By Paul Jacob

We are losing it.

The First Amendment, I mean. If we have to look over our shoulders in fear of government hounds even when talking about politics on the most democratic and easy-to-access soap box ever -- namely, the Internet -- our freedom of speech is in muy muy trouble. Not that it isn't in plenty already.

The recent McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform muzzles speech politicians don't like. Speech critical of them. If the news coming from the Federal Elections Commission is any clue, things are about to get worse.

FEC commissioner Bradley Smith, one of the good guys, notes that the regulation being proposed would open the door to stomping hardest the persons with the least resources. As he puts it, "A wealthy guy like George Soros, who can spend his millions, or Rupert Murdoch, who can own a network, will have heightened influence. Your average small business doesn't have that possibility. They can, however, go onto the Internet. But now we are going to say, 'No, you can't take it on the Internet either.'"

We must fight back. If the new regulations are indeed imposed, let's treat a single assault on a single Internet publisher for a single alleged free speech "transgression" as an assault on all of us.

Therefore, as soon as one guy talking politics on the Net is targeted for having the wrong political opinion or linking to the wrong political website, every other concerned netizen should repeat the same violation. Let them bring up a million people on charges for talking out of turn, instead of just one.

This is Common Sense. I'm Paul Jacob.

Common Sense is published by Americans for Limited Government. Their website can be visited at www.limitedgov.org.