Inside PBS Blog

It is a curious political campaign fundraising idea: contribute to a candidate who has not yet decided whether to run, and if he does not, know your donation will go to the non-profit licensing organization Creative Commons.

Founded in 2001 by potential CA-12 district candidate and "Free Culture" advocate Lawrence Lessig, the Creative Commons group promotes a set of free licenses to release creative work with tiers of authorial control, making it easier to share work in the public domain.

In a personal blog entry, Lessig announces two things: the launch of lessig08.org and the associated Change Congress movement, and his consideration of a run at the open Congressional seat in the 12th district of California.

Lessig proposes a three-part Change Congress pledge in his below video to change the "power of money in Washington [that] is our own alcoholism": no money from lobbyists or PACs, to vote to ban earmarks, and to support public financing for campaigns.

By about March 1st, Lessig says he will decide whether or not to run for the Congressional seat. His decision, as he frames it, will be based on the show of support in social media spaces for his Change Congress campaign. To that end, Lessig supporters have started a Draft Lessig blog, a wiki, and a Facebook group.

And he offers a guarantee: if, after two terms, his voters feel he has failed, he will resign.

What do you think about Lessig as a candidate and his request for support in online spaces like Facebook?

Leave a comment below, or write to Lessig directly; "feel free to send your thoughts or advice to lessig@lessig08.org (though please excuse any slowness in my response)."