VIDEO: What Obama’s Internet Power Grab Means for Free Markets and Free Speech
The Fiat and the Damage Done
February 26 is Internet Doom’s Day.
That is the day President Barack Obama’s campaign-coin-bundling Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler will jam through President Obama’s Title-II-Reclassification-Net-Neutrality power grab.
(At this point, I wish Chairman Wheeler had instead been appointed an ambassador - like oh-so-many other Obama contributors.)
Meanwhile, President Obama wants to ramp up government-provided broadband. To fill the void his Internet regulatory body slam will create in the private sector.
And here is where a free market problem begets a free speech one.
As we know, government control leads to rationing - in this case bandwidth. As we know from the Internal Revenue Service scandal - it is Less Government advocates that will get the short end of the government stick.
Democrat donors will never have to wait in line for ObamaCare medical attention. Or Web downloads.
We will.
All of which and more is laid out in this Public Service Announcement (PSA).
Please contact your Senators and Congressmen - and demand they do everything they can to rein in this rogue Commission:
(202) 224-3121.
Transcript:
“Obama’s plan for the Internet - Net Neutrality, Title II Reclassification - is Socialism for the Internet. It guarantees everyone equal amounts of nothing.
“What this is - is an assault on the industry to effect an ideological outcome.
“Where have we seen this before? ObamaCare.
“Likewise, with the Internet - with Title II Reclassification and Net Neutrality - this is an assault on the Internet industry to effect that same ideological outcome.
“This is why Barack Obama is trying to fund through federal money the local governments’ foolhardy notion of getting into the broadband business.
“He wants to ramp that up to fill the void he is creating with Net Neutrality and Title II Reclassification
“And when this government presence grows as the private presence shrinks - this very quickly becomes a free market problem that begets a free speech problem.
“When government is the sole Internet Service Provider (ISP), bandwidth rationing becomes a problem just like health care rationing becomes a problem.
“And then when they’re rationing and deciding who gets bandwidth and who doesn’t. As we’ve seen from the IRS, the Left-wing websites won’t have a problem getting bandwidth - it’s going to be the Right-wing websites who will have a problem getting bandwidth.
“The people who are going to be waiting in line - whether it’s for health care, whether it’s for bandwidth - are the people who are opposed to Big Government, the people who are opposed to government takeovers of private sectors.
“So a free market assault begets a free speech problem.
“All of which is consolidated and compiled into the February 26 Internet power grab takeover that’s going to happen at the Federal Communications Commission.”
Editor's Note: This first appeared in Red State.