Always good to have the opportunity to hear a Washington Update from Senator Thune, who spoke with the Brookings County GOP in a special lunch meeting today down at Cubby’s. Lots of stuff