Tim Lee, a former scholar with the Cato Institute and now a resident at Missouri’s Show Me Institute, penned a great piece on cable deregulation for the Tucson Citizen late last month. We liked this bit especially:Â

Worried about possible government regulation of the Internet, which has flourished for the past decade precisely because government has taken a hands-off approach?

See? We’re not the only ones arguing for a hands off approach. It is indeed the free interaction of individuals in the marketplace that has made the Internet so successful over the past decade. And Mr. Lee shares some of our concerns about the immediate future:Â

The dishonestly named “Net Neutrality” would actually introduce government regulation into the Internet, which has flourished to date precisely because government bureaucrats have not interfered. Unfortunately, “Net Neutrality” proponents are extorting senators into supporting this alarming intrusion of regulation of the Internet. American and Arizona consumers shouldn’t be held captive to powerful left-wing “Net Neutrality” special interests who wish to regulate the Internet.

Actually, we don’t necessarily see this as a partisan issue. The co-chairman of our organization is Mike McCurry, who was press secretary to President Clinton when the Internet first exploded into the national consciousness, and as he’ll tell you, back then one of the smartest decisions they made was to let the Internet develop on its own. A lot has changed in the world since then, but the importance of a free Internet hasn’t changed a bit.