Do the members of Congress who supported SOPA/PIPA till the end...

[Free Palestine]

See: my sig.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Some of them do and some of them don't. Some are old fogeys who Just Don't Get It; some of them can be forgiven and supported despite, some I don't think should be (Patrick Leahy, for me, falls into the former category, since I'm from Vermont and sentimental about him on several levels, even though he is genuinely just awful on this particular set of issues). Some are unfortunately beholden to some interest or another but are otherwise decent or even good (Al Franken comes to mind, with his obvious connections to, sympathies with, and it could be argued blind spot regarding the entertainment industry). Some deserve the smackdown. In fact, I'd go so far as to say most. I was hugely disappointed in some of these people, and some of them have always been generally terrible.

[Hatman 🍁]

Perhaps only Al Franken, because I like him.

[morgieb]

Some of them do and some of them don't. Some are old fogeys who Just Don't Get It; some of them can be forgiven and supported despite, some I don't think should be (Patrick Leahy, for me, falls into the former category, since I'm from Vermont and sentimental about him on several levels, even though he is genuinely just awful on this particular set of issues). Some are unfortunately beholden to some interest or another but are otherwise decent or even good (Al Franken comes to mind, with his obvious connections to, sympathies with, and it could be argued blind spot regarding the entertainment industry). Some deserve the smackdown. In fact, I'd go so far as to say most. I was hugely disappointed in some of these people, and some of them have always been generally terrible.

This.

While SOPA/PIPA is a joke, a lot of people are FF on other issues on that list.

[Zioneer]

I am honestly surprised that neither of my state's senators have supported SOPA/PIPA to the end. It seems like something Orrin Hatch would do.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Like Nathan said, some do and some don't.  I think Peter King, in particular, should be kicked out because of his entire record on privacy issues.  I'm willing to forgive Charles Schumer and some others on that list.

[Lambsbread]

No. Some of the people who have supported SOPA and PIPA have supported far worse legislation.

[TNF]

Deserve to be kicked out of office: Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), John McCain (R-AZ), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Robert Goodlatte (R-VA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bob Corker (R-TN), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Peter King (R-NY), Steven Chabot (R-OH), Dennis Ross (R-FL), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Tom Marino (R-PA), Jim Risch (R-ID), Michael Enzi (R-WY), Alan Nunnelee (R-MS), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Mark Amodei (R-NV), Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

Yup, I'm a partisan hack.

[Lambsbread]

Yup, I'm a partisan hack.

Notice how there's more Democrats on the list than Republicans.

Hmm.

[Antonio the Sixth]

All republicans deserve to be kicked out, of course. Kicking out a progressive democrat because he happens to support one bad bill is obviously silly.

[Lambsbread]

All republicans deserve to be kicked out, of course. Kicking out a progressive democrat because he happens to support one bad bill is obviously silly.

[Mechaman]

Obviously, the statist hacks on both sides highly approved of it.

I would answer "no", given that a vast majority of these despicable (yes, I said it) human beings earned their right to unemployment long before voting for this.

[opebo]

All republicans deserve to be kicked out, of course. Kicking out a progressive democrat because he happens to support one bad bill is obviously silly.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[TNF]

Yup, I'm a partisan hack.

Notice how there's more Democrats on the list than Republicans.

Hmm.

Democrats tend to get more from Hollywood, which explains why there might be more Democrats on record supporting the bill.

Which just goes to show you how badly we need campaign finance reform.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

No, because Sherrod Brown.

[RI]

You don't "deserve" to get kicked out of Congress due to your political views (generally). Would it be nice if everyone who disagreed with me on everything were gone? Sure, but it's an inane thing to consider.

[TNF]

No, because Sherrod Brown.

Oh, and this. This times a gazillion.

[Zioneer]

No, because Sherrod Brown.

Oh, and this. This times a gazillion.

[minionofmidas]

Perhaps only Al Franken, because I like him.

That was the one genuinely surprising name on that list. (Most of the fresher housepeople, of course, I don't know enough about to feel surprise whether they're on or not.)

Anyways, the serious answer is: It does weigh quite negatively. But no one single thing can be important enough to determine that. And of course, the alternatives will matter as well.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Perhaps only Al Franken, because I like him.

That was the one genuinely surprising name on that list. (Most of the fresher housepeople, of course, I don't know enough about to feel surprise whether they're on or not.)

Anyways, the serious answer is: It does weigh quite negatively. But no one single thing can be important enough to determine that. And of course, the alternatives will matter as well.

Remember that Franken's 'from' the entertainment industry, as it were, and has a lot of connections there. It's, in my view, an understandable blind spot of his.

[Alcon]

The more I know about how legislation works, the more sympathetic I am to these people.  They're totally wrong.  But legislators who lack extensive prior knowledge of an issue rely on staff and advisors who are better-versed.  That means they botch some votes we consider obvious.  But what's the alternative?  Is it really better?  Do these people deserve to be punished for not using it?

Of course, it's totally reasonable to punish politicians for bad votes.  I just would keep the above in mind before developing litmus tests on individual votes, especially ones beyond the technical knowledge of the average congressman.

[Lief 🗽]

Antonio's post is correct. I would gladly trade the passage of SOPA for the passage of every single other bill supported by Al Franken or Sherrod Brown or Pat Leahy.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

I voted yes, but no that I've read the thread I've changed my mind.  Of course, any excuse to get Fascistman out is a good excuse.

[Maxwell]

A large majority of the people who supported it deserved to be kicked out anyway.

[The Ex-Factor]

From a Democratic Party POV I understand the sentiment that most of these guys are pretty good on the issues except for this one, but if we want them to respect our insistence on a free Internet then we need some kind of a stick. Sure Patrick Leahy is one of the most leftist members of the Senate but his comments during the SOPA debate were so horrible that he lost a lot of respect in my eyes:

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I mean yeah it's obvious he's reading off a page of talking points that Time Warner sent to him, but just because he's an old codger who doesn't understand the Internet doesn't mean we should exculpate him from being a corporate shill. I'm sure there are plenty of politicians in Vermont who are similar to Leahy ideologically who could frame this as being out of touch with most Americans/corporate shill/etc which would play to the base. Basically if the Democrats keep pushing for horrible legislation like SOPA and PIPA primary challenges should be on the table. Yes, Democrats seem to suck at primary challenges compared to Republicans, but I had the sinking feeling reading the statements that Democrats were releasing during the day of the SOPA protests that they were taking our protests for granted and believed there were no consequences for ignoring them. And if we don't do something about that, then there's no reason that a draconian MPAA/RIAA-written bill can't pass in the future, with the core voting support being Hollywood-funded Democrats.

http://i.imgur.com/mChiW.jpg