Lessig at Netroots Nation

In a Netroots Nation keynote speech, Larry Lessig made the point that Al Gore proposed that the 1994 Telecommunications Act contain a title deregulating cable and DSL. Congress, Lessig reports, went berserk: "How can we extort donations from the telecommunications industry," they basically said, "if we don't regulate them?"

The title was struck.

Lessig's point was that conservatives, too, should support public financing of elections. Because that means there might be less regulation—which the right claims to want. Because a considerable amount of regulation exists to make it easier to extort campaign contributions.

What do you think of the argument? Too clever by half?