Techie law professor could be your next congressman

Larry Lessig is exploring a bid for the late Rep. Tom Lantos’ D-Calif.’s  congressional seat.

Lessig, a Stanford law professor and accomplished author who has often publicly argued tech’s side of politics, said in his blog and on his Web site this week that he is considering a run and will decide by the end of the month if he will formally enter the race. You can view his video below.

The Congressional district he’s considering a run for, California’s 12th, spans a section of southern San Francisco and San Mateo county, and, I imagine, houses scores of tech-minded voters, not to mention a good number of the EDN readers.

While Lessig is best known for his stance on digital rights (see Creative Commons, a not-for-profit Internet-licensing project he backed) and arguments on congressional law and the Internet (he has even scored ink in The Washington Post),  his platform, assuming he runs, will be on “change” (just like every other politician this year …).

His “Change Congress Movement” calls for Congress to form a bipartisan coalition whose participants would pledge to take no money from PACs (political action committees), ban earmarks, and agree to public financing of campaigns.

Will that movement fly in Congress? No. Should it? Yes. Would he make a good congressman? Maybe, he is a fighter and has made a difference at the grassroots level. But that’s my opinion (and, as I live in New York, whether I’d vote for him is a mute point). What’s your opinion? Post your thoughts on Lessig, his potential as a congressman, and his Change Congress Movement below.

–Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News