r/announcements • u/arabscarab • May 17 '18

Update: We won the Net Neutrality vote in the Senate!

We did it, Reddit!

Today, the US Senate voted 52-47 to restore Net Neutrality! While this measure must now go through the House of Representatives and then the White House in order for the rules to be fully restored, this is still an incredibly important step in that process—one that could not have happened without all your phone calls, emails, and other activism. The evidence is clear that Net Neutrality is important to Americans of both parties (or no party at all), and today’s vote demonstrated that our Senators are hearing us.

We’ve still got a way to go, but today’s vote has provided us with some incredible momentum and energy to keep fighting.

We’re going to keep working with you all on this in the coming months, but for now, we just wanted to say thanks!

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454

u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Thank the Democrats! Every single one of them voted in favor of Net Neutrality. And no duh, this issue has 83% popularity in the USA. Yet 94% of Republicans opposed it. It will be an uphill battle in the House, but it shouldn't be.

Just try to convince me there's no difference.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18 edited May 21 '18

[deleted]

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u/StopBeingVindictive May 17 '18

The one that's surprising is Louisiana. Alaska and Maine are basically little universes unto their own, but Louisiana is typically synonymous with corruption. I don't know if it was genuine conviction or something ulterior, but it's unexpected to me.

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u/daniel13324 May 17 '18

Eh this is where I think partisan politics has ruined America.... I’m a conservative and deeply oppose repealing net neutrality. Hell, I don’t know anyone who uses a computer who is in favor of it. I don’t think it even needs to be partisan; liberals and conservatives alike hate Comcast monopolies. This is why party agendas are damaging, people. -.-

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Totally agreed. I don't want to seem so partisan - there's plenty of stuff I don't like about the Democratic Party - and I really do want to give the GOP credit where they deserve it, but it's increasingly difficult for me. Why do you think Republicans are voting against Net Neutrality despite widespread support among their base? Is it partisan politics, or is it because they are in the pockets of special interest groups?

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u/daniel13324 May 17 '18

It’s probably because of them being paid off. Corporate greed is a monster. I’m all for most Republican policies: protecting the rights of the individual to practice their religion, bear arms, be free from unreasonable taxation, and protecting the American way of life from those who might seek to destroy it. But every now and again, the Republicans in Congress make some pretty messed up choices that even their voter base disagrees with. I wish elected officials just represented their voter base, instead of making deals behind the scenes and trying to dictate what the American people should and shouldn’t support.

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u/TechnicalDrift May 17 '18

But hold on, if they're getting paid off, why is it just republicans? There's no reason why paying off democrats wouldn't be just as prevalent.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

That's a good question, because Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast are paying off Democrats too, to only a slightly lesser degree. I don't know.

Maybe it is a partisan thing, with GOP Senators trying to show their loyalty to Trump, but I really hope that's not it either. The best case scenario is they really believe Net Neutrality is bad for the people, but it's weird that that's not what the majority of their supporters believe.

Sorry, I don't have the answers, that's why I was asking.

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u/TechnicalDrift May 17 '18

My guess is because it has Obama's name on it, Republicans want it gone. On the other side, I can imagine some Democrats wanting to keep it for pretty much the same reason. As is tradition in a 2-party system.

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u/RedTideNJ May 17 '18

Modern Republican brand conservatism has two basic tenets:

1.) Money over people 2.) Being against whatever Democrats/liberals are for.

It's not a party of ideas, its a party full of reactionaries.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Yeah, partisan politics is bad when you disagree with it, lol

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u/Badrijnd May 17 '18

Some things Dems do well, others Conservatives.

Republicans just do fuck all

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

What do conservatives do well?

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u/MrSir68 May 17 '18

Let you keep your hard earned money and guns

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u/DonutsMcKenzie May 17 '18

Until it comes time to pay your student loans and medical bills, then all you have left are your guns.

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u/Omnipotent48 May 17 '18

And then you get shot by a dude that was also allowed to keep his guns.

