Dear Mr. Lamar Smith,
It has become increasingly apparent to those of us who keep an eye on our elected representatives that you have chosen to forego your duty to your constituents and, instead, focus your time and effort on repeatedly introducing proposals that do nothing to promote the well being of the American people, and everything to scratch the backs of your top financial contributors.
Your latest bill, entitled the IP Attaché Act, increases the worldwide policing of intellectual property on behalf of Big Media. In your own words, the bill is designed “To promote a level playing field for American innovators abroad and American job creation by improving the intellectual property attaché program, and coordinating and aligning intellectual property policy with compelling economic interests of the United States and freedom.”
What I find fascinating about the goals of your bill, Mr. Smith, is that even though your concern is (supposedly) American job creation and (apparently) freedom, the numbers show that there really isn’t much to worry about when it comes to jobs in the entertainment industry.
What you are effectively proposing, Mr. Smith, is the creation of a narrow-minded group of individuals in our government, both at home and abroad, who are there to do the bidding of Big Media and Big Media alone. I ask you, how does this not set a dangerous precedent? If any company or organization can simply spend enough money on a few congressmen to get the government to do their bidding, what’s to stop other companies from pulling the same maneuver? What about churches?
Doesn’t this sound a lot like corruption to you? It sounds that way to me, and plenty of other Americans who take the actions of their elected officials very seriously.
We’ve already rejected SOPA, and yet you insist on attempting to sneak little bits and pieces past us. Why? Is Clear Channel really paying you that much?
Here’s the thing, Mr. Smith – The American entertainment industry is both a bully and a joke on an international scale. Because of the childish behavior of organizations like the MPAA and RIAA, creativity and innovation has actually been derailed in the past decade. Rather than change with the times and find new methods for delivering content and creating value, the industry has fought tooth and nail to desperately hang on to a dying business model at all costs.
The disturbing reality, Mr. Smith, is that these industries are willing to bribe politicians like you to propose laws that serve only to harm your constituents. What is even more disturbing, however, is that politicians like you accept this with open arms and are accomplices to what can only be described as an affront to political ethics and moral leadership.
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, let me spell it out for you:
You keep setting them up, and we’ll keep knocking them down. The American people will win this fight, and history will remember you as one of several corrupt dinosaur politicians that eventually got weeded out in the transition to the Internet age.
Sincerely,
Jason Lightner (I-Pennsylvania)
