Lessig: I'm considering a run for Congress

Confirming weeks of speculation, Larry Lessig, the Stanford University law professor and "free culture" icon, has confessed that yes indeed, he's considering a run for the U.S. Congress this year.

Larry Lessig

(Credit: lessig.org)

The revelation came in a brief blog entry on Lessig's Web site early Wednesday morning.

Remarking that "lots of fear and uncertainty" accompany his announcement, Lessig said he'll continue reflecting over the next few days on whether he's up for entering the fray. A final decision will come around March 1.

Lessig would be vying for the seat vacated by the death last week of Rep. Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to be elected to Congress. He would, however, also face what he readily acknowledges is an "extraordinarily difficult" race: Jackie Speier--an "extraordinarily good" California state senator and "professional politician," by Lessig's own description--has already announced her candidacy.

Lessig may be a well-known critic of expansive copyright laws, founder of the less-restrictive Creative Commons licensing approach, and a pioneer in cyberspace legal issues, but his preliminary platform--so far, at least--isn't focused on any of that.

In a 10-minute video, Lessig says he's committed to a mantra of "Change Congress," focused on abolishing what he views as the corruptive influence of money in the policymaking process. (He calls out Speier, for instance, for accepting $250,000 from insurance companies while heading up the state senate's insurance committee.)

For Lessig, that translates into a making a three-pronged commitment to "fix" old Washington ways: not accepting money from lobbyists or political action committees, voting to ban all "earmarks" on congressional spending bills, and supporting public financing of campaigns. He indicated he'll be pushing that new "project" regardless of whether he runs for office.

Lessig said he was encouraged to weigh a congressional run by the "Draft Lessig" Web site and Facebook page that have sprung up in recent weeks.

"But I will only be able to run for Congress if you show your support right now," he says at the close of his video. "I need to see your support right now to understand there is enough support for this idea to make this campaign worth it."

On the presidential front, Lessig has recently come out in support of Barack Obama.

[hermitlife]

go Lessig go!

Based on your 20 min and 10 min videos I fully support your candidacy! Time for a change!

[shunchu]

more of lessig

The world needs more Lessig, especially in a country that makes a lot of promises but has very little to show in the recent years. The government is practically owned by the big corporations and the rich. It needs more people like Lessig to stand up for justice and what's right for the general public, not the selective few or for the corporations! You go, Lessig!

[nicmart]

Doesn't get it

He's good on copyright, but his comments show he doesn't
understand the nature of government. Companies lobby for
influence and self-defense because government meddles where it
shouldn't. He should be just as supportive of free markets as he is
of free ideas. It seems that he's just another confused liberal, and
California has plenty of those among its "professional politicians."

[Len Bullard]

Take the Money Out and It Stops Running

I think should he win, he will find it is a lot harder than an episode of the West Wing. Still, I think he should try because he will learn a lot.

Take the money out and the government quits working. Take the money out of software and see how long c/net stays up. Red Hat gets paid too. It just comes down to who gets paid first and last.

This line of thinking is a bit like some of the Obama-nutsiness, but apparently America has to do this every other decade. The last time we tried it was Jimmy Carter. He was a great guy but not prepared to govern at that scale. As a result, the mess left by Nixon was inherited by the Democrats precisely when they didn't have the necessary experience in place to fix the problems. Outcome: Carter does four years and the Republicans got 12 more after that to loot.

Tilt away, Larry. The entertainment value will be tremendous. Meanwhile, time to shift my retirement into Euros.