Ted Cruz Proves Al Franken Right: Texas Senator Doesn’t Know What Net Neutrality Is

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) responded to Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) claim that the Texas senator doesn’t know what net neutrality is with a video that proved Franken’s point. Cruz is utterly clueless as to what net neutrality does.

Yesterday on CNN, Sen. Franken said that Cruz is completely wrong about net neutrality, “He has it completely wrong, and he just doesn’t understand what this issue is. We’ve had net neutrality the entire history of the Internet, so when he says this is the Obamacare, Obamacare is a government program that fixed something that changed things. This is about reclassifying something so it stays the same. This would keep things exactly the same for everybody, and the pricing happens by the value of something.”

Cruz responded with a YouTube video that proved Franken right:

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In the video, Cruz has his own bizarro explanation of something that definitely isn’t net neutrality.

Cruz said, “What happens when government starts regulating a service as a public utility. It calcifies everything. It freezes it in place. Let’s give a simple contrast. The Telecommunications Act of 1934 was adopted to regulate these. (Cruz holds up a rotary phone.) To put regulations in place, and what happened? It froze everything in place. This (rotary phone) is regulated by Title II. This is not (smartphone). Your smartphone, the Internet, the apps. All of this is outside of Title II. The innovation is happening without having to go to government regulators and say mother may I. We want all whole lot more of this (smartphone) and a whole lot less of this (rotary phone).

Cruz’s little song and dance had absolutely nothing to do with net neutrality. What Cruz is obscuring is the fact that an open and free Internet gives innovators a level playing field. Net neutrality is about protecting the free market, not imposing government regulations on it.

If those with the most money are allowed to create a two or more tiered Internet, innovation will become like our political system. Ideas won’t matter. Content won’t matter. The people who have the most money will control the marketplace. By opposing net neutrality, Cruz is violating the principles that he claims to stand for.

Instead of rebutting Sen. Franken’s points, Cruz’s YouTube video that he was correct. Ted Cruz is a trying to argue the issue of government regulation. Ted Cruz is a member of the Senate subcommittee that regulates communications, technology, and the Internet. Sen. Cruz was tied for the second highest amount of contributions from Comcast, Verizon, and the other Internet Service Providers, who are opposed to net neutrality.

Ted Cruz is being well paid to keep his head in the sand on this issue. Cruz is intentionally perpetuating falsehoods about net neutrality while proving Franken’s point that he is completely wrong on the issue

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association