Ted, maybe a yes vote was not the best idea...
On April 26, 2006 Bill Callahan posted ...The entire "COPE Act", essentially unchanged from what the subcommittee marked up two weeks ago, was just approved by the full Energy and Commerce Committee 42 to 12. Eleven Democrats and one Republican voted against it.Both Brown and Strickland did vote for the amendment that would strengthen the net neutrality portion of the bill but it got voted down.
Rep. Sherrod Brown and Rep. Ted Strickland voted for the final bill.
Yes,the bill that effectively wipes out community oversight of the cable industry. The bill that will allow nationally franchised video/Internet providers to redline neighborhoods and create "tiers" of Internet service. The bill that undermines net neutrality and threatens to "end the Internet as we know it." That bill. They voted "yes".
Am I surprised they both voted for the COPE Act (ie telecom bill)? Yes about Strickland. No about Brown. Getting face time with a congressman/gubernatorial candidate is not easy. It does not seem that Brown's staff gets the issues in the telecom bill so no, I am not surprised. But Strickland? We chat with his office staff. We chat with his campaign staff. They get the issues we bring to them. His broadband platform is good. Really smart people worked on it.. I know because I was there. So what happened? Most likely the telcos is what happened. Very unfortunate. I was recently told "ah the telcos aren't that powerful... politicians have constituants to worry about". Really? Hmmm, anybody tell Strickland?
When Bill Callahan asked Ted Strickland for a response to why he voted for the telecom bill this is what he got...---------- Forwarded Message ----------
"On Wednesday, I voted for an amendment to the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Efficiency Act of 2006 (COPE) to ensure "net neutrality" which ultimately failed. I also voted for the final version of the COPE Act in committee.
"My vote for the COPE Act was an effort to facilitate competition in the video market so that consumers have more choices and can benefit from lower cable prices. This bill, despite the regrettable exclusion of net neutrality language, will provide consumers with choices and savings that were, to this point, very difficult to realize under current guidelines.
"I continue to strongly support efforts to ensure net neutrality, and would stand with any effort to ensure fair and comprehensive access to the internet. There is still time to fight and win this battle, and I will be a voice on the front lines fighting to preserve equal access to the internet for all consumers and content providers."
----
Jesse Taylor
Director of Online Communications
Strickland for Governor
http://www.tedstrickland.com/blog
What's missing? The explanation on how the telecom bill is actually going to support Strickland's ideas on broadband expansion in Ohio. Oh, wait that explanation doesn't exist. The bill does nothing of the sort. The bill is about competition, not expansion to underserved areas. Strickland responded to the net neutrality issue but not the build out issue.
There is a huge backlash from the bloggers in Ohio on this issue. Here are some...
The Plain Dealer's "Tech Link" blog
Callahan's Cleveland Diary
Defend Your Voice
Have Coffee Will Write
Ohio 2nd Blog
Brewed Fresh Daily
Buckeye State Blog
Word of Mouth
posted by Angela Siefer @ 10:02 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Thank you for keeping me informed Angela. I just submitted a note to Strickland stating my displeasure with his vote on COPE and the impact that it may have on my vote in the primary.
Angela, this posting is causing your blog to display weird in MSIE 6 -- the sidebar is pushed below the rest of the main content. The cause may be that the PRE tag applied. If you remove this and any extraneous font tags, the blog appearance should return to normal. If that doesn't fix it, the main or sidebar DIV is too wide for the alloted space.
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