Sen. Rand Paul has been trying to
position himself as the "tech" candidate, or at least trying to syphon off as much Silicon Valley money he can get by courting the industry. So, how's Paul on the granddaddy of all issues, net neutrality?
Pretty awful, actually.
When asked by The Huffington Post on Tuesday morning whether he has concerns about a plan backed by President Barack Obama, which would reclassify the Internet as a utility and ban companies from charging for better Internet access, Paul said, "Yeah, I don't want to see regulation of the Internet. I think it's the wrong way to go about it." […]
Paul has a history of opposing net neutrality, and his aversion to reclassifying the Internet as a utility is consistent with that. In 2011, he co-sponsored a bill to repeal net neutrality regulations adopted by the FCC. The next year, BuzzFeed reported that Paul backed an online manifesto that sought to block government net neutrality rules.
So is Paul really a
"different" kind of Republican, the theme of his campaign announcement, of this run for president? Not when it comes to what matters. And for him it's protecting big telecom's profits at the expense of an open internet.
You won net neutrality. Now, are you ready to defend it? Call Congress.