Larry Lessig tells the story of how he lost the Eldred case. What if he’s right? How do you live everyday feeling this way?

This case could have been won. It should have been won. And no matter how hard I try to retell this story to myself, I can’t help believing that my own mistake lost it.

Via Tapped, a great letter [pdf format] that Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich) sends the chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers. I’m thrilled beyond belief that it was prepared and mailed at taxpayer expense. More of my tax dollars should go to awesome things like this.

Todd Martin has responded to my query and writes:

On Raw the night before the election, Lawler and Ross were instructed to go out there and bash Gore and support Bush. So they compared Gore and Lieberman to the Right to Censor, and Lawler at one point said he was going to vote for Bush. That was what I was referring to.

Well, that does sound like something Vince McMahon would do, doesn’t it? Could be a violation of election law, too.

Or is it something Linda McMahon would do? If one consults opensecrets.org, a database of large politcal contributions, an enterprising sort would find that Linda has given at least $9,500 to various political campaigns and organizations, including $6,000 to the Connecticut Republican Campaign Committee.

Another name on the list is Kevin Murray, who I think is a California state senator (D). He used to be a talent agent for William Morris Agency — perhaps he used to represent a wrestler? Stephanie Sanchez Hunter (D) challenged Christopher Shays twice for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in Connecticut’s 4th congressional district. John A. Stephen (R) ran for Congress in New Hampshire’s 1st district in 2002.

I guess we could call Linda an independent, if she weren’t giving the bulk of her contributions to the Republican party. I wonder whether Vince is contributing through her, or making no political contributions at all?

Todd Martin writes for the Wrestling Observer:

In any event, here was the point I was making. Prior to the 2000 election, WWE started a non-partisan campaign aimed at getting young voters out to the polls. WWE said time and again that it didnt matter who people voted for, just that they voted. Then, after they had registered many voters under those auspices, they specifically endorsed one of the candidates the day before voting. Who they endorsed is immaterial to this specific point. The crime would have been the same no matter who they endorsed.

While I remember the 2000 “get out the youth vote” campaign and the appearance of the Rock at the GOP convention, I don’t remember the actual endorsement of Bush by the WWF at that time. I’ve emailed Todd (and Dave Meltzer) about this, hopefully I’ll have something to report on this later. Can anyone remember this for me?

Note to self: find out why corporations never seem to endorse political candidates.

So Dan Gillmor says that Dean’s new campaign manager is a horrible, horrible lobbyist. Unfortunate. He also harps on Dean’s flip-flopping, something I find not that important. I like a politician who expresses an opinion, reconsiders, then changes his mind. Flip-flopping, while easy to play ‘gotcha’ journalism with, indicates three things:

• A politican with an opinion
• A politician who considers things
• A politician who can change his mind based on consideration

Now, Gillmor’s charges of Dean’s pandering on the religious and family fronts are just disturbing. This kind of wedge issue stuff is just ridiculous. Dean shouldn’t play to it, and neither should anyone else.