I wrote a few weeks ago about Lawrence Lessig’s almost-run for congress, as well as his plans for a Change Congress movement. Well, Change Congress is officially launched. Lessig was in D.C. this week to officially announce the movement’s plans.

Personally, I like the approach. Lessig is focusing on the real underlying issue for politics — the money. Change Congress is focusing on four goals (pledges in CC lingo) that they want to get politicians to agree to:

1. No money from lobbyists and PACs
2. An abolition on earmarks
3. Public financing of elections
4. Complete transparency in Congress

What do the first three issues have in common? Cold hard cash! And, when you get down to it, most transparency issues are just as focused on dollars as anything else.

There’s an ongoing recognition of the fact that politics runs on money… and not as much on taxes as we’d like. No matter which direction you want to change Congress in, it’s going to take cash. That’s the cold-hard truth that lobbyists have already grasped. Change Congress also recognizes that fact, and is offering a way to even the field. Simply making it hard for lobbyists to outspend taxpayers can make a significant change in the actual priorities of Congress.

Lawrence Lessig, patron saint of all those downtrodden by the RIAA, told CNET today that he’s contemplating a run in the upcoming special election to fill the seat left vacant by the passing of Congressman Tom Lantos. There’s only five days left for candidates to file for the special election — all paperwork is due by February 25. Jackie Speier, a former California state senator seems to be the main competition, at the moment.

Why is it so interesting, especially to business owners, if Lessig runs? Lessig’s position on intellectual property law (essentially that the current laws are too tough) could make everybody from Disney’s corporate officers to the inventor working in his garage scramble to prevent him from changing laws in Congress, while other proponents of free culture would be stepping up to give Lessig as much support as possible. While Lessig is only one man, his presence in Congress could signal the beginning of a major shift in copyright law. Just think of it — how many millions of dollars would Disney lose if Mickey Mouse actually slipped into the public domain?