Net Neutrality Losing Support Due to ACORN and MoveOn.org Connections

[FrankRep]

Net-neutrality group challenged by ties to MoveOn.Org, ACORN (http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/115367-as-elections-near-net-neutrality-backers-challenged-by-moveonorg-and-acorn-ties)


The Hill
Aug 23, 2010


A bipartisan coalition in favor of net neutrality has lost a key conservative supporter amid signs that the issue is becoming more divisive.

The Gun Owners of America (GOA) severed ties with the net-neutrality coalition Save the Internet after a conservative blog questioned the association with liberal organizations such as ACORN and the ACLU.

The blog RedState described Save The Internet as a "neo-Marxist Robert McChesney-FreePress/Save the Internet think tank" and questioned why GOA would participate in a coalition that includes liberal groups such as the ACLU, MoveOn.Org, SEIU, CREDO and ACORN.

GOA was one of the charter members of Save the Internet, but a spokesman for the gun rights group said times have changed.

"Back in 2006 we supported net neutrality, as we had been concerned that AOL and others might continue to block pro-second amendment issues," said Erich Pratt, communications director for GOA.

"The issue has now become one of government control of the Internet, and we are 100 percent opposed to that," Pratt said.

Save The Internet had long pointed to the support of gun owners as evidence that net neutrality is a nonpartisan issue.

Net-neutrality advocates are struggling to maintain bipartisan support during an election season that has cast the issue along party lines.

Last month, 35 Tea Party groups came out against net neutrality in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The letter accused the FCC of “relentlessly pursuing a massive regulatory regime” that would stifle the growth of the Internet.

The FCC is considering a move to boost its authority over broadband providers through a controversial process known as reclassification. The process could give federal regulators the power to impose net-neutrality rules, which would prevent Internet access providers from favoring some content and applications over others.


Tim Karr, the campaign director for Save the Internet, cited the midterm election season to explain why net neutrality is increasingly cast along partisan lines.

"Anytime you approach an election, these issues tend to be politicized," he said.

Still, Karr said Save The Internet views net neutrality as a free speech issue rather than a liberal or conservative one. He noted the group’s membership still includes a number of conservative groups, including the socially conservative Parents Television Council and the Christian Coalition.


SOURCE:
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/115367-as-elections-near-net-neutrality-backers-challenged-by-moveonorg-and-acorn-ties

[FrankRep]

Flashback:



There are two main threats to Internet freedom today -- an FCC-led government takeover of the Internet in the name of President Obama's net neutrality policy and a government takeover of the Internet in the name of cybersecurity as proposed in a bill sponsored by Senator Jay Rockefeller.


Preserve Internet Freedom -- Beware Obama's Net Neutrality (http://www.jbs.org/privacy-internet-freedom-blog/5525-preserve-internet-freedom-beware-obamas-net-neutrality)


Larry Greenley | John Birch Society (http://www.jbs.org/)
21 October 2009


A few years ago I was momentarily fooled by the "net neutrality" campaign. At that time I was surprised to see a coalition for net neutrality (http://civic.moveon.org/mobyinternet/video.html) featuring liberal MoveOn.org and conservative Gun Owners of America. I just checked and this coalition is still in effect.

More recently I haven't been paying attention to the net neutrality issue. I was surprised yesterday to learn that President Obama is a big backer of net neutrality. Here's a 50-second video of Obama speaking at Google back on November 14, 2007, where he said, "I will take a back seat to no one in my commitment to network neutrality."

YouTube - Barack Obama: On Net Neutrality (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-mW1qccn8k)

In contrast, constitutionalist Congressman Ron Paul is opposed to net neutrality regulation of the Internet based on his opposition to government regulation and support for a free market economy, as you can see in this 56-second video:

YouTube - RP on Net Neutrality (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXviEzjOx_M)

See these two video clips from yesterday's Glenn Beck program for more information about the net neutrality issue and how it fits in with President Obama's agenda to regulate free speech on radio, TV, and the Internet:

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Here are some revealing excerpts from "Net Neutrality enforcement may reach into your computer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uULNBso0BU)," dated October 21, 2009:



The Net Neutrality policy proposed by the Obama White House is set for a vote by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) on Thursday....

The vote on Thursday, which is expected to pass, will set up a show down between providers and the government. Once the provision is passed it will give the FCC the ability to begin formulating rules and readying them for the legislative process.

The following are some of the FCC's proposed rules:

• Consumers are entitled to access any legal Internet content
• Consumers are entitled to use any Internet applications or services
• Consumers are entitled to connect to any devices that won't harm the network
• The same rules apply to cable/DSL and wireless Internet
• Internet providers can't block or slow competitors' online services


So, the FCC will vote on Obama's net neutrality policy tomorrow. Of course, the policy is expected to pass. The next step would be for the FCC to get congressional authorization to implement the net neutrality policy. And sure enough, a net neutrality bill has already been introduced in the House on July 31 as H.R. 3458 (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:h3458:). For detailed commentary on this bill read "Net Neutrality Regulation vs. Internet Freedom (http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=25893)" by Adam de Angeli, posted on September 30.

The examples of the FCC's proposed net neutrality rules shown above don't seem immediately harmful to your Internet freedom until you realize that these rules would be enforced by the federal government. This would be the beginning of a government takeover of the Internet. As mentioned on the Beck TV show linked to above, it wouldn't be long until the government would be regulating content. We're already hearing repeatedly from Obama and his administration that the Internet and blogosphere are rampant with misleading information. We already know where this type of regulation would lead by looking at how China regulates the Internet over there.

It doesn't seem possible that the tens of millions of Americans that use the Internet daily would put up with a government takeover of the Internet. I sure hope they don't. It should be an epic struggle.

Nonetheless, just in case the American public doesn't acquiesce to strict government control of the Internet, there's a bill in Congress (S. 773 (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.773:)), sponsored by Senator Jay Rockefeller, to give the President complete control of the Internet to preserve cybersecurity in case of "emergency." Here's an excerpt from the bill:

YouTube - Jay Rockefeller: Internet should have never existed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct9xzXUQLuY)

I know I'm going to be getting more up to speed on this issue in the days and weeks to come. I expect this Internet freedom issue to be one of the hottest issues during the next couple years.

It's a little late to mount a campaign to influence the FCC vote tomorrow. I know some others have been working on this already. However, we must fiercely oppose H.R. 3458 and any other net neutrality bills that might be introduced later this session. Click here to email your representatives and senators right now in opposition to a government takeover of the Internet in the name of net neutrality.

The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution to establish a government that would secure our God-given rights. If we are to preserve our right to free speech, enough Americans need to work together to get a majority of constitutionalists (who respect the original intent of the Founders) elected to Congress. Short of that, we'll lose our right of free speech on the Internet and everywhere else as well.


SOURCE:
[url]http://www.jbs.org/privacy-internet-freedom-blog/5525-preserve-internet-freedom-beware-obamas-net-neutrality