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McCain on Regulating Internet Politics: 'I'd be very reluctant'

by Ryan Sager
Wed, 28 Mar 2007 at 11:08 AM
updated Wed, 28 Mar 2007 at 10:38 AM

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This morning, Senator McCain of Arizona held his first blogger conference call of the 2008 race. He says he expects to start holding them regularly.

And, so, on the topic of politicians making use of the Internet in their campaigns, I posed this question to the senator this morning:

McCain-Feingold having had its five-year anniversary yesterday, and with so much campaign activity on YouTube and elsewhere on the Web these days, do we need new regulations to ensure transparency?

The senator's answer fell short of unequivocal, but he essentially said he'd be quite skeptical of the need for any new Internet-related campaign-finance controls.

"I'd be very reluctant," Mr. McCain said. "I think, clearly, it's added a whole new dimension to informing the American people. … This is what we want to happen."

"Young Americans are really profiting by this," Mr. McCain added, as the Internet is aiding their getting more involved in politics. "I think it's a marvelous change."

He reiterated, the short answer to my question: "No."

While this is certainly the answer conservative bloggers — including this one — would want to hear, the issue will bear close observation.

Mr. McCain may not see a need for new regulations right now, but his allies in the campaign-finance-regulation community have had their eye on bringing new regulations to the Internet for some time. Ads like the "1984" slam on Hillary Clinton are done "anonymously," and thus all kinds of skullduggery and unregulated monied interests might be behind them.

Mr. McCain's on the right track on this issue — perhaps chastised by the online uproar the last time the specter of Internet regulations reared their ugly head — but the question is whether he'll stay there. Especially if he becomes the target of some unregulated Internet activity that he finds objectionable.

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