Ted Cruz Criticized For Comparing Net Neutrality to Obamacare

In response to President Obama's support of Net Neutrality, Texas Senator and Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz compared Net Neutrality to Obamacare, and suffered quick backlash from his own supporters.

Cruz's concern over President Obama's request for the FCC to take part in Net Neutrality resulted in the Senator issuing a tweet and a statement comparing the measures to Obama's plans on the Affordable Care Act,

In short, net neutrality is Obamacare for the Internet.  It puts the government in charge of determining Internet pricing, terms of service, and what types of products and services can be delivered, leading to fewer choices, fewer opportunities and higher prices for consumers. The Internet should not operate at the speed of government.

Obama asked the FCC to create rules governing access to the Internet to ensure that cable and phone companies will not be able to restrict what consumers can do or see online.  The proposed rules would include no blocking by a website or service, no intentional slowing of service by providers, increased transparency, and no paid prioritization.

After tweeting his comparison and posting a Washington Times article about his comments on his Facebook page, Senator Cruz was heavily criticized, even by his own supporters, accusing the Senator of not knowing what he is talking about, blindly opposing anything Obama supports, or intentionally bashing Net Neutrality in exchange for contributions from cable companies.  At the time of posting this article, Cruz's Facebook post has received over 3,000 comments, such as,

Eliminating net neutrality is great if you want slower internet, or if you receive a large campaign contribution from Comcast.

As a Republican whom also works in IT like Ed... You have no clue what you are talking about or you are company bought and paid for.

Ted Cruz you're so misinformed. Oh wait, you took money from Comcast. Yeah.

G**dammit, stop making my party look like morons and look up net neutrality. It doesn't mean what you and your speechwriters think it means.

It's cringeworthy that net neutrality is pretty much the opposite of what you're saying it is. Desperate partisan pandering.

Ted Cruz, as a tech and fiscal conservative in Texas who generally votes Republican, I am incredibly disappointed by your completely inaccurate statement. Please read up on what Net Neutrality actually is and fire any staff you have who are advising you on technical matters.

Supporters of Net Neutrality believe it will help prevent undue influence from cable companies, but those against it are concerned with government overreach into an area that was perfectly fine without them.