Growing rumors about Lawrence Lessig running for Congress from California’s 12th District—encompassing Silicon Valley—are more than idle speculation. On Tuesday the Stanford University law professor and cyberspace activist announced that he is forming an exploratory committee to decide whether to seek the office. He says he will probably make a decision by March 1. The political action committee ActBlue, which raises money for Democratic candidates, says 392 people have contributed $30,666 to his candidacy. And a Web site that is pushing Mr. Lessig to run says his campaign warchest already exceeds that of Democrat Jackie Speier, a former California state senator who is seeking the congressional seat and earned the endorsement of Tom Lantos. Mr. Lantos held the seat before he died this month of cancer.
Mr. Lessig even has his campaign platform ready. As depicted in the 10-minute video below, it’s about combating the corrupting affects of money in politics, a system he likens to alcoholism. He wants members of Congress to agree to the following: accept no money from lobbyists or political action committees, support a ban on congressional earmarks, and support public financing of campaigns. He is working to start a movement via the Internet to accomplish these goals.
His movement raises an obvious question, though. Is he being hypocritical by taking campaign money from ActBlue? Mr. Lessig argues that it does not operate like a political action committee since it would be hard for a corporation to use ActBlue to funnel money to a candidate. Is he right?—-Andrea L. Foster
