Earlier quoted context omitted.
is this a joke? Look at Chicago and Detroit. Democrat corruption is rampant. It is well known that Obama massively increased the amount of illegal domestic surveillance and use of unconstitutional FISA courts. To say nothing of his attempt to subvert the First and Fourth Amendments to the point where Apple had to act in outright defiance with an open letter to the People. To say nothing of how he handled the Snowden…
This excellent Reddit comment shows that when it comes to the voting record, no, both sides are not the same. https://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/6brytw/comment/dhpcbd...
Net Neutrality to Get U.S. Senate Vote as Democrats Force Issue
121–130 of 167 posts
Re: Net Neutrality to Get U.S. Senate Vote as Democrats Force Issue
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Republicans are on the bullet train to dismantle and sell off the government to the highest bidders. This is equally true of the Democrats; they just have a different set of preferred highest bidders.
[citation needed]. You're going to need some high octane evidence to compare adding new regulations that disproportionally help one industry, verses destroying the established works of the FCC, EPA, NOAA, the Bureau of Land Management/National Parks, the Department of Education... the list is literally too long for me to keep enumerating here, so take a look at articles like this one: https://www.bostonglobe.com/news…
I am, but those are relatively minor compared to the real issue, which you are ignoring.
> or even being soft on enforcement of any given regulation
You appear to be laboring under the misapprehension that regulations in general are good, and the only issue is proper enforcement. But that's the real issue: regulations in general are not good. One obvious reason is regulatory capture: regulations end up benefiting the industries being regulated, not the public as a whole. The history of regulation of the Internet is a good example: we don't have the current dysfunctional structure of huge ISPs with monopoly powers and no easy way to dislodge them because of lack of regulation, we have it because of too much regulation, bought and paid for by those same ISPs to insulate them from actual competition.
I understand that we can't just dismantle the existing regulatory structure cold turkey, because, for better or worse, it's the status quo and everyone has made long term plans in good faith based on it. In that sense, the agenda Trump is currently pushing is not a good idea. But that does not mean that pushing for less regulation over the long term, and more recognition of the limits of government regulation as a tool for social improvement, is not a good idea. Unfortunately I don't see either major party in the US recognizing this (or, for that matter, any major party in any developed country). The Republicans are pushing to repeal regulations they don't like, but they will gladly put in place other regulations that they do like--for example, the various travel bans and restrictions that everyone was up in arms about early in the Trump administration, or laws like the Defense of Marriage Act, or...you get the idea.
Re: Net Neutrality to Get U.S. Senate Vote as Democrats Force Issue
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think what people fail to realize is that it's not unpopular enough and not with the right people. For the GOP base, they may disagree wholeheartedly but what are they going to do? Vote for a abortionist gun-grabbing Democrat? For Dems, the best use of these things is barrage the election cycle with negative news about the GOP. Failed policies, bad ideas, myopic leadership. Bad bad bad bad. Suck the energy right ou…
Also, everyone to the right of Antifa have been told Net Neutrality was disguised legislation to censor conservative opinions. Given how completely Twitter, Facebook, Google, et al censor right-leaning political opinions, and they're big pro-NN orgs, it wasn't a hard sell. Unfortunately, NN has become yet another casualty in these weird post-fact times.
for "completely" doing such, they're doing a terrible job.
Re: Net Neutrality to Get U.S. Senate Vote as Democrats Force Issue
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why don't Democrats pass NN through congress and get it enshrined into law? Instead of trying to block that from happening, since it's Republicans who are trying to do that. Why was NN so easy to repeal in the first place? Why didn't Obama do a proper job if it's such an important issue? I still don't agree with the accepted wisdom about what NN is in the first place. Seems to me to suggest companies that are using u…
> Why didn't Obama do a proper job if it's such an important issue? To be clear, you're trying to blame Obama for something the Republican controlled Congress was responsible for? Obama wasn't a dictator; Congress decides what laws to pass and Congress wasn't exactly in favor of just about anything Obama wanted to do. Also I think you're misunderstanding what Net Neutrality is about. Net Neutrality doesn't say that e…
No, he's blaming Obama for something the Democrat controlled Congress was responsible for. It was an important enough issue for him to cosponsor a bill while a senator, but while in control they let a bill die without debate.
