Matt's Congressman, whom neither of us has ever met in person or been within 15 feet of, comes out today in a release telling the FCC to keep its hands off of the internet. This is true classic conservative values. Yes, there are some objectionable things on the internet (some might cite that experiment we did) but guess what? You can change a channel. Conservatives, true philosophical conservatives, are not about putting forth our personal views onto others in terms of what they can and cannot watch, or what is or is not clean to others. True philosophical conservatives are about getting the ideas into the marketplace and letting the consumer figure it out. If you don't like what the kids are getting on the net, get a blocker. If you don't like what is on the satellite tv, you can block it. True conservatives are about letting the individual decide, as opposed to being in some glass house talking about your own form of morality. Conservatism, at its philosophical core, is about choice, and Boehner showed his conservative street cred today by telling the FCC to buzz off when it comes to the internets:Boehner: “This dangerous path would limit freedom, stifle innovation and entrepreneurship, and kill American jobs”
WASHINGTON, DC – House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today sent a letter to Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), urging him to keep the Internet free of new Washington regulation. He issued the following statement accompanying the letter:
“Recent media reports indicate the FCC is poised for massive, unprecedented regulation of the Internet. This dangerous path would limit freedom, stifle innovation and entrepreneurship, and kill American jobs. Internet regulation is a solution in search of a problem. We should maintain the ‘hands off’ approach that has served the Internet, the American people, and our economy so well.
“The wild success of the Internet and the wireless industry are perfect examples of what happens when entrepreneurship and innovation are allowed to flourish. Endangering ongoing innovation in our economy by crushing the entrepreneurial spirit of the American people is the wrong approach, pure and simple.”
For the full text of Boehner's letter, go here. I wouldn't want to be accused of just copying press releases, now would I?
