Senator Al Franken Explains Why He Opposes the Comcast/NBC Merger

by Al Franken · 2010-02-17 15:22:00 UTC
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This is a guest-post by Senator Al Franken, the junior United States Senator from the state of Minnesota.

You might have seen in the news, on Twitter, or on Facebook recently that I'm opposing the NBC/Comcast merger in its current form. I wanted to post something here on Change.org to explain why, and to ask for your help.

I have some experience in this industry, and I flat-out don't trust Comcast and NBC to operate in the best interest of consumers in Minnesota and around the country when it comes to this merger. Combining a company who provides programming and one who provides the pipes that carry said programming would almost certainly be a raw deal for consumers and independent content producers alike.

I came to Washington to stand up to the lopsided influence of special interests on behalf of middle class Minnesota families, and opposing this merger is an opportunity to do just that. And as much as I don't trust Comcast and NBC to be honest brokers on this deal, I am trusting you to help me build support for my positions on issues like this one.

I'm not afraid of standing up to these guys -- as I said it's why I ran for the Senate. But I also realize that given the recent Citizens United decision in the U.S. Supreme Court, corporations can now turn around and spend millions running ads telling voters I want to blow up their T.V. -- a patently untrue claim that they've got no research to support, by the way.

Fights like this one are more than worth having, they're essential to keeping our democracy representative of people instead of corporate entities. I realize that with a lot of my positions, I'm inviting special interest groups to spend a lot of money to defeat me down the road. As long as I have you standing with me, that's ok by me -- because corporations getting their way isn't some bad medicine consumers need to swallow -- we can stand, fight, and win. I'm building a movement to grow the momentum we established in 2008, please consider joining us today.

Photo credit: Вени Марковски

Al Franken

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