Re: Net Neutrality to Get U.S. Senate Vote as Democrats Force Issue
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
No it is not. Republicans are far more dedicated to the task of destroying government than Democrats are. I agree that some Democratic senators have historically been pretty shitty on the topic of net neutrality but this false equivalence nonsense needs to stop. Republicans will sell off national parks, shut down the EPA and FDA and shut down any banking regulation you put in front of them.
I agree that some Republican senators have historically been pretty shitty on the topic of FDA, EPA and banking regulation but this false narrative of all Republicans are evil needs to stop.
Re: Net Neutrality to Get U.S. Senate Vote as Democrats Force Issue
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
[citation needed]. You're going to need some high octane evidence to compare adding new regulations that disproportionally help one industry, verses destroying the established works of the FCC, EPA, NOAA, the Bureau of Land Management/National Parks, the Department of Education... the list is literally too long for me to keep enumerating here, so take a look at articles like this one: https://www.bostonglobe.com/news…
> I understand being upset at the Dems for stuff like the TPP, basically rolling over to Hollywood any time they ask for a copyright extension or more copyright enforcement powers I am, but those are relatively minor compared to the real issue, which you are ignoring. > or even being soft on enforcement of any given regulation You appear to be laboring under the misapprehension that regulations in general are good, a…
> But that's the real issue: regulations in general are not good
This is akin to saying "laws in general are not good", when they are simply a tool. Of course, overzealous regulation is a stifling obstacle for small businesses, but this is something we can all agree on, the disagreements always come down to the details.
> regulatory capture: regulations end up benefiting the industries being regulated
Yes, this is a negative side effect of regulation, but there are also positive side effects from regulation and we have to evaluate the spread on a case by case basis (or at the very least, differentiate the ramifications of specific kinds of regulations per a given industry). At the end of the day, regulations are society's response to a sordid and well-documented history of abuse by corporations; that doesn't mean regulations should be punitive, but they are a necessary tool.
Re: Net Neutrality to Get U.S. Senate Vote as Democrats Force Issue
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
is this a joke? Look at Chicago and Detroit. Democrat corruption is rampant. It is well known that Obama massively increased the amount of illegal domestic surveillance and use of unconstitutional FISA courts. To say nothing of his attempt to subvert the First and Fourth Amendments to the point where Apple had to act in outright defiance with an open letter to the People. To say nothing of how he handled the Snowden…
Is this a joke? Your pivot to corruption is probably the strongest example of whataboutism I've seen on HN in a while. It has absolutely nothing to do with the OPs point, which is that Republicans are overwhelmingly in favour of removing government regulations in preference to big business, and the Democrats are not. (and do you really believe a Republican president would have been easier on Edward Snowden than Obama…
Re: Net Neutrality to Get U.S. Senate Vote as Democrats Force Issue
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
You didn't mention the largest voting block, voters who don't strongly identify with either party.
Unfortunately that voting block doesn't line up with reality, as least from the stats I know for the presidential elections. A given voter that voted for party X's candidate four years ago, if they vote again, will vote for party X's candidate about 92% of the time. This means that in the pool of 'likely voters', the two parties are realistically fighting over 8% of hearts and minds.
Re: Net Neutrality to Get U.S. Senate Vote as Democrats Force Issue
#129Why net neutrality has turned into a partisan issue is beyond me, but in this era seemingly everything must be politicized as part of a divide and conquer strategy. I suspect the best hope for net neutrality is for states to adopt it themselves at the state level.
Dems should run on it, win and sign it into law for good!
Re: Net Neutrality to Get U.S. Senate Vote as Democrats Force Issue
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why don't Democrats pass NN through congress and get it enshrined into law? Instead of trying to block that from happening, since it's Republicans who are trying to do that. Why was NN so easy to repeal in the first place? Why didn't Obama do a proper job if it's such an important issue? I still don't agree with the accepted wisdom about what NN is in the first place. Seems to me to suggest companies that are using u…
> Why didn't Obama do a proper job if it's such an important issue? Obama was president while the Republicans held the legislature hostage. It was a miracle his administration was able to ask for and get any legislation passed at all; it was easily the most obstructionist congress ever. He couldn't even appoint a Supreme Court Justice because Mitch McConnell wouldn't allow congress to hold hearings - that's how impos…