More On The Moron: Florida Senator Brodeur

A few days ago I wrote about Florida state sentor Jason Brodeur’s bill to require critics bloggers to register with the state. The moron is doubling down, and misrepresenting his bill.

Newt Gingrich slams Florida Republicans for blogger registration bill: ‘Insane’
“Paid bloggers are lobbyists who write instead of talk. They both are professional electioneers. If lobbyists have to register and report, why shouldn’t paid bloggers,” [state Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Republica] told Florida Politics.

He’s pretending his bill only requires paid bloggers to register. That is false.

“Blogger” means any person as defined in s. 1.01(3) that submits a blog post to a blog which is subsequently published.

“Blog” means a website or webpage that hosts any blogger and is frequently updated with opinion, commentary, or business content. The term does not include the website of a newspaper or other similar publication.

Do you see anything there about the blogger being paid? I don’t. In fact, it specifically excludes outlets that would be paying its writers.

This part could limit registration to “paid bloggers”:

(2) If a blogger posts to a blog about an elected state officer and receives, or will receive, compensation for that post, the blogger must register with the appropriate office, as identified in paragraph (1)(f), within 5 days after the first post by the blogger which mentions an elected state officer.

Except it doesn’t. I don’t get paid upfront for posts here. The best I can do is hope someone hits my tip jar after the fact. And after that burst of extraordinary generosity last year, helping with my medical bills, tips have come to a near screeching stop (I figure most folks correctly figured they’ve done their part by now, and the screwed economy probably doesn’t help). But under this bill, I’d still have to register within 5 days of calling Brodeur a moron… just in case someone compensates me eventually.

As for the claim that “paid bloggers” are “lobbyists”…

2 USC § 1602(8):

Lobbying contact (A) Definition The term “lobbying contact” means any oral or written communication (including an electronic communication) to a covered executive branch official or a covered legislative branch official that is made on behalf of a client…

Florida Statute 11.045:

(e) “Lobbying” means influencing or attempting to influence legislative action or nonaction through oral or written communication or an attempt to obtain the goodwill of a member or employee of the Legislature.

“Lobbyist” means a person who is employed and receives payment, or who contracts for economic consideration, for the purpose of lobbying, or a person who is principally employed for governmental affairs by another person or governmental entity to lobby on behalf of that other person or governmental entity.

Does Brodeur claim that my blog a form of direct communication with himself? Does he claim that this blog post is lobbying, but if — as I sometimes do — I send the exact same post as a letter to the editor of newspaper, it is magically not lobbying?

That I’m trying to obtain his “goodwill”?

Say… Did Brodeur register as a lobbyist when HE paid a blogger $37,000?

 

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Bear

2A advocate, writer, firearms policy & law analyst, general observer of pre-apocalyptic American life.

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