My "conversation" with Senator John McCain regarding net neutrality

I recently wrote to Senator John McCain regarding net neutrality.  This is his response to me and below that, my reply.  It remains to be seen whether there will be any more communication.

April 10, 2015

Dear Ms. Miller:

     Thank you for contacting me regarding the issue of network neutrality.  I appreciate your taking the time to share your views with me.  I have been closely monitoring developments in the net neutrality debate as they have quickly unfolded in the months since the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down the FCC's 2010 Open Internet Rules in Verizon v. FCC in January 2014.

     As you may know, on February 26, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to approve a 317-page plan to regulate the Internet by classifying broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act.  The Commission's party-line vote will dramatically increase the government's role over our nation's broadband by treating the Internet as a public utility under federal regulations that were originally created for monopoly-era phone companies.

     Over the last two decades, the Internet has flourished under limited government oversight.  I have long opposed efforts to increase the government's control over our nation's broadband, and believe the FCC's action will undermine the innovation that has allowed the Internet to become what it is today.  Allowing businesses to thrive without burdensome regulations is the best stimulus for our economy.  This is a matter for Congress to carefully consider and correct.

     Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding network neutrality.  Please do not hesitate to do so regarding this or any other matter of concern.

                                        Sincerely,


                                        John McCain
                                        United States Senator

MY REPLY:

April 14, 2015

Senator McCain:

You're very much mistaken if you think I believe your reasoning.  Regulations preventing your big corporate friends from screwing the rest of us is what's needed.  You're just a shill for your very rich friends who want to control every damn facet of our lives.  What you think of as "burdensome regulations" are what's saving the average person from being drowned by rich corporations.  For further proof just look at the Internet overseas where the cost is significantly less and the speed is greater.  Without regulations, carriers here would slow down usage for those who pay less and favor more affluent businesses and individuals.  This would help your campaign contributions but would do little for the middle class and would certainly stifle the poor.

Can you explain what regulations have stifled US carriers' innovation so as to prevent them from coming close to providing services comparable to those in other countries?  The spectre of carriers creating a tiered Internet which would surely place burdens on most Americans but allow the rich unbridled access is most disturbing.  Your propensity (like all your Republican cohorts) for favoring the rich over everyone else is abhorrent and very un-American.

I strongly disagree with you and your position and, like me, we are numerous.  Regulations keep things fair and safe.  If you can’t see that, it’s time to pack it in.

Reisa Miller

___________, AZ

 My email address appeared here.