Senator John Thune (R-SD) may be the best looking guy in Congress, but he is also one of the dumbest.
Just this week he reacted with outrage to claims that Facebook was biased in choosing its “Trending Topics.” In an open letter to Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg, Thune said that “If true, these allegations compromise Facebook’s ‘open culture’ and mission ‘to make the world more open and connected.’” Thune promised to hold Congressional hearings into these allegations. (Thune compains about Facebook.)
The problem is that Senator Thune is one of the biggest opponents of what is called “Net Neutrality.” Net Neutrality is the idea that the internet is a “common carrier” like the telephone system, which means that internet service providers should not be able to give preferential treatment to certain content providers. The problem is that preferential treatment for one content provider will result in worse treatment for other content providers. Put simply this means that one content provider, say Fox, can’t pay extra money to ensure that their content gets delivered faster than other content. The problem is that if Fox pays for better treatment, other providers (say a lefty magazine like Jacobin) will end up with slower delivery, which will disadvantage them and reduce the impact of their content.
When the FCC proposed Net Neutrality rules, Senator Thune said that this was unfair, and that the free market, meaning the highest bidder, should control the delivery of content on the internet. (Thune on Net Neutrality) But now, in a spin that would make figure skater Johnny Weir green with envy, Thune doesn’t believe that private companies should have the ability to determine content on the internet.
Hypocrisy isn’t necessarily stupidity. What makes him dumb is not realizing the things he said a few months ago are still on the internet, and smart-asses like me can look them up, and point out his hypocrisy and stupidity.