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My congressman is nuts - and wants to prosecute me for saying so
Published on December 19, 2009
Category: Enforcement, False Statements, Other
Alan Grayson, a Florida Congressman known for sharp commentary, has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to prosecute a web site that is critical of him.
Grayson, a freshman Democrat from Florida's eighth congressional district, has gained some notoriety in the last year by a series of colorful comments: he referred to radio talk host Rush Limbaugh as "a has-been hypocrite loser" who "was more lucid when he was a drug addict;" urged Dick Cheney to "Shut the F___ Up;" called one Republican a "whore," and said that Republicans "want you to die quickly."
Republican activist Angie Langley has started a PAC called the "My Congressman is Nuts Committee," which set up a website to chronicle Rep. Grayson's colorful statements and activities, "Mycongressmanisnuts.com." The site also allows you to make contributions to the PAC, which it spells out will be used to try to defeat Rep. Grayson next fall.
Now Rep. Grayson has sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, asking Holder to prosecute Langley and the My Congressman is Nuts Committee. Grayson argues that the name is false since it implies that Langley lives in Grayson's district (she does not), and the PAC has misrepresented itself in its FEC filings. Grayson has also filed a complaint with the FEC.
Mr. Grayson's letter to the Attorney General includes some (unwitting) humor, as where he writes, "Ms. Langley has chosen a name for her committee that it utterly tasteless and juvenile." But there is a very serious issue here, too, and it's not any alleged violation of campaign finance laws. No allegation is made that the My Congressman is Nuts PAC is "corrupting" Congressman Grayson or anyone else, or poses a danger of corruption. And as the PAC has raised all of $3725 as of December 19 (despite a "money bomb" planned for December 16) we doubt that Mr. Grayson is even concerned about the amounts raised. Rather, it seems apparent that Representative Grayson simply want to silence a political opponent that is showing his many colorful comments and actions in a bad light.
Regulars to this site know that this is nothing new - indeed, it is probably the main use made of campaign finance laws, and arguably the intended purpose of campaign finance laws. But it is a reminder, once again, of the danger these laws pose to our speech rights - of the fundamental way in which they are contrary to the First Amendment.
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