Triple punch

Last Friday I wrote:

[FCC Chair Ajit] Pai is going to ignore what the American people want, and give the internet away to a few players like Comcast and Verizon.

After reading an article by Sarah Kendzior I think Comcast and Verizon are being used as a cover. Sure, Comcast and Verizon are quite willing participants in this effort and will certainly enjoy squeezing more money out of their customers (especially the ones who have no alternative internet provider). But it is much deeper than these internet companies.

Kendzior studies authoritarian regimes and how they operate. In an article for The Globe and Mail she writes about a triple punch that would likely kill democracy in America.

Over the past year we have been exercising our First Amendment rights in response to everything the nasty guy does.

We debunked lies, catalogued crimes, demanded justice and created a vast, informal movement dedicated to the pursuit of truth over alternative facts.

But without an open internet, also known as net neutrality…

The threat to net neutrality highlights the reliance on social media and an independent press for political organizing in the digital age. Should net neutrality be eliminated, those avenues will likely become curtailed for much of the public or driven out of business due to loss of revenue. Without the means to freely communicate online, citizens will be far less able to challenge the administration. It doesn't matter what cause someone prioritizes: The elimination of net neutrality will impede the ability to understand the cause, discuss it and organize around it.

Dictators don’t like free speech. But in the modern world free speech can be shut down without touching the constitution. Let the technology do the censorship. As for those pesky news sites, they can be shut down from a lack of business or litigated into compliance (from my perspective many are already compliant, not offering much informed resistance). With a subtle gesture of repealing net neutrality (we in the government aren’t going to censor you – blame the corporations!) the constitution will remain burnished but eliminated in practice.

That was the first punch.

Devin Coldewey of TechCrunch says the FCC is basing their actions on a bogus description of the internet, one that has failed in court already. Those challenging the FCC actions have a case to take to court.

At least for a while.

Which brings us to Kendzior’s second punch.

The GOP was diligent during the Obama administration in preventing his judicial picks from taking seats in federal courts. Merritt Garland, nominated for the Supremes, is the famous example. But there were well over 100 (maybe 175?) vacant seats when Obama left office. The nasty guy and his cronies in the Senate have been just as diligent filling those seats with conservative extremists. These judges could ignore constitutional rights and civil liberties. Since such appointments are for life they could be there for more than a generation.

I’ve been working, doing what I can, to prevent the third punch, though my actions may come to late. The GOP has been active…

with gerrymandering, restrictive voter ID laws, a bogus "voter fraud" commission, insecure voting machines, and foreign interference that is not only unchallenged but is sometimes encouraged by Republicans all adding up to the likelihood that the 2018 midterm elections will not be free or fair. Voter suppression will likely be rampant, with non-white and immigrant Americans the primary targets of disenfranchisement.

Put the three punches together and we get a horror:

Consider this scenario for 2018: The repeal of net neutrality will stem the flow of information, making voter suppression harder to document. The packing of the courts will make the voter suppression that is documented harder to challenge. And the long-standing solution to purveyors of unpopular policies – vote them out – will be, by definition, impossible, since the election is rigged and the rigging uncontestable. This carefully constructed web of repression is how democracy dies.

Evidence? The GOP is working hard to pass a trillion dollar giveaway to the rich disguised as a middle class tax cut that has a 25% approval rating. They no longer care about public opinion. Kendzior concludes:

What can we Americans do? Talk about it – while we still can. Call our representatives, organize in our community, and have a plan for what we'll do should these repressive initiatives pass. Over the past year, citizens have had success exerting public pressure on officials and raising consciousness over social issues. The internet was key to these endeavours, which is precisely why the administration wants to eliminate equal access to it. If we, as Americans, want to retain our voice, we must speak up now, or forever, involuntarily, hold our peace.