SOPA tweet triggers political explosion, delays vote

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, in CBS' "Face the Nation," Dec. 11, 2011. / CBS

A marathon debate today in the House of Representatives on the Stop Online Piracy Act wasn't derailed by procedural questions, even though not one hearing had been held on how the law would actually work.

It wasn't derailed by questions about SOPA's substance, even though legal scholars and technologists have said it could suppress free speech by virtually deleting Web sites accused of copyright infringement.

Instead, today's markup of SOPA in the House Judiciary committee was derailed by a snarky post on Twitter. (See CNET's FAQ on SOPA.)

The tweet in question came from Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a pro-gun, anti-abortion conservative who wrote that: "We are debating the Stop Online Piracy Act and Shiela Jackson [sic] has so bored me that I'm killing time by surfing the Internet."

That would be Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat who's a notoriously combative member of Congress and was named the "meanest" by the Washingtonian magazine. She didn't take kindly to being called boring.

Jackson Lee objected. And the hearing ground to a sudden halt.

The "offensive" tweet

It was her use of the O-word--"offensive"--that interrupted the steady flow of amendments that critics were offering to SOPA, which were being merrily defeated one after another by the pro-SOPA majority on the committee.

It's inappropriate "to have a member of the Judiciary committee be so offensive," Jackson Lee said.

Unfortunately for audience members who might have appreciated the relative merits of a colloquy between Jackson Lee and her Twitter-ing interlocutor, King wasn't actually in the room by the time she discovered the alarming tweet.

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), the committee's previous chairman and an old parliamentary hand, leaped to his Republican colleague's defense, suggesting that the clerk delete the word "offensive" from the official record. Jackson Lee refused.

Rep. Lamar Smith, a SOPA-loving Texas Republican who's the chairman of the committee, renewed that request. He had apparently concluded that unlike "boring," her use of the word "offensive" violated House rules. (See CNET's profile of Smith.)

He asked Jackson Lee to formally withdraw her remark. She refused.

File photo of U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)

/ Getty Images

Smith tried again, saying that he was trying to "avoid making an official ruling" to the effect that Jackson Lee "impugned the integrity of a member of this committee." Would she "consider having just that one word stricken from the record?"

Jackson Lee again refused. She wanted King to "give the committee an apology."

But he wasn't there. And the important question of integrity-impugning had to be resolved. The committee members waited for the stenographer to read Jackson Lee's precise remarks back from the official transcript.

House rules, as you might imagine, provide procedures for how to deal with "disorderly words" and "unparliamentary language."

One option: "In many instances, the Chair will observe that debate is becoming personal and approaching a violation of the rules, in which case he may simply request that Members proceed in order."

But when a politico is in another building, or perhaps even in another city, and commenting through Twitter, that venerable option to promote civility (dating back to 1837) doesn't exactly work.

Jackson Lee consulted with the committee's parliamentarian. Everyone else waited.

Finally, the resolution: Jackson Lee relented. She wanted to have "just that one word stricken from the record."

Instead of King's tweet being "offensive," Jackson Lee concluded, she would merely deem it "impolitic and unkind."

King, by the way, has remained impenitent, and perhaps even amused. His last tweet says: "Judging from the many responses of my critics, they've never heard of multitasking and need to, in the words of Cain, get a sense of humor."

The committee resumed debate and a series of votes, typically by a margin of around 12 to 22, siding with the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, and their allies. By the end of the day, SOPA remained entirely intact.

[vect0r85]

Does anyone know a central place to talk about SOPA? Everything is so disconnected. All I found was http://talksopa.com, but not much more. Wish there was one place to go than tons of random threads.

[Info44111]

Any Politician who votes yes on this bill WILL NOT BE VOTED BACK IN OFFICE . DO NOT BE THICK ON THIS ONE .

[mask2697]

SOPA will not make it past supreme court if it even makes it that far. SOPA is a bill that has been designed by people who don't even know how the internet functions. There is no reason to regulate the internet short of gang/terrorist group functions and other serious illegal activity (the stuff that people wont argue about it being wrong). This bill doesn't only effect the United states, but the world. It would be irresponcible to continue and it goes against the constitution by impeding free speech. Not to mention the fact that this bill is lobbied by companies who use bias and impossible to prove facts (the $1,000,000 that is mentioned is in no way provable as most of that money would be given to people illegally pirating it and selling it off the internet or by people simply not buying the game. Because lets face it, most pirated things are due to people hating the company, for example, Battlefield3 is pirated because people hate origin)

[notfucharley]

The bill was designed by the media industry, not by the politicians. The media industry knows exactly how the internet functions, and they couldn't care less. All they care about is extending and strengthening copy protection so they can make a few more bucks.

[MegaProcrastination]

Oh, this is rich! This is what part of the SOPA hearing CBS decides to cover on its front page?

It should be being shouted from the rooftops that constituents' wishes are being ignored and that testimony from experts opposed to this law aren't even being allowed to testify.

I'm wondering how many of these Congress people understand that by voting yes for SOPA they'll be pretty much voting themselves out of office next election.

[skyk801]

I sit and wonder just how far, how much of a Police State, the Republican Party is willing to create to keep control. I also wonder how much more in bed with Corporations any Party can get. It's hard to determine which is which anymore. It might help if the Corporations just sent their lobbyist to these debates... after all they WERE there at one time weren't they?

[MegaProcrastination]

vsmit, she also happens to be almost the ONLY member of Congress trying to oppose this ridiculous law!

[Zann-Zel]

Does no one think that Steve King needed to get his ass OFF the internet and back to work? If he's bored by his job - QUIT!

[Zann-Zel]

That doesn't give him the right to quit doing his job and play around on the internet!

[RickCain4150]

He was probably watching pirate movies on his blackberry anyway.

[madtech2011]

How repugnant I would invite you all to actively participate by logging in @ http://www.telldc.com on the site you may directly address your Members of Congress and Government Officials, up to and including the President of the United States

[longtree-2009]

don't see how it was offensive at all. if you come across as boring, no matter who you are, people will call you on it or just drift to something else be it doodling or daydreaming or as in this case tweeting. we all have to sit through boring things, people for any number of reasons.

[Edward_Norton]

Really? The tweet was "offensive"? In truth, the lack of leadership, embrace of corruption (e.g., legal insider trading), destroying the US economy with a bailout for criminals who created the mess, the continued scourge of gridlock that erodes any glimmer of a recovery, and a blatant (and purposely ignored by the media) legislative coup to strike the Bill of Rights from the record (NDAA, SOPA) is so offensive that this entire legislative body can be brought up on charges of Treason.

[marychgo]

It's sad that so many Americans don't understand what this bill would do.

If one of the commenters here included a snippet from a film or a few lines from a song in his/her comment, the copyright holder could shut down MSNBC. That's censorship, and it's dumb and it's wrong. Another Republican effort to shovel more money to the 1%....

[Zann-Zel]

Why would they shut down MSNBC when this is CBS?