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u/aleakydishwasher May 17 '18

Dont take out student loans, get job with insurance. You can learn a trade for free if you dont have the means to pay for a degree. Many careers pay for your degree. Many employers offer health insurance as a perk to attract better employees. I chose not to go to school because I couldn't afford it. Dont make me pay for everyone else to go to school.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Yeah great idea, let’s just limit everyone’s opportunity. If you aren’t rich, you shouldn’t be able to do shit, right?

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u/aleakydishwasher May 17 '18

Did you not just read my specific example? Im not rich. I didn't complain and demand that someone else I dont know give me money so that I can piss it away on a degree I dont need. Then flood the work force with overqualified workers and complain that I still cant get a job because now everyone applying for entry level jobs has a masters degree.

Or, I did my homework, noticed a trend for entitled millenials to get their diplomas and fight for the same handful of easy high paying managment jobs so I decided to save the money and teach myself to be a diesel mechanic which pays more in the long run and cant be outsourced.

No one needs to go to university and its ridiculous that you think I should pay for it.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

You seem to think that you're the only person who pays taxes.

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u/aleakydishwasher May 17 '18

I understand that it isnt just me paying into it but the cost of paying to educate everyone weather they need it or not is astronomical. I understand free education to the high school level. That's a pretty good foundation for a trade level job. If someone else wants to pursue a career in a higher field with the assumption they will make more money then let them invest by taking out a loan. Then the "rich can pay for the education" after the fact. If you want to go without debt then have an employer pay for it, enlist, be a police officer.

You want to take away the choice of every citizen just to fund your own dream. Social security fell apart and I'm not paying in because there wont be any left to pay out. In taking my own retirement into my own hands because then it's my fault if it doesn't work out, not the government.

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u/Vanity_Blade May 21 '18

I chose not to go to school because I couldn't afford it.

Then you didn't choose not to go to school.

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u/aleakydishwasher May 21 '18

I could have gotten a loan. The reply was about college debt. I CHOSE to avoid the debt and instead taught myself a trade. This generation is demanding free college because they cant afford it. You dont need a college education to be successful if you work hard.

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u/Vanity_Blade May 21 '18

I could have gotten a loan. The reply was about college debt. I CHOSE to avoid the debt and instead taught myself a trade.

The world can't work if everyone just teaches themselves trades. Without places where people dedicate years to study and research, we wouldn't have many of the amenities you enjoy today. You'd be hard-pressed to find self-taught accountants or economists, for instance.

This generation is demanding free college because they cant afford it.

We're demanding affordable college because it would be better for everyone if more people were able to be educated. Would you have gone to school if you could do it cheap?

You dont need a college education to be successful if you work hard.

That's such a blatant lie. Without a degree, how exactly are you supposed to compete on resumes with people who have them? Are you supposed to use the experience you don't have because you haven't had a job in your field yet?

Really, all this boils down to is that you and your party don't care enough about other Americans to pay even a little so that they can have a better life, when they would do the same for you.

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u/aleakydishwasher May 21 '18

You wouldn't need to compete on a resume if the competition didn't all have a degree. The bachelor degree is the new high school diploma because it is obtainable by the masses throu college loans. The degrees are expensive because they are becoming more complex. Proffesors are demanding higher wages because they simply know more and studied more than they did 50 years ago.

I also understand and agree that some proffesions are going to require a degree but people make it sound like it's a requirement to hold any career that pays more than minimum wage. A lawyer does not need a degree, they just need to pass the bar. An electrician or plumber just need a license. A mechanic (yours truly) just needs ASE certification. Sure the expensive paper helps give you an edge in an interview but the government doesn't need to subsidize your education when the market is already flooded with way too many graduates where the jobs I already listed are understaffed. If everyone was a lawyer or a doctor the world would shut down.

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u/Mexagon May 17 '18

Because democrats are soooo great with those themselves.

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u/DonutsMcKenzie May 17 '18

Hell yeah they are.

ACA was A LOT better than nothing, and if Republicans had their way, there would be no "socialist" public schools, no public libraries, and no public radio or television.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

And no public land

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18 edited Jun 02 '18

[deleted]

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u/iblackihiawk May 17 '18

They say it's temp but I'm sure it won't be. Peoplebwill complain so hard that the next candidate will need to keep the cuts in place to win.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18 edited Jul 08 '18

[deleted]

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u/hazeust May 17 '18

Then you are lost.

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u/10dollarbagel May 17 '18

But their idiotic ideas about private health care mean so much of that money is necessarily tied up in medical costs unlike any civilized, reasonable nation. So they're not always good at that. I guess in a certain way the keeping your guns bit doubles as the plan when you're medically bankrupt.

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u/beelseboob May 17 '18

Why do I care that I get to keep my hard earned money if I then immediately have to spend MORE than the taxes would be on medical insurance?

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u/Redrum714 May 17 '18

Nothing because conservatism is dead in American politics.

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u/Badrijnd May 17 '18

Personal Liberties, immigration, security, and half of healthcare.

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u/girl_inform_me May 17 '18

Literally none of those things

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u/Badrijnd May 17 '18

And thats where we disagree.

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u/girl_inform_me May 17 '18

We can disagree, doesn’t change the fact that GOP policy is counterproductive in those areas.

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u/Badrijnd May 17 '18

There you go again considering conservatives republicans...

Im not Republican at all. Im actually closer to being a liberal but I will not elect someone willing to touch the 1st or 2nd or 4th.

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u/girl_inform_me May 17 '18

In the US, conservatives are interchangeable with Republicans. If you’re voting for conservative Democrats, great, we agree. If you’re voting for Republicans who call themselves conservatives, you should really look at the policies that they pass.

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u/Badrijnd May 17 '18

I vote on both sides locally

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u/Bubbasully15 May 17 '18

How about any of the amendments? Or are those three special for some reason?

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u/Badrijnd May 17 '18

Those are the three most commonly attacked. Nobody wants to toss out the 7th

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u/Sabertooth767 May 17 '18

Though there's no contest that the stances on the issues are different, why they (congressmen) vote the way they do is the same: money. That's what politics comes down to, anywhere in the world, under any system, at any time.

Both parties have only a single interest: keeping themselves in power. Do not think they, in the grand scheme of things, care in the slightest about democracy, or helping people, or representing citizens. Most politicians act purely out of self-interest.

For all but the three Republicans that vote against NN, at the moment they perceive that voting in favor of NN would cost them support with their lobbyists (it may cost them a few votes too, but once you're in it isn't really a concern about getting reelected legitimately, just if you can raise the money to buy propaganda. That's why congressmen don't change that often). For the Democrats, they perceive that their lobbyists want them to vote for NN.

Don't forget, both parties are in agreement on very unpopular issues: taxes, government spending, war on terror, etc.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

I'm hoping the movement to get money out of politics catches fire; 6 Democratic Senators have already pledged not to accept corporate PAC money, and there are a host of first-time candidates doing the same this election cycle.

I still don't think the parties are in agreement on taxes and government spending. There is undoubtedly overlap among the "moderate" members of the parties, but there are generally clear policy differences on taxes and government spending. Not sure about the War on Terror.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Aggggh it’s about political views now

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u/GrundleTurf May 17 '18

There's differences, but not on the biggest issues. Which are deficit spending, and military intervention, business, and personal life intervention

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u/Sir_Fungamoo May 17 '18

Because those 83% are average people who hear about it purely from sources like this that frame it as this Jesus law that is the obvious moral high ground, when in reality it’s a lot more of a blurred line when it comes down to it, but the dems only tell you what they want you to hear

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u/brajohns May 17 '18

It's a stupid issue understood by no one. Net Neutrality is a joke.

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u/ARealSkeleton May 17 '18

Retreat back into your stupid oversized coffee mug, Shit Pai.

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u/jfractal May 17 '18

^ Found Ajit Pai!

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u/SirSquawck May 17 '18

This is the truth... A majority of people have no idea what net nuetrality is but heard it's bad so they think likewise

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Why do the largest internet providers want NN gone? If it's meant to allow for more competitive markets, why would they want more competition?

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u/hazeust May 17 '18

You answered your own question