Interesting from MarketWatch:
There he goes again. Our president is trying to find a middle ground in a debate between the powerful and the weak. And if history is any indication, we know how this ends. The weak get to the middle ground only to be trampled.
If you think President Obama’s stance on “net neutrality” has a familiar feel, you’re not alone. Obama has spent his presidency staking out compromises only to watch the bigger muscle push through the boundaries.
snip
On Monday, Obama issued his first direct comments on the issue. It took only 4 million comments from citizens worried about their access to a staple of modern life. The good news is the president sounded tough and very much on the side of consumers.
“We cannot allow Internet service providers to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas,” the president said in a statement.
Then comes the weak-kneed part. “The FCC is an independent agency, and ultimately this decision is theirs alone.” What the president didn’t say was a lot. For instance, he didn’t call for tougher regulation of Internet service providers who may be tempted to create pricing plans that punish users who are used to flat-rate access.
Oh, and that bit about the FCC being independent? Just who is president around here anyway?
snip
But once again, your public servants in Washington aren’t who they seem to be. Tom Wheeler, the head of the FCC, took the job last year after a career as a venture capitalist and lobbyist for the cable and wireless industry, including head of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.
So now Obama is surprised that Wheeler is coming up with rules that benefit the companies he used to work for?
snip
Mr. President, spare us a letter that says you agree with us but aren’t really going to do anything other than “ask” the FCC to consider your opinion. Acknowledge that to put Wheeler in the job was a compromise that’s turned into a mistake. Tell him to scrap the rules and come up with new ones that make it illegal for ISPs to cut up our Internet.
And if he doesn’t, fire him.
snip
After nearly seven years on the job, it should be apparent that the noble quest for compromise only works with those with the same values. Everyone else is looking for an angle. When you start from the middle, you’ve given them half the field.
The Internet should be neutral. Leadership should take a stand.
Obama not taking a real stand, but simply expressing a preference .... again. Hopping on the caboose instead of climbing into the locomotive cab. Can anyone expect any follow through from Obama now that he's made his pronouncement?