The grassroots and corporate tech rebellion against two Internet censorship bills was, by all accounts, a stunning success and a demonstration of the clout of online politics and web organizing -- and the emergence of Big Tech as a potential counterbalance to Big Entertainment. But it's worth noting as the dust settles that two of the biggest supporters of SOPA and PIPA were the senators from California, Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein.
Raw Story points out that Boxer was a major recipeint of Hollywood money:
Far and away, the top beneficiary in the Senate from interest groups that support PIPA is Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who’s taken in just short of a million dollars from those groups, according to data from OpenSecrets.org. She’s also the most recent Senator to co-sponsor PIPA, adding her name to the list on Dec. 12.
Most of the Bay Area delegation opposed the bill. S.F.'s Nancy Pelosi was against it early on, as was Barbara Lee of Oakland. Jackie Speier of San Mateo and the South Bay's Pete Stark were also both opposed. If Lynn Woolsey, the retiring rep. from Marin, has taken a position, it's not clear what it is; she's listed by most of the anti-censorship groups as undecided.
But for the two senators, both from Northern California, the SoCal position carried the day.