The PROTECT IP Act continued to suffer serious blows on Thursday as both the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader made moves that further damaged the anti-piracy bill's chances of passage. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will not seek to use his leverage over other Democrats to ensure the Protect IP Act gets enough votes to overcome a filibuster. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) joined other Republican senators in blasting Reid for rushing the legislation to the Senate floor.
Ordinarily, party leaders use their leverage over their members to "whip" them into voting in line with the rest of their caucus. But according to Politico, "Reid won't whip Democratic votes for an online anti-piracy bill, according to sources familiar with his plans." That means Democrats will feel free to oppose the bill without worrying that they will be denied future favors by party leaders.
"The decision deals a severe blow to movie, music and television producers, who had hoped to withstand a surprisingly strong Silicon Valley surge against the bill," Politico reports.
Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joined the growing chorus of Republican Senators accusing Reid of rushing the bill through the Senate without adequate debate.
"While we must combat the on-line theft of intellectual property, current proposals in Congress raise serious legal, policy and operational concerns," McConnell said. "Rather than prematurely bringing the Protect IP Act to the Senate floor, we should first study and resolve the serious issues with this legislation."
He urged the Democratic leadership to "reconsider its decision to proceed to this bill."
For more details on the "serious issues" with PIPA, Sen. Reid might want to ask his staff to check out our coverage from yesterday.
Listing image by Photograph by Center for American Progress Action Fund
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