The Day The LOLCats Died

Sounds like SOPA is dead, or, at least, undergoing serious rewrite.

• House Kills Sopa.  “In a surprise move today, Representative Eric Cantor(R-VA) announced that he will stop all action on SOPA, effectively killing the bill. ( h/t Instapundit.)
• THE HILL: Internet piracy bill’s future uncertain as House returns. “The future of the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has grown murky as House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has all but declared the bill dead, but the measure’s sponsor, Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), has vowed to push ahead.”(Also h/t Instapundit)
• SOPA sponsor undeterred by conservative opposition, websites’ blackouts | The Daily Caller

From that last:

“Right now, the focus of protecting the Internet needs to be on the Senate where Majority Leader Reid has announced his intention to try to move similar legislation in less than two weeks,” said Issa Tuesday.
PIPA is sponsored by Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, who swatted at the opposition of Wikipedia and Reddit in a statement.
“The PROTECT IP Act will not affect Wikipedia, will not affect Reddit, and will not affect any website that has any legitimate use,” said Leahy. ” A foreign rogue website is clearly defined as one that has no real purpose other than infringement.”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/17/sopa-sponsor-undeterred-by-conservative-opposition-websites-blackouts/#ixzz1jqDcwqCd

Ah, yes, the old "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear" argument....

I notice  that among the outfits pushing this Internet Blackout today*, most of them would be regarded as liberal/progressive in nature, despite that the sponsors of this monster have been bought and paid for by Hellywood--the whole point is to protect the residuals of the poor 99%'ers in the entertainment industry.  But Moveon.org is listed right up there.

I understand that it has been said that His Imperial Majesty Barack Hussein Obama would veto it even if passed, but still, any congress critter who votes for it should be run out  of office on a rail.

SOPA: H.R. 3261 on THOMAS
According to GovTrack, here are the original co-sponsors of SOPA:
Lamar Smith, (R-TX 21) Sponsor
Cosponsors:
Mark Amodei [R-NV2]
Joe Baca [D-CA43]
John Barrow [D-GA12]
Karen Bass [D-CA33]
Howard Berman [D-CA28]
Marsha Blackburn [R-TN7]
Mary Bono Mack [R-CA45]
John Carter [R-TX31]
Steven Chabot [R-OH1]
Judy Chu [D-CA32]
John Conyers [D-MI14]
Jim Cooper [D-TN5]
Ted Deutch [D-FL19]
Elton Gallegly [R-CA24]
Robert Goodlatte [R-VA6]
Tim Griffin [R-AR2]
Tim Holden [D-PA17]
Peter King [R-NY3]
John Larson [D-CT1]
Ben Luján [D-NM3]
Thomas Marino [R-PA10]
Alan Nunnelee [R-MS1]
William Owens [D-NY23]
Dennis Ross [R-FL12]
Steve Scalise [R-LA1]
Adam Schiff [D-CA29]
Brad Sherman [D-CA27]
Lee Terry [R-NE2]
Debbie Wasserman Schultz [D-FL20]
Melvin Watt [D-NC12]   
Ben Quayle [R-AZ3] (withdrawn)

GovTrack only shows one co-sponsor as having withdrawn his support, but several others are said to have jumped off the bandwagon; the question is, did they do so because the hoi polloi are unhappy, or because there was stuff in there they couldn't support...?

PIPA:  S. 968 on THOMAS
Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Sponsor
Co-Sponsors:
Cosponsors:
Lamar Alexander [R-TN]
Kelly Ayotte [R-NH]
Michael Bennet [D-CO]
Jeff Bingaman [D-NM]
Richard Blumenthal [D-CT]
Roy Blunt [R-MO]
John Boozman [R-AR]
Barbara Boxer [D-CA]
Sherrod Brown [D-OH]
Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]
Robert Casey [D-PA]
Saxby Chambliss [R-GA]
Thad Cochran [R-MS]
Chris Coons [D-DE]
Bob Corker [R-TN]
Richard Durbin [D-IL]
Michael Enzi [R-WY]
Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]
Al Franken [D-MN]
Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]
Lindsey Graham [R-SC]
Charles Grassley [R-IA]
Kay Hagan [D-NC]
Orrin Hatch [R-UT]   
John Isakson [R-GA]
Tim Johnson [D-SD]
Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]
Herbert Kohl [D-WI]
Mary Landrieu [D-LA]
Joseph Lieberman [I-CT]   
John McCain [R-AZ]
Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]
Bill Nelson [D-FL]
James Risch [R-ID]
Marco Rubio [R-FL]
Charles Schumer [D-NY]   
Jeanne Shaheen [D-NH]
Tom Udall [D-NM]
David Vitter [R-LA]
Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]
Jerry Moran [R-KS] (withdrawn)
Again, GovTrack only shows one co-sponsor, Jerry Moran of Kansas, has withdrawn, but in the news Marco Rubio has announced he can't support this abortion.

I note that, while there are a lot of "usual suspects" there, there are a few names that surprised--and disappointed--me.  I must confess to being pleased that no congress-critters from the Evergreen State are on the list, and that the only Michigander on the list is a Usual Suspect.

Obviously, anyone on these lists should be targeted for de-election; if they have publicly withdrawn their support and repudiated the bills, they should have their feet held to the fire.

***

*I never did react well to peer pressure...