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 One of the narratives Democrats have sought to exploit paints Republican presidential candidate John McCain as a man who doesn't understand the Internet.McCain himself has said he doesn't check his email or go to websites and he has his family or staff help him retrieve online information. It is likely true that McCain has a limited grasp of Internet culture--he's probably never logged on to his own campaign website nor is he likely check out what the blogs are saying about veep choice Sarah Palin.
However, as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee from 1997 to 2001 and again from 2003 to 2005, McCain has developed a sophisticated knowledge about the plumbing of the Internet. The committee has primary jurisdiction over the Internet in the Senate and McCain presided over countless hearings during which individuals representing consumer groups and corporate interests spelled out their divergent positions on the future of the technology.
Paul Gallant, analyst at Stanford Group in Washington, who monitored no small number of those hearings, sums it up this way: "McCain showed a command of telecom and Internet issues when he was chairman of the commerce committee, and also participated in regular briefings about the Internet." Generally, McCain has taken free market positions on Internet-related regulation. In the Senate, he opposed "net neutrality" legislation that would have codified an FCC policy prohibiting telecom carriers from blocking or discriminating against Internet content generated by competing service providers that use incumbent networks. (Neither McCain nor his staff have commented on a recent FCC decision enforcing commission policy by barring Comcast from blocking Internet users access to online content). McCain has also long been an opponent of taxation of Internet sales. As chairman, McCain oversaw the rise and fall of the 1996 Telecom Act's Unbundled Network Element Platform, or UNE-P provisions requiring incumbent phone companies to allow rivals access and regulated wholesale prices for use of their networks to provide Internet services. In 2002, while chairman, McCain backed a broadband bill seeking to deregulate residential broadband services in a way that would drive many incumbent phone rivals out of business. The FCC, under McCain's watch, eliminated many of the statute's line-sharing and unbundling requirements. Observers may debate whether McCain was on the right or wrong side of the battle over access and pricing for broadband services over incumbent phone lines, but they should acknowledge he was a key player in the key policy decisions at an important time in the Internet's development. In his way, McCain understands the business battles over the Internet, despite being befuddled by the emails and websites it enables. - Ron Orol CategoriesComments Deal Video
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that is funny. he was on the wrong side of all three issues, in all cases favoring the interests of incumbents over Internet users.
the US is dismal in terms of broadband and I had not realized that mccain was in the center of responsibility for that.
even funnier is to say "McCain has taken free market positions on Internet-related regulation". that is orwellian in the extreme! his positions are interventionist in favor of those with big lobbying budgets.
big surprise!