I personally think that the editorial commentary
that the New York Times recently released, titled “The Republican Attack onCalifornia” by Tim Wu, is spot on. Tim Wu is an opinion writer for The New York Times and a
professor at Columbia Law School. His past work experience has included
positions at the Supreme Court, the Federal Trade Commission, the New York
Attorney General’s Office, and the White House. His usual topics of interest
for his editorials focus on the media, technology and competition policy. Wu
continues to discuss his opinion on the topic of net neutrality. His attendant
audience for this commentary piece is subject to everyone who uses the
internet, Republicans and the state of California. Wu claims that the
Republican Party, or more specifically, the Trump administration, is changing
what the party stands for, which is traditionally focused on state’s rights. Wu
argues that, as of lately, the Republican party no longer believes in
federalism after a challenging California’s net neutrality laws. As for
evidence of this, Wu writes, “Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a self-declared
states’ rights champion, declared within hours of the law’s passage that the
Department of Justice will sue California for infringing corporate prerogatives
— that is, interfering with the right of cable and phone companies to block or
slow internet content.” He went on to say that,“If the Republican Party
actually believed in economic decentralization, it might well accept the
premise of state rules where the federal government explicitly disclaims any
authority to act.” These actions demonstrate how the Republican party is going
out of its way to make sure California isn’t allowed to make its own laws on
matters within the state in instances when the state government feels that the
federal government does not have effective legislation. Wu’s second claims also
shows if the Republican party really believed in what they say that they stand
for, it would not be an issue; they would let California control its own laws
and the federal government would have no reason to get involved. I agree with
Wu’s stance, because it seems logical that once the federal government starts
to interfere with state laws, as it seems to be in California’s case, it will
create conflict and dangers for the union as a whole because they will be stripped
of their power and the balance of state and federal government will be upset.
If states can’t have their own reasonable laws, the foundation for our country,
federalism, won’t exist.
