Periodically Redstate’s Erick Erickson, a blog run by young GOP establishment consultants (Erickson is proud of being dubbed the 69th most influential conservative by the London Telegraph and authored a voter ID law), writes a few really long posts attempting to spin out liberal conspiracy theories. Today he went after Larry Lessig, Google, and Free Press as advocates for ‘socializing’ broadband. In a standard elitist conservative argument, Erickson attacks the GOP base itself while spinning a ridiculous style fantasy of a giant liberal conspiracy with the new coalition InternetforEveryone.org.
What we do know is that Larry Lessig cropped up again. Barack Obama’s technology advisor was a speaker at the announcement of the organization and is listed as a member along with Google. Then there is the Sunlight Foundation, which pushes for all sorts of openness. Lessig and Google’s Kim Scott are on the Sunlight Foundation board and the Sunlight Foundation is listed as a member of Internet For Everyone – I thought incest like this was only legal in Alabama.
Ha ha, incest jokes against the Republican base. I wonder why Republicans are so unenthusiastic about their party elites right now.
And conservatives say liberals are elitists who don’t get the heartland? Ok then. Erickson is basically mad that lots of people from all over the spectrum believe that broadband should be extended to everyone, and in part two, it becomes obvious whose water he’s carrying: the big telecom companies.
It is pretty clear that the left, with Google’s help, is aggressively targeting companies that serve as internet service providers in the free market.
Internet service providers are working in the free market? Really? According to three consumer groups, “the U.S. broadband market is essentially a series of regional duopolies. The largest non-incumbent provider is Sprint, accounting for less than 2 percent of the entire market.”
And Redstate’s own commenters get it, because anyone that gets broadband in this country realizes that they usually have at most three choices. My favorite comment mocking Erickson is this one.
“”aggressively targeting companies that serve as internet service providers in the free market”
Which ones would those be?
(If you name any phone or cable company that has benefited from a government-assigned franchise, wear a red clown nose. Then you’ll have a face-saving excuse for why people are laughing at you.)
