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Lessig For Congress?
luge writes "With the unfortunate passing of Congressman Tom Lantos, parts of Silicon Valley and San Francisco will be holding a special election in June to send a replacement to Congress. Given the area, it would be great to have someone who is both tech- and policy-aware fill the seat — and it looks like that just might happen. Lawrence Lessig has apparently bought 'change-congress.com.' A 'Draft Lessig' group is forming on Facebook, featuring some of Lessig's old co-workers at Harvard and Jimmy Wales, among others. No word from Lessig himself yet, but he's been increasingly vocal about politics of late. If it happens, it would be a huge step forward for the representation of technology in Washington."
and board member at EFF apparently.
I'd never heard of him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lessig
FEC.gov shows he donated the maximum allowance to Barack Obama's campaign. Just FYI :) .
He doesn't need to be elected by the whole state, just his district. That particular district covers a big chunk of Silicon Valley, which may be the one place a candidate like that actually could get elected.
So then what happens when the rest of the state, or the nation for that matter, votes against what he votes for? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Congress has a significant amount of bad apples.
Palo Alto (and Stanford) are in California's 14th District, and Lantos is from the 12th District, representing the area from San Mateo, and Redwood City north to South San Francisco, Daly City, and the southwestern portion of San Francisco. I don't think he's eligible to represent the 12th district without moving. So this would be no small matter for him to undertake.
That said, I would fully support Lessig for congress. Hopefully he can bring some knowledge and sanity to important committees.
-molo
Using your sig line to advertise for friends is lame.