Group launches campaign to pressure Obama not to pick Berman for State

Demand Progress, a liberal advocacy group, launched a campaign urging President Barack Obama not to pick Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) as his next secretary of State because of the lawmaker's support for controversial anti-piracy legislation.

The group warned that as the nation's top diplomat, Rep Berman would undermine Internet freedom. "If we're serious about promoting global Internet freedom, it's hard to imagine a worse pick," Demand Progress wrote in a petition to the president and the Senate. Rep Berman, a 15-term lawmaker, lost his congressional seat last week in a bitter intraparty battle with Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) in California's redrawn 30th congressional District. The Hill and other publications have reported that Berman's name is now being floated to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is expected to step down sometime next year.