UNSEAT THE #1 PUBLIC ENEMY OF THE INTERNET: REPRESENTATIVE LAMAR SMITH

2012 ELECTIONS

Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX21) is bought and paid for in full by the entertainment industry and corporate interests. He no longer serves the constituency of voters who elected him to office 25 years ago. Instead, he has auctioned off his position as a representative of his community to the highest bidder.

Tsk, tsk Lamar … Senile, stubborn, negative Lamar. In short, Lamar is the king of not giving a flying fuck about the concerns of his constituency - the 99% who depend on him to bring them fair and strong representation in the US Congress. Lamar has not represented his constituency while in Congress – he has MISREPRESENTED them.

Recently, Lamar put his full ignorance and unwillingness to understand modern society on public display when he SPONSORED the now-infamous Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Widely regarded as one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation that has been written and presented to Congress in recent history, SOPA touched on hot-button issues of censorship, scope of government power, and restricting the Internet. The bill, which would have severely threatened individual liberty and free enterprise both on and offline, was shelved after activists, non-profits, companies and other entities that saw its danger banded together in a now-famous Internet blackout.

SOPA, bought and paid for by corporate interests in the entertainment industry (much like Lamar himself), was an incredibly flawed piece of legislation that tried to curtail the Internet and citizens’ ability to enjoy an unrestricted, free Internet. Not only was SOPA poorly written and researched (which Lamar failed to realise or remedy before sponsoring the bill in Congress), but its authors also made no excuse about the fact that it infringed upon every citizen’s constitutional rights and curtailed the use and enjoyment of the Internet for all US citizens. All this in the name of saving the corporate entertainment industry a few dollars from the perceived, not-yet-proven, financial threat of piracy.

In the 2012 election season, Lamar (a long-time incumbent in the Texas 21st congressional district) faces a direct threat to his seat from a newcomer: the innovative and passionate Richard Morgan, an energetic young software engineer and activist who has boldly stood up to save the Texas 21st from additional misrepresentation by Lamar. Morgan seeks to restore voter faith in their local US Representative – he vows to stand on principle and demonstrate a full commitment to hearing and working for the concerns of his voters, NOT the corporate entertainment industry. But he needs our help. His campaign is in need of funding and resources, obtained primarily from online donations and volunteer activism. You can donate to Morgan directly HERE and read a Q&A he did on Reddit HERE to get a better idea of his views.

The Internet has already joined together to erect an UNSEAT LAMAR billboard in Lamar’s Texas district. Monies have been raised, but more donations are needed to continue to fuel the opposition candidate, Mr. Morgan, as well as to promote other efforts to inform the voters in the Texas 21st just how much Lamar has sold them out to Hollywood. If you can donate your time, money or skills to helping unseat the Number 1 Threat to the Internet, Lamar Smith, please, see HERE for ideas on how you can help. This will take all of us to join together, but the Internet is nothing if not far-reaching and effective. We stopped SOPA dead in its tracks. We can do this. Let’s unseat Lamar in 2012.

Elections NOT auctions, Mr. Smith. You would do well to remember this.