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It seems the corporate lobbyist\/GOP strategy for opposing everything is now officially to charge: “It’s a Government takeover of [fill in the blank<\/i>]!!!”<\/p>\nIt seems the corporate lobbyist\/GOP strategy for opposing everything is now officially to charge: “It’s a Government takeover of [fill in the blank<\/i>]!!!”<\/p>\n
No matter what it is. And no matter whether it’s actually a “government takeover” of anything<\/i> or not.<\/p>\n
As the rightwing corporatists seem to feel the strategy found some purchase in the healthcare insurance reform debate, it looks like they’ll be recycling this line for just about everything. (See our recent coverage of the CA power company’s “power play”<\/a> to use a “government takeover of electricity” scare to trick voters into supporting the outrageous Prop 16.)<\/p>\n The latest corporate scheme\/campaign to employ the strategy is the AT&T-funded telecom industry’s latest assault on Net Neutrality. Assuring the Internet stays open to all would be a “government takeover” of it, according to the newly launched propaganda campaign (their first deceptive video is posted at the bottom of this article<\/em>) which kicked off yesterday with the help of, naturally, Grover Norquist.<\/p>\n The new, cynical assault on the public also offers us a good excuse to re-post a pro<\/em> Net Neutrality campaign video in which your humble host played a small but enjoyable role…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Via Think Progress last night…<\/a><\/p>\n This morning, representatives from various front groups launched a new coordinated campaign to kill net neutrality. Speaking on Capitol Hill, these front groups took turns decrying the evils of the principle of a fair and unbiased Internet.Net neutrality, a guiding principle<\/a> for preserving a free and fair Internet, means that Internet service providers are not allowed to discriminate based on content for its customers. However, telecommunications firms “\u201d like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and others “\u201d are firmly against net neutrality because they would like to increase their profits by deciding which websites customers can see, and at what speed. The telecom industry has dumped hundreds of millions of dollars<\/a> into a lobby campaign against net neutrality. As the FCC now takes up net neutrality rule making, the industry is pushing an “outside approach”\u009d of hiring front groups and astroturf operatives. <\/p>\nLULAC, which is funded<\/a> by AT&T, called Net Neutrality “Obamacare for the Internet.”\u009d<\/del> (LULAC was not present at the press conference. The Hispanic Leadership Fund, another group funded<\/a> by the telecom industry and opposed to net neutrality, spoke at the event. We apologize for the error.) Americans for Prosperity “\u201d a corporate front group founded by oil billionaire David Koch but also funded<\/a> by telecom interests “\u201d unveiled a new ad smearing net neutrality as a “government takeover<\/a>“\u009d (the initial ad buy is $1.4 million<\/a> dollars). And Grover Norquist, representing his “Americans for Tax Reform”\u009d corporate front group, said net neutrality is like what China does, “putting policemen on every corner, on the street or on the Internet.”\u009d Watch the video.<\/p>\n