Note: It's always interesting when corporate financed 'non-profit' organizations attack legitimate citizen groups and claim they are anti-consumer. Jason Wright and The Institute for Liberty is one such organization (often referred to as an astroturf). We're still curious how red-lining and loss of first amendment speech can be considered pro-consumer. Perhaps Mr. Wright will explain it to us. In addition to the website for Institute for Liberty [1], he also has a personal site [2] (complete with pictures with Cheney and Rumsfeld) and a policy site, Tech Policy Watch, intended for DC Legislators.
from: PR Newswire [3]
Consumers Battle Radical Left Interests Over Video Choice Legislation
WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/
Jason Wright, co-chairman of the Internet Freedom Coalition and president of The Institute for Liberty, issued the following statement today on behalf of the coalition's members:
"Once again, political interests are attempting to hijack good policy in the United States Senate," stated Wright. "It has come to our attention that MoveOn.org and its nefarious coalition of anti-consumer interests is attempting to strong arm U.S. Senators into holding up important pro-consumer video choice legislation in the name of 'saving the Internet.'"
"We once thought the 'up-or-down' standard only applied to the politically contentious judicial nominations -- not actual policy that will affect millions of consumers and encourage broadband deployment across the country. What is evident is that MoveOn and its allies know that they will lose the network neutrality vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate -- and instead of facing that impending reality and debating the policy at hand, they instead are holding up an entire telecom reform bill that is so much more than just network neutrality," continued Wright.
"Our U.S. Senators should not be bullied into blocking consideration of the Senate's version of H.R. 5252, the Advanced Telecommunications and Opportunities Reform Act. The U.S. Senate is a body that should represent their constituents' interests, not the interests of radical left wing organizations who threaten an elected official's viability in an election year over legislation that is pro-consumer."
Website: http://www.instituteforliberty.org/