http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Tucker/Where%20We%20Live%20011912%20seg%20A.mp3
Congressman Jim Himes is getting ready for another battle over unemployment benefits and a payroll tax cut...while trying to keep open a Social Security office in his district. We talked to him about these issues, but he’s also been weighing in on SOPA and PIPA - the anti-piracy bills that have been dubbed “internet killers” by critics.
The issue has split the state’s delegation with one of the bills co-sponsors John Larson on one side and Himes and Joe Courtney speaking out against it, although on Wednesday, even Larson seemed to be backing away.
Himes told us that leading up to the Wikipedia blackout, "Old school lobbyists" including Chris Dodd were "doing their thing" in support of SOPA. Then, he told us, "Lo and behold, members of Congress and Senate staffs opened their Twitter accounts yesterday, and [there was] just a Tsunami of outrage and concern."
How big was the outrage? Himes told us "At about 3 o'clock yesterday my phone was ringing just about every three seconds on that issue," and that the level of constiuent concern was "something we'd never seen with quite that intensity before." That sounds about right, given the numbers Wikipedia is sharing from yesterday's blackout.
