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Before Josh Levy and five other activists met with Yvette Clarke (D-NY), she had signed a letter of support for the AT&T merger with T-Mobile. After a one hour meeting, just after the Justice Department came out against the merger as anti-competitive, she agreed "This deal must be stopped."
This is a great story that goes far beyond AT&T's attempt to monopolize the airwaves. It is a refreshing story for those of us who have been watching in despair, wondering if the vast funds of big companies will doom our democracy. It is a reminder that we cannot give up but have to make sure we are still reaching out to elected officials to ensure they hear from real constituents rather than only from inside-the-beltway lobbyists.
On our key issue, community networks, elected officials too rarely hear from constituents. It is a technical issue that intimidates many. But we must take some time to reach out, educate, and make sure they know how impmortant it is to all of us that local communities maintain self-determination in the digital age.
We cannot wait to reach out until the bad bills are pushed into the light of day -- we need to contact elected officials early in order to build relationships and being the education process. Elected officials are also intimidated by the technology, something that lobbyists use with their "just trust us" approach while bad-mouthing any alternative.
Take heart, write in, talk to your reps, and if you are so bold, set up face to face meetings. Feel free to ask us for advice if you want -- and if you are in Minnesota, feel free to invite us along.
