In early 2003, a former governor of Vermont threw his hat in the ring as a long-shot contender for the Democratic presidential nomination. With limited name recognition and without funds to run a national campaign, Howard Dean's chances seemed minuscule at best. But a new force emerged in politics. Grassroots supporters passionate about what Howard Dean stood for self-organized on the still-new "Internet" and propelled his candidacy into the national spotlight. Bloggers, donors, and activists connected through this new medium, and very nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in American presidential politics. The Internet made the impossible possible.

The Internet is a place where voices are expressed and grassroots action can begin. The rapid sharing of ideas and the ability to potentially reach a huge audience with nothing but a computer and an Internet connection empowers anyone to let their voice be heard. For now.

The Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) attempt to combat the very real issue of online piracy, but take a scattergun approach that could kill free speech and openness across the Internet. Taken to an extreme, this type of legislation could result in political bloggers, news outlets, and even organizations like DFA being silenced because the powers that be don't like our message.

Click here to see what the web would look like if SOPA/PIPA passed.

To fight back, Democracy for America moved all of our domain names away from GoDaddy, a domain registrar supporting these dangerous bills. Today, DFA is joining with hundreds of other organizations and drawing a line in the sand. We are blacking out our website on January 18, 2012 to show what the Internet under SOPA and PIPA could become. We are asking you to learn about this issue, and join us in opposing these bills.

Take action and voice your opposition to Internet censorship.

Consider this: If no member of Congress had ever driven a car, would you want them writing traffic laws? Or worse yet, would you want corporations handing Congress pre-written traffic laws and asking them to pass them into law?

Dramatic as that sounds, the current situation with Internet freedom-killing SOPA and PIPA legislation is exactly this. Congress has repeatedly demonstrated that they do not understand how the Internet works -- yet that doesn't stop them from trying to regulate it, session after session. Corporate lobbyists produce legislation to further their narrow business interests without regard for how those laws would impact Internet freedoms.

The Internet thrives as a medium for political discourse because it is free and open. It's this same openness that has made the Internet a medium for growth and job creation among 21st century industries, keeping thousands of Americans employed at the same time as many sectors of our economy are shedding jobs.

Today we have the opportunity to fight back against corporate control, to protect the free and open nature of the Internet and its potential for innovation. Please join us.

Thanks for everything you do.

-Jase

Jase Roberts, Technology Director

Democracy for America

Democracy for America relies on you and the people-power of more than one million members to fund the grassroots organizing and training that delivers progressive change on the issues that matter. Please Contribute Today and support our mission.

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