This article from Ars is an excellent summary of the problems with the political process that was used to craft and debate SOPA and PIPA, as well as various issues with the way the law approaches the problem.

Involve all stakeholders: By "involve all stakeholders," we don't mean what Washington usually means: put multiple behemoth corporations in a room to work out a deal.

The public has a serious stake in Internet issues and needs meaningful participation. Note: Google is not our champion or spokesperson, and it does not stand in for the public interest.

Open drafting: We need to work on principles in public, then move towards legislation, not introduce maximalist legislation and make small concessions.

Hold real hearings: the recent hearings on SOPA and PIPA have been a joke. SOPA's was really just embarrassingly one-sided. Everyone knows that hearings aren't actually a way for representatives to learn about issues, but the House Judiciary Committee didn't have to prove it so obviously.

Is this really two much to ask in a Democracy? Or are we just pretending at this point?