Nicholas “Net Neutrality” Deleon here with truly shocking news: six Republican senators have tacked on an amendment to an appropriations bill that would block the FCC’s attempt to make Net Neutrality a reality. So remember, kids: when you think of a free and open Internet, don’t think of the GOP. It’s not your friend here.
The Senators involved are: Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas; Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas; Sen. Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina; Sen. John Ensign of Nevada; Sen. John Thune of South Dakota; and Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana.
It literally took two seconds to look up these guys’ top contributors, and you’ll be absolutely shocked at the findings. Guess who is Sen Brownback’s top donor this cycle? AT&T at a cool $11,000 so far! Sen. Brownback? Oh my, looks like AT&T has given him some $35,000 thus far! And what about that Vitter gentleman? Yeah, AT&T has given him $19,500 this cycle.
So that’s three out of the six senators who have a huge financial incentive to see to it that AT&T doesn’t have to play nice by the Net Neutrality rules.
You folks are free to draw your own conclusions, but if I were you I’d make a cool Twitter hashtag like “#ATTSENATORS.” I’m sure I’m not the only person who finds it a little bit suspicious that three of the senators who have attached their name to the amendment are sucking at the teat of AT&T.
But whatever. It’s just the Internet. Who cares about that?
Nicholas
I’m really liking these articles a lot.
…just thought I’d say so
And just out of curiosity, how many of those backing Net Neutrality® have Google at the top of their contributor list?
I really cannot believe so many people have been conned into thinking of network topology as an emotional and civil liberties issue, just because some clever PR by content providers, for whom it is just a business issue, want to pay as little as possible for content delivery.
i have a feeling you’re missing the point….but I don’t care enough to figure out what it is, or explain it to you….
boy, ain’t this a pickle?
No, I’m not missing the point. My post does appear to be missing anything approaching intelligible grammar, and I apologize for that, but I am quite clear on the point.
My point is that many companies like Google and other content providers, who have a vested business interest in making sure they are not charged special rates for their services by the people who own the infrastructure, strongly supported Obama. Since Obama took over, the FCC has fallen almost completely in line with Google’s public policy agenda.
I am not saying that is necessarily a bad thing, but to ignore the financial influence of the big content vendors, in their efforts to forward their views on public policy, while decrying the financial influence of telcos, as though it was some horrible conspiracy, is disingenuous and juvenile.
The reality is that there is nothing moral or just in an argument about the best way to route packets. It is just two sides trying to forward the public policy that is in their best financial interest.
I don’t trust 99% of any elected officials in power in the United States anyways, and I’m sure you could find a lot more crap on senators (why always senators that are corrupted?) on how they vote for different bills that they hope do not get turned into a law, or even read all of what is written for the bill. But then again, that would be a little off topic for a website that updates the people on technological news…
Hey, really good detective work!
Ha, this cracks me up. When Wired posted the original info (not article) about the FCC’s latest direction, everyone in the comments section was quick to announce that this wasn’t a partisan issue. Well, lookie here – 2 days later, empirical evidence of Republicans sucking on some BIG business di@k. Laughable the indignation and surprise of so-called economic conservatives (aligned with the Republican party) who don’t realize that big regulation can be a core tenant of economic conservatism, i.e. don’t let big business rape the customer.
Oh, figures; the senators from all of the states that have a population of 12 want to see the internet locked down.
I am so embarrassed my senator is on this list. I am writing her tonight. If your senator is on this list, I urge you to write them, too.
Leave Kay Bailey alone! She can do no wrong.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/09/22/atandt-and-the-gop-more-than-400k-donated-to-anti-net-neutrality/
“Six Republican senators co-sponsoring an amendment to prevent the U.S. from enacting new broadband rules have received more than $400,000 in campaign and political-action contributions from AT&T, the telecom giant that has criticized the new FCC rules, as well as other large telecoms and cable companies.”
This is not shocking.. at all. It’s actually quite common (though disgusting) for politicians to be paid off by companies to get a certain bill passed. This happens all the time with almost every politician from BOTH sides of the isle.
How long have you lived in America?
Bloppy:
sar⋅casm
/ˈsɑrkæzəm/ Pronunciation [sahr-kaz-uhm]
–noun
1. harsh or bitter derision or irony
You might want to correct your paragraph listing how much each senator has been given by AT&T. You listed Sen. Brownback twice.
lmfao
Brownback is a part of a cult-like Catholic sect (Opus Dei) that borders on the line of sado-masochism. I’m equally proud of my other Kansan Senator Roberts who is a water-carying toady that gleefully stopped investigation into the lies given to ‘justify’ the invasion of Iraq. Kansas really is a great state – except for a lot of the people and almost all the politicians.
You used the term “huge financial incentive” in regards to a total of under $100,000. AT&T is a multi Billion dollar company. I lost a quarter in a vending machine yesterday. should I concider this a HUGE financial loss?
If I were to promise you $20,000, would you spend a little bit of your time over the next couple of weeks helping me out on a little project?
It might not totally agree with your morals, but it’ll take hardly any effort on your part. In fact, if you prove to be helpful, there can be more money for similar projects in the future.
He’s got a point….Sign me up! :-)
It’s so anti-net neutrality!