureaucracy carte blanc and no oversight. They invaded a country. Of course, 9/11 had some of the same effects as nuclear cold war--it instilled fear in the public, which means they are apt to press their politicians to give up power in favor of the bureaucracy. Thus we have wiretapping, prison camps, torture, etc, all existing outside of the normal decision-making process. The worst part is that the bureaucracy is run by the president. He's the chief executive and the president of all the departments and sub-departments of the bureaucracy. Congress can only make the laws that govern this body, and the judicial can only rule when a suit is brought. Thus, they have unlimited power until they get caught.
Heady stuff, no wonder people want to be president so badly.
I agree, however, that having some intelligence in the Congress would provide some leadership to the people who need it most. The problem is, all the stupid people wouldn't like him and he'd be voted out. People seem to prefer people who think at their own level, apparently.
Re:Intellectuals in politics (Score:2, Insightful)
Why does everyone pick on him for this bit of his comment? It's the only bit that actually makes sense. A series of tubes is a perfectly good analogy for the internet. It is essentially a series of interconnected conduits, and if one of them gets clogged up it will slow down the whole system.
Lessig vs. Putnam (Score:5, Insightful)
I hope he runs. We need more legislators with practical life experiences who are not only experts in particular disciplines, but know enough about legal or scientific methods to form intelligent opinion based on facts on other subjects instead of voting the way the polls or campaign contributors tell them to.
Man who communicates (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Founder of Creative Commons (Score:5, Insightful)
Not so. He was pretty clear about the fact that he feels copyright is a symptom, and the corruption disease must be tackled in order to advance rational copyright law which balances the needs of creators and consumers. He has not turned his back on copyright reform, but taken what he sees as the only viable path to the goal.
Re:I'd vote against him (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't mean to sound like a fanboy, but Lessig has proven that he's willing to fight for the things I (and likely you, this being Slashdot and all) actually care about, and you slag him because he didn't win his supreme court case! Unbelievable.
Lessig for SCOTUS (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Real chance? (Score:4, Insightful)
I doubt he'd be electable in a state which contains a large percentage (if not the largest) of content providers.
I disagree. He is strongly anti-piracy, and has the support of major content providers with his Creative Commons initiative. The copyright reforms he seeks to implement are geared mainly towards removing the legal barrier towards creating fair-use derivative works of content and facilitating amateur content creation. This may not be a savory notion for the big studios, but it is not a life-or-death burden on their business models, either.
Re:I'd vote against him (Score:3, Insightful)
Umm, no. That was 2002. Not even close to ten years ago.
But I agree, kind of a ridiculous criticism. Hindsight is 20/20, and all that.
Re:Does he realize what he'd have to do on corrupt (Score:4, Insightful)
No chance (Score:4, Insightful)
Lessig will have a better chance if he tries for Anna Eshoo's seat when she retires, but he would have a lot of work to do to win a Democratic nomination out of the blue. In this area, there is a very active and strong Democratic party infrastructure and the path to that seat is usually via the state assembly/senate or San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
If Lessig really wants in to congress, he should run for local office first.
Re:Does he realize what he'd have to do on corrupt (Score:3, Insightful)