Did Mitt Romney Just Come Out Against SOPA/PIPA?
from the maybe? dept
At a recent campaign stop, a small business owner asked Mitt Romney for his opinion on SOPA, noting that it would likely kill her business. Romney responded without discussing the bills specifically, but said that he's totally against bills like this that just focus on "stopping bad acts," and that he wants politicians to focus on encouraging businesses to do good things.Either way, with more people asking about SOPA/PIPA, it's definitely starting to become a campaign issue...
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: business, mitt romney, pipa, politics, protect ip, regulations, sopa
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Further, Romney is using overseas accounts to hold onto his capital gains. He's a big banker that is just pandering based on all of the evidence presented about him.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
i bet rand pauls opposition to this wasnt based on pandering to the current mood and headlines.
ron paul 2012!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Yeah, and when Obama was running for president, based on what he was saying and harping on how he wants to keep the Internet open and not mess with it, etc... no one would have guessed that he would come close to passing such a law. Once in office he drastically changed.
Romney is no different. They promise you the world when running for office, but when actually elected, he will become a corporate stooge just like the rest of them. I don't believe it for one second.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Heck, at the last republican debate Romney claimed to have never seen the attack ads his supporters super PAC are running against Newt. Then a few seconds later Romney started to describe one of those attack ads in great detail, and defend each of the attacks as truthful.
So until Romney states 100% clearly that he's against SOPA, without leaving himself a 'out' to claim otherwise later, don't trust him.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
WHHOOOOOOSSSHHHH!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
That's all fine and dandy if you're a private citizen, but why should the American voter be excited about rewarding that behavior and how can they believe that he wants to be President to help the American people?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
Stealing trade secrets is a form of industrial espionage.
Copyright infringement is, well, not industrial espionage.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
China Produces, the Creators Will Move There
Sure it sounds good and reasonable to say that you will prevent theft. But think about what happens when the creators leave to other countries. We will no longer be creating, we will have established onerous laws that the other countries, such as China, will use against us. We will end-up paying ridiculously high licensing fees. We are committing a form of economic suicide by proposing these laws.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
vote for me bla bla bla
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The same old games they play in Washington and a lot of us in the real World are really getting fed up with the BS.
I would love to see more Candidates running who refuse to accept Big Money and make that a BIG POINT of their running for a Government Seat.We are all being held hostage by the influx of Big Money donations.
Maybe in 2012 we will see a serious March on Washington by the Millions.I will be there if that is going to happen.
And when it comes to SOPA/PIPA I am on a total boycott of all things MPAA/RIAA and that is what they get for trying to Censor my life.I have Done a SOPA/PIPA on the whole lot of them by CENSORING THEM FROM TOUCHING MY WALLET in any way or form.No Netflix,AMZ,Itunes,No New Products,no cable, and no theater.Only buying used physical things for I hope the rest of my Earthly Existence.
SOPA/PIPA = WAR
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Would you expect Romney to even know what SOPA/PIPA are?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Would you expect Romney to even know what SOPA/PIPA are?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What politicians say ...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
These laws are not being passed because the American people want them. Don't think that the politicians currently in office think that the American people want these laws, they know darn well these laws aren't wanted and wouldn't be claiming to support these laws if they were running for office right now. If anything, they would be criticizing them. Do you think they magically forget what the American people want once elected? No. They know what the people want when running for office and so they know what they want when in office. These laws are not intended to serve the interests and will of the public, they're intended to serve the interests of the government-industrial complex.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
And you know, are ABSOLUTELY sure he won't just change his stance once elected ? Just like any other career politician.
How do you 'know' this ?
Is this a fact or just something you 'Believe' ?
I'd love to believe it to but as a participating registered voter for 32 years I have never seen a single politician keep a promise once elected.
If you have some sort of proof then i would love to see it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
OPEN?
It seems helpful to move piracy away from punishment and instead turn it over to trade control. Even to encourage piracy sites to turn lawful in exchange for a cut of the profits.
Then we can separate out those who do it for money against those who do it for more honourable reasons even if the latter kind get some serious funding squeeze.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
VT Senator Sanders Statement
This is a complex issue, and many people have strong feelings about balancing intellectual property interests with the expectations of those rightly accustomed to open communication on the internet. I am an advocate of legislation protective of online privacy.
There's no doubt that we need to protect legitimate intellectual property rights, but we must remember as we do this, that it is of the utmost importance to keep the internet free and open. As you know, I have not cosponsored this legislation. I share your concerns that we proceed very carefully as we move into the future: the openness of the internet must be protected. I will continue to monitor this legislation closely and if it comes to the floor, I will keep your very cogent and compelling concerns in mind. "
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Indiana
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Romney Livid
But then that assumes that he is even aware of these proposed laws.
He also does not seem to equate US deficit spending with National Security or the (false) protection so-called "intellectual property". Simplistically, all that China needs to do is buy our companies to acquire all the so-called "intellectual property" that they need.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Romney, Schmomney.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT0SX2jpgFQ
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Oh yeah, one or two high profile best before date long expired regulations get tossed but then other things somehow start to creep in to replace them. Fees that never existed before that come with pages of what you need to do to comply and that sort of thing.
At least you got to get screwed for free before now you have to pay a fee first! (General not specific statement for you nitpickers out there.)
Until Romney or any other Republican says they are absolutely, clearly, completely, going to their grave sworn on their grandmother's gravestone against SOPA/PIPA I, for one, wouldn't believe it.
Even from Ron Paul
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Politicians..
Think of it like Hitler campaigning for Jewish rights in the 1930s before he seized power..todays politicians are much the same.
Also "honest politician" is an oxymoron anyway.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
He's full of crap
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: He's full of crap
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Big Banker Romney
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anyone who thinks Romney is in favor of SOPA is a F***ING LIAR
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"Every regulation that has come out during the Obama years, I will put a hold on when I become president, and then I will review those regulations and get rid of the ones I don't like."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ron Paul supports internet freedom
[ link to this | view in chronology ]