Political Bloggers Required to Register as Lobbyists

Or face up to 10 years in prison.

[herb]

A bill that US Senate Democrats have offered-up as a means to curb corruption in Washington could instead target some political bloggers with new regulations and even criminal penalties.

Section 220 says that certain political bloggers who make or spend $25,000 per quarter and who encourage readers to contact their elected representatives would be forced to register as lobbyists or face up to 10 years in prison.

Grassroots lobbying" is defined as a person engaging in "paid efforts" to encourage the "general public to communicate their own views on an issue to federal officials."

CNET News [news.com.com]

[ncsu98]

Politics sure does make for strange bedfellows. . . "a broad range of groups including the ACLU, the Free Speech Coalition, the Traditional Values Coalition and National Right To Life" and later in the article is mentioned the Gun Owners of America too.

I'm glad people are concerned about this provision. My question is this - how on earth would the gov't ever enforce this? Will our tax dollars be paying for someone to scan blogs? Sounds like both an infringement on First Amendment rights and a huge waste of taxpayers' dollars.