Decius wrote:

Democratic think tank Center for American Progress hasn't taken a position on SOPA because:

CAP doesn't have a position on either of these bills, since we don't have an internet policy or an intellectual property policy shop.

So, in other words, the fact that the Democrats don't have tech policy analysts at the Center for American Progress has left the entire party vulnerable, and today they took it on the chin so hard that even their most partisan proponents can see it.

If they had tech policy analysts they would have had someone they trust around to explain to them that SOPA is a brain dead bill that is only really supported by people whose economic self interest blinds them to its negative consequences.

I will write a more complete/articulate version of these observations soon.

I don't disagree with anything you are saying here. Infact, I share the viewpoint 100%. CAP needs a policy program that focuses on tech issues. The Democrats took a hit because it doesn't.

Additionally, I want to inject one point for the sake of accuracy and better understanding of how these institutions operate. The Center for American Progress is not a Democratic think-tank. It's a Progressive think-tank. Think-tanks are 501(c)(3/4) entities. They are not allowed to be directly affiliated with political parties and/or candidates. Think-tanks can be Progressive, Liberal, Conservative, Libertarian, etc, but they cannot be Republican or Democratic. Sounds like a minor distinction, but it's actually quite significant in the way they operate. They move the parties, never the other way around. It's not quite as fucked up as the situation with Super PACs. The think-tanks all regularly go against the line of the party they are perceived to be the arm of...

RE: Daily Kos: SOPA, and the idiocy of Democrats