Re: Republican and Democratic party platforms [NOT!] on technology

[Declan McCullagh <declan@eff.org>]

On Thu, 22 Aug 1996, Rich Graves wrote, quoting me:

> > But the benefit of having a pro-privacy statement in the platform (which in
> > fact was watered down significantly from that originally proposed by
> > advocates on our side) is that the platform covers Republican Party
> > candidates for any office, not just the presidency.
> 
> One Republican staffer sent you an ass-kissing note quoting an ALLEGED piece
> of the platform WHICH IS NOT ACTUALLY THERE. The platform was finalized on
> August 12th. The text you quoted is not even in the list of rejected
> amendments.

Wrong. Check out what I've attached below.

Happily, I don't waste time listening to Rich's rants. I take this as a
lesson that his posts are, in fact, not worth the time it takes to delete
them. Rich, I suggest you stick to whining about MS Windows unless you
enjoy the embarrassment of being proved wrong, once again. 

-Declan

---

Muckraker
By Brock Meeks
http://www.hotwired.com/muckraker/

[...]

                The word "Internet" appears only once in the platform
                language. It's a small victory, but not an insignificant
                one. Two paragraphs are of particular interest - the last
                two in the "Creating Jobs for Americans" section. Here
                they are:
                
                "The communications revolution empowers individuals,
                enhances health care, opens up opportunity for rural
                areas, and strengthens families and institutions. A
                Dole-led Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of
                1996 to promote full and open competition and freedom of
                choice in the telecommunications marketplace. In
                contrast, the Clinton-Gore administration repeatedly
                defended big-government regulation. The micromanagement
                of the Information Age is an impediment to the
                development of America's information superhighway.
                
                "We support the broadest access to telecommunications
                networks and services, based upon marketplace
                capabilities. The Internet today is the most staggering
                example of how the Information Age can and will enhance
                the lives of Americans everywhere. To further this
                explosion of new-found freedoms and opportunities,
                privacy, through secured communications, has never been
                more important. Bob Dole and the Republican Party will
                promote policies that ensure that the US remains the
                world leader in science, technology, and innovation."
                
                First off, it's amazing to see the Republicans taking
                credit for the Telecommunications Reform Act because, in
                doing so, they also are taking credit for one of the most
                egregious attacks on the First Amendment in recent
                history: the passage of the Communications Decency Act,
                which was embedded in the telecom bill like a virus.

[...]

                The really interesting stuff comes after you decode the
                phrase "privacy, through secured communications." This
                really means: "the right to use private encryption
                technology." This brilliant gem was wedged into the
                platform, so I'm told, through the efforts of Senator
                Conrad Burns' staff. Burns, of course, is the author of
                the pro-crypto technology bill known as "Pro-CODE," which
                flies in the face of the administration's nearly paranoid
                anti-crypto policies.
                
[...]





// declan@eff.org // I do not represent the EFF // declan@well.com //