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Cable Companies Should Compete for Consumers, Not Politicians

A version of this blog post appeared as an action alert for the American Conservative Union.

E-mail Sent to Members

First they came for the Internet, which they wanted to smother with innovation-stifling regulations. Now they’re after your TV, which they want to keep in the clutch of a select few companies, rather than open the field to competition.

“They,” of course, are far-left groups like MoveOn.org, and their goal is as predictable as it is destructive: replace the American system of free enterprise with a Washington maze of congressional committees, federal agencies, and unaccountable bureaucrats.

So far, groups like ACU have prevented a government takeover of the Internet. But we need your help to ensure that freedom also prevails with respect to your television.

Here’s the rub. For too long, cable companies have lobbied for and then hid behind arcane red tape that makes it prohibitive for start-ups to enter the market. ACU, however, believes that companies should rise or fall on the basis of their goods and services, not their connections to politicians. We trust the judgment of consumers, not regulators.

If we succeed, consumers will benefit from more channels, lower bills, improved customer service, and superior technology.

To make these dreams a reality, please e-mail your senators—using the form below—and ask them to support the Advanced Communications Act (HR 5252). Tell them that TV shouldn’t can’t be held hostage by those who think the best way to harness the genius of the American people is by yoking us to a governmental chain. We must not let those who believe in Big Government panaceas dictate what our elected officials hear on this issue.

E-mail Prepared for Members

Dear Senator,

I am writing to urge you to support HR 5252, the Advanced Communications Act, and to defeat any amendments that would open the Pandora’s box of government regulation of the Internet.

The Internet has and continues to flourish because it has been allowed to grow free of government control. For the same reason, cable service progresses at a snail’s pace because of government control.

For years, cable companies have hid behind arcane regulations that make it prohibitive for competitors to enter the market. While some (like MoveOn.org) seek to sustain this undemocratic status quo, I believe we should introduce the cable services market to the American system of free enterprise. It is time that TV watchers enjoy the manifold benefits of competition.

For instance, cable competition will foster more channels (01 will become 001); lower bills (in communities where competition exists, prices have fallen by at least 20 percent); better customer service (who hasn’t spent hours waiting at home for the repairman or on the phone with an operator?); and superior technology (think digital is cutting-edge? just wait).

History shows that free and open markets have made America’s markets the envy of the world. Let’s keep it that way.