Henry Waxman, of all people, serves up another reminder that corporations run DC by adopting the Google/Verizon net neutrality plan as his own:
How did we get from FCC Chair Julius Genachowski’s proposals for clear net neutrality enforcement and ISP transparency rules based on limited common carrier provisions to this?
First, factor in massive pushback, lawsuit threatening, and Capitol Hill lobbying from the telco and cable ISPs. That seems to have sparked the agency’s open secret “back door” negotiations, in which the Commission invited the big ISPs and content providers to bargain at the agency’s HQ over some kind of legislative solution to the log jam.
The process appears to have helped percolate the Google/Verizon proposal—both of these companies being major participants in those discussions.
Next, plug in a bitterly partisan midterm election year, which seems to have scared the daylights out of the Obama administration. Various DC folk have told us their theory—that the FCC’s reluctance to carry out its own agenda is a by-product of pressure from the White House. We don’t know if that’s true, but it has certainly been alluded to often enough by various Capitol Hill reporters.
Congress is a place where good policy goes to die, smothered by a pillow full of corporate money wielded by shit-scared Democrats.
jo6pac
Congress is a place where good policy goes to die, smothered by a pillow full of corporate money wielded by shit-scared Democrats and repugs.
Yep
WyldPirate
This is why we are done for as a country. Even the supposed “good guys” are in the pockets of the corporations.
When you sit down and think about it, the way the Democrats are now is even worse than the Rethugs. At least the Rethugs make no pretense that they are going to fuck over everyone but the wealthy. The Dems, though, talk out of both sides of their mouth for the most part. Waxman and Barney Frank are two very good examples of this.
Don’t kid yourself about Obama, either. He knows who gets him elected and gives him his dough. Sure, he got a lot of small donations, but they paled in comparison to his corporate donations, many of which were from Wall Street. They got their “investment” back many times over as did Big Pharma with their back-room patent deal on biologically-derived drugs of the future.
I suppose that it has always been so, though we did have our run from the 1930s-70s when at least there was the appearance that things had changed a bit for the better to some extent. Those changes at least led to the rise of the middle class.
It’s over now, though. We are reverting back to a two class nation of haves and have-nots. It may change, but it won’t change without a lot of chaos, suffering and, most likely, blood in the streets. That’s what “changed” things with the labor unrest during the early part of the 20th century and then the Depression, and it will take something just as catastrophic again. My guess of what that catastrophe might be is the down slope of peak oil and its after effects. But it could be something else like a major terror attack.
Kryptik
As if we needed more reminders about how utterly broken our party is and how utterly fucked the non-wealth fetishists are.
ornery curmudgeon
Um… the Congress is BOUGHT, not ‘shit-scared.’ The Democratic Party is also not clueless, nor confused. They do not lack a spine, they are not keeping their powder dry. Also, too, they are not cowed, or craven, or out of touch, nor overly concerned with decorum, distracted, nor fooled.
Congress is bought and paid for. It’s dangerous not to see this.
OTOH, I’m pretty sure this is Ralph Nader’s fault.
Dennis SGMM
@ornery curmudgeon:
In break with Obama, 47 House Dems say they want tax rates unchanged on investment income
That’s how fucked we are.
Kryptik
@Dennis SGMM:
Why did we bother with an election in ’08 when such a significant chunk of the Democratic party in Congress still either believes the Republicans are still in control or wishes the GOP was still in control?
Dennis SGMM
@Kryptik:
If the Republicans didn’t exist it would be necessary for the Democrats to invent them.
Legalize
I feel like I need another lecture on why it’s so important to vote for Dems this November.
Nicole
@Dennis SGMM: Wow. The most infuriating part is their justification that raising taxes on capital gains will discourage “savings.” Isn’t that part of this mess? Rich people hanging onto their money?
RareSanity
I’m afraid I have to agree with ornery curmudgeon. I have tried to remain optimistic about things in this country, however, to try and believe that in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, would be just stupid.
I’ll never be a full fledged firebagger, but, IF this is true:
Every Democrat in DC, including the one in the White House, can kiss my ass.
If they are not merely doing the bidding of corporate sponsors, then someone would have to explain to me, how exactly this is supposed to be positive for any other group than the ISPs.
I am seriously beginning to think that the “herding cats” meme is act. It is the barbershop front for the gambling business in the back.
Midnight Marauder
I would really, really like to find a place where good policy goes on to lead a full and vibrant life.
That would really be something.
sparky
@RareSanity:
nicely said. it is perhaps better to judge by what is put in place rather than by words, however pleasing to the ear.
as for policy, i must disagree with the premise of this post. it’s excellent policy–for the oligarchy. a useful change might be to stop assuming (1) that the people in power (as distinct from the people who are front folks) are stupid and (2) that policy that favors the oligarchy is irrational. it may not be good for you or me, but that doesn’t make it irrational. when contending with power, claiming power’s policy is irrational is as effective a sally as requesting the weather change because you ask nicely–irrelevant.
Dennis SGMM
@Nicole:
What discourages savings is the .00000000000000026% APY (Or whatever far-below-inflation the rate is) on straight savings accounts.
This is a straight-up money grab, nothing more nothing less. It’s interesting that none of the doughty soi disant “fiscal conservatives” on either side of the aisle find it necessary to enact spending cuts or find other sources of revenue to finance the heist.
Stillwater
This. I’m always amazed when I hear intelligent people say that implementing policy X is just stupid, or that a failure to promote issue Y is stupid. It reveals a lack of understanding of how politics works, but it often excuses intentional, consciously decided-upon actions as being some kind of unfortunate – and correctable – mistake.
BombIranForChrist
But we must continue to vote for Democrats because Tea Party! Sarah Palin! etc.
Gee, I wonder why the Dems feel they can suck up to corporations with impunity ..
Anon.
Fact is that this sort of policy *is* bad for the oligarchy. Living in constant fear that your servants will steal from you is bad enough, living in fear that the masses will burn your mansion down and behead you is worse.
That is, of course, the world they’re creating.
I think the oligarchs simply haven’t studied enough history to be aware of what happens when you get TOO greedy. And it’s been so long since anything like that happened in the US, they just imagine that it’s impossible.