CISPA was passed in the House largely along party lines. Why are small government advocates voting to bring more government to the internet?
CISPA, or the Cybersecurity Intelligence Sharing And Protection Act, passed the House yesterday. The bill is full of problematic intrusions into individual privacy and online liberty, and yet those members of the House who associate themselves with limited government were largely responsible for its passage.
“The complete roll call shows 206 Republicans voting for the bill, 28 against,” writes reason’s Tim Cavanaugh. “Democrats went 42 to 140 in the opposite direction.”
Of these Republicans, “47 of the 66 members of the House Tea Party Caucus” also supported the bill, notes Patrick Cahalan.
“For those tricky with the math,” Cahalan continues, “this means 88% of the overall GOP members (casting a vote) voted yea, 23% of the Dems (casting a vote) voted yea, and 71% of the Tea Party (casting a vote) voted yea (Paul and Pence didn’t cast a vote).”
Worse still, the bill underwent some last minute changes, which may have made CISPA even worse than in previous iterations.
More @ Forbes
I think that while his overall point is valid, his conclusion is wrong regarding the Tea Party Caucus. Given that 88% of Republicans voted for it, while only 71% of Tea Party Caucus members (presumably all Republicans), that suggests that there are still a few who see the problems. He is right, though, about conservatives, big government, and national security. They can see the problem most everywhere else, except there.
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