Althouse: "Once SOPA... became high-profile among the Internet community, the lazy endorsements from companies and various hangers-on became toxic."

December 27, 2011

"Once SOPA... became high-profile among the Internet community, the lazy endorsements from companies and various hangers-on became toxic."

"And now, those supporters are scrambling, hollowing out the actual support for the bill. Suddenly, a bill with ‘widespread’ corporate support doesn’t have much support at all."

ADDED: Here's a big list of who's supporting the bill (and who's opposing it).

27 comments:

Brennan said...: They read the bill. Oops.; 12/27/11, 3:59 PM
Scott M said...: Is it so far along, though, that SOMETHING will get passed purely through inertia and the desire to save face?; 12/27/11, 4:10 PM
YoungHegelian said...: Sometimes I wonder if corporate management can get any dumber, and then something like this comes along and proves that the well goes ever deeper.

No one --- no one ---, but malicious governments and organizations moral and corporate who want malicious governments to do their dirty work for them, want to mess with the internet.

The internet user community is like the American churches. It's not like they particularly like each other, but they know that the instant the government moves against any one of them, they know they're next in line for the ax.; 12/27/11, 4:11 PM
SteveR said...: As a general rule, anything that the legislative branch does in regards to the internet should be opposed. Ignorance which engulfs.; 12/27/11, 4:11 PM
rcommal said...: The baseball bat that is SOPA is an abomination with implications well beyond the fate of bloggers. It is anti-freedom, anti-free speech, anti-innovation, anti-idea and anti-much more, and it serves to bolster big vested interests and stack the deck against the little guy. Seriously, don't delay: Call or write your congress critters today!; 12/27/11, 4:20 PM
rcocean said...: Amazing that Republicans are always trying to help the'entertainment industry' - given Hollywood et al are the biggest donors/supporters of the Democrat party.

Guess it shows Republican always support Big Business - even if it screws the middle class and helps the Liberals. Dollars uber alles.; 12/27/11, 4:24 PM
rcocean said...: SOPA is an abomination. If we had a SCOTUS that actually believed in the Constitution, we wouldn't have to worry. Sadly, we have Roberts, Ginsburg, Kennedy, and the wise Latina.; 12/27/11, 4:26 PM
rcommal said...: I strongly recommend reviewing the list to which Althouse links in the "Added" part of her post.

Look especially closely at who's getting the big bucks on the "supporting SOPA side."; 12/27/11, 4:26 PM
edutcher said...: Read about this - it's really gutted GoDaddy.

rcocean said...

Amazing that Republicans are always trying to help the'entertainment industry' - given Hollywood et al are the biggest donors/supporters of the Democrat party.

Republicans or RINOs?; 12/27/11, 4:26 PM
Henry said...: As a general rule, anything that the legislative branch does in regards to the internet should be opposed. Ignorance which engulfs.

It is a truism that corporations are amoral. Corporations will act in amoral ways that individuals within the corporation would never consider.

SOPA shows that the same idea is true for the people that make up legislatures.

Representative: The internet is amazing! It's rich and alive and wonderful! I love that Amazon and YouTube. Wikipedia is the bomb!

Legislature: Let's kill it. Quickly.; 12/27/11, 4:30 PM
rcommal said...: edutcher: Are you saying Eric Cantor, John Boehner and Michele Bachman aren't Republicans?

Good Lord.; 12/27/11, 4:30 PM
Carol_Herman said...: Except that GoDaddy actually wrote the bill!

And, big companies have the politicians approaching them ... hat in hand ... for donations.

So, IF there was to be a bill ... ahead ... the major donors are given free passes.

Did GoDaddy learn anything? They usually sign people up for a year ... and, then? They don't advise you that your year is up. They just bill your credit card, again.

On the other hand, due to REDDIT, which is an engineering community ... Adelman ... at GoDaddy saw his business shrinking by more than a quarter of a million dollars.

That's figuring the 81,000 who left GoDaddy ... who were paying in monthly fees of upwards to ten bucks a month.; 12/27/11, 4:45 PM
edutcher said...: rcommal said...

edutcher: Are you saying Eric Cantor, John Boehner and Michele Bachman aren't Republicans?

Good Lord.

There's a lot of doubt about Boehner and, in some quarters, Cantor.

Who's a real Republican is up for grabs these days.

As all the trolls know.

WV "duche" (no kidding); 12/27/11, 5:07 PM
Jose_K said...: They are receiving money for the groups supporting the law not for suporting that law in particular.
◦National Criminal Justice Association
◦National District Attorneys Association
for sure they support republicans who are tough on enforcement.
Ford Motors, Merck NFl for sure give money to republicans to support something beside SOPA. BTW: what have Ford to do with it?; 12/27/11, 5:18 PM
Jose_K said...: It is ironic that a transparency webpage is made by spin and manipulation.
Sopa is wrong but stealins will remain stealing.
Oddly the support for robery by the same people attacking the occupiers; 12/27/11, 5:22 PM
rcommal said...: Jose K: I don't support stealing or piracy, and I suspect that I'm more supportive of protecting intellectual property etc. than are many. However, this bill was crafted with a meat grinder, not a scalpel, and its implications are very chilling. Better nothing at all than this bill--and nothing, as has been noted at this blog often enough, really can be a high standard.; 12/27/11, 5:37 PM
rcocean said...: Here's a clue for Republicans and Conservatives: The Entertainment "industry" and the copyright holders aren't your friends.

And Internet "piracy" is the "free Market".

Copyrights are government monopolies. Read Jefferson and Madison.

Strangely, the "libertarians" don't care. Maybe 'cause they don't really dislike "Big Government" when it helps "Big Business".; 12/27/11, 5:38 PM
Craig Howard said...: From the article:

Conservatives took a slightly different tact, though with similar disdain for the anti-piracy measures.

They took a different "tact"?

Obviously, proper English is not one of Politico's tenants.; 12/27/11, 6:06 PM
chuck said...: Curious,

Republican/Conservative and Christian/Conservative are listed as supporters, even though Issa is one of the most active opponents. OTOH, Democratic/Liberal are listed a opponents. I had the impression that this wasn't a partisan issue and didn't break down on party lines.

Hmm.. Looking at some of the links and reading some of blogs, opencongress looks like a partisan group. Too bad. Everything is polluted with politics these days, where is the EPA when you need them?; 12/27/11, 7:53 PM
Anonymous said...: Meade and/or Althouse,
Thank you for the quick spam cleanup!; 12/27/11, 7:59 PM
Anonymous said...: "Obviously, proper English is not one of Politico's tenants."

I noticed that, too, so your comment made me smile.; 12/27/11, 8:48 PM
Palladian said...: SOPA is a hideous abomination, and the kind of thing that foments revolutions.; 12/27/11, 10:08 PM
rcommal said...: Ah, maybe not, Palladian, or maybe so--but in the latter case, not so much of the bloody, in-the-streets type. Much more stealthy, and technical, and therefore more interesting--and perhaps deadly (in the metaphorical sense)--than that.

SOPA poses many serious issues. I wish people would get more serious about it. Wishin' ain't gettin', of course. Therefore, we can only wait and see what we shall see.; 12/27/11, 11:09 PM
Michael McNeil said...: Obviously, proper English is not one of Politico's tenants.

Politico has renters?; 12/28/11, 4:53 AM
Michael McNeil said...: Strangely, the “libertarians” don't care. Maybe 'cause they don't really dislike “Big Government” when it helps “Big Business”.

Glenn Reynolds isn't a libertarian? The legal bloggers at The Volokh Conspiracy aren't libertarian? Sure.; 12/28/11, 4:58 AM
Robert Burnham said...: http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=4009; 12/28/11, 8:01 AM
sonicfrog said...: rcocean wrote:

Strangely, the "libertarians" don't care. Maybe 'cause they don't really dislike "Big Government" when it helps "Big Business".

Which is a funny comment, because it was libertarians who have been all over this for the last two weeks before the rest of you caught on; 12/28/11, 11:43 PM