U.S. presidential hopeful Rand Paul (R-KY) has filed a motion under the Congressional Review Act to block the introduction of the Democrat-driven net neutrality rules.
Paul, who often portrays himself as a libertarian and someone who is in touch with America’s founding values, seems to have decided to forgo these values and pursue corporate money in an effort to win the Republican presidential nomination.
The joint resolution means both houses of Congress are likely to vote on a straight majority basis to reject the broadband regulations, drawn up by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), within the next 30 days. Democratic Party members in the Senate won’t be able to filibuster the vote, thanks to the motion put forward.
“This regulation by the FCC is a textbook example of Washington’s desire to regulate anything and everything and will do nothing more than wrap the internet in red-tape,” said Senator Paul in a rather disingenuous statement.
“The internet has successfully flourished without the heavy hand of government interference. Stated simply, I do not want to see the government regulating the Internet.”
Yet this is not the case, with companies like Google, Netflix, Microsoft and Facebook all now having to pay extraordinary sums of money to ensure their content isn’t relegated to an internet ‘slow lane’.
The regulations put forth by the FCC seem to be the rights ones, as they have been cheered by most Americans and sharply opposed by the telecom monopolies. Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner, AT&T and other monopolists have sued the FCC.
The angry reaction by the notoriously disliked cable companies show the new regulations have teeth and will prevent the big companies from preying on everyday Americans who have no choice but to use their services.
Given the Republicans have a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the joint resolution should get enough votes to pass in both houses. If so, President Obama can veto the motion, which would be impossible to overrule unless two thirds of both chambers vote to do so. This appears to be the likely course of action as the President has made ensuring net neutrality one of his legacy initiatives.
The presidential campaigning has clearly begun, and Paul wants his name associated with the anti-net neutrality camp to boost his credibility in the anti-regulation area, and to bring in some of that sweet campaign finance from telcos. Getting some headlines probably won’t hurt either.
Paul’s move shows just how slippery our politicians can be, flip flopping and spinning their way into corporate money as needed, a requirement to successfully run for office in America.
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