Lessig Considers Congressional Bid
Stanford Law School professor Lawrence Lessig says he is considering a run for Congress.
Lessig would be seeking a seat in the San Francisco area left open by the death of Rep. Tam Lantos, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). Before his cancer death, Lantos endorsed former state Sen. Jackie Speier, a popular liberal who opposes the Iraq war.
Lessig was known for his endorsement of more limited copyright protections to allow greater exchange of information on the Internet. More recently, he announced he was shifting his focus to campaign finance issues.
Lessig told the newspaper he has an understanding of Internet issues that affect many of his potential constituents. “I’m not a geek or geek wannabe, but I have spent the last 10 years building a field called the law of cyberspace,” he said.
Lessig talked about his potential run at his Lessig Blog and linked to a 10-minute video explaining the launching of his Change Congress movement. The video takes aim at pork-barrel spending and campaign contributions from lobbyists. He plans to make a final decision in about a week.
“This is a very difficult decision,” he wrote yesterday. “In the coming days, I’ll reflect a bit about it here.”
