This is how it starts; and I'm sure Obama is happy about it....

Mowing Down the Grassroots

In a country whose Constitution guarantees free speech and the right to petition the government, how did we get to the point where the act of discussing legislation with fellow citizens requires permission from and monitoring by the government? Regulations on political speech are always appealing when we imagine them applied to others, and incumbent politicians will always exploit opportunities to stifle potential opposition. But in a free society, elected officials ought to listen to constituent concerns or debate ideas in the open, as the framers of the First Amendment intended, rather than mowing down the grassroots with regulation.