Like most citizens I favor net neutrality, so my internet connection remains equivalent to that of the wealthiest corporations and individuals. In my view the internet exists primarily to support citizen communications, and business activities only secondarily, so oversight of this public asset belongs with the Federal Communications Commission rather than the Federal Trade Commission.

Like other residents of the 5th Congressional District, I recently received an email from Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers trying to explain why she disagrees with me. She touts an “open” internet with FTC oversight as superior to a neutral net with FCC oversight, expecting that the positive-sounding word “open” will be accepted as a substitute for a clear statement of facts. In her telling, the long factual history of net neutrality is transformed into rules “rammed through” back in the Obama-era Dark Ages, giving oversight to a heavy-handed Depression-era FCC. References to “stripping privacy protections” and “stifling innovation” provide camouflage for her simple support of corporate interests.

Lisa Brown supports net neutrality. She will get my vote, not simply because of this position, but because, whatever her position, her explanations will not rely on semantic double-shuffles and rewritten history.

William F. Siems

Spokane