Rand Paul, doing his "bro" thing.
It's not really clear who besides the "hate Obama for everything" crowd Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is trying to court with his latest grandstand, which is
repealing the FCC's net neutrality rule.
The move will do little to endear Paul to Silicon Valley executives, who largely support the new rules, as he tries to raise money from them for his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. And it cuts against his image as the candidate most in touch with young and tech-savvy voters.
Paul's resolution also undermines the strategy of Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, a South Dakota Republican who is trying to craft a bipartisan compromise on the issue.
But it does put Paul at the forefront of fighting the Internet regulations that are reviled by conservatives.
In the olden days, there was actually a pretty diverse community behind net neutrality, including lots of conservative groups who recognized that they could be shut off the internet just as easily as the rest of us. But that all changed. Those internet regulations are now only reviled by conservatives since they were issued by an FCC headed up by an appointee of President Obama's, and because Obama also called for the strong net neutrality rules. Paul is, however, wrapping it up in his libertarian schtick:
"This regulation by the FCC is a textbook example of Washington's desire to regulate anything and everything, and will do nothing more than wrap the Internet in red tape," Paul said in a statement. "The Internet has successfully flourished without the heavy hand of government interference. Stated simply, I do not want to see the government regulating the Internet."
Paul doesn't have any cosponsors on this, and probably won't get any. This is just grandstanding to try to compete with Ted Cruz for the people who would support, well, Ted Cruz. Including the Koch brothers. Rand Paul, libertarian crusader, is becoming increasingly indistinguishable from the rest of the tea party crowd.
Keep up the rabble rousing. You won net neutrality. Now, are you ready to defend it? Call the congressional committees working to defeat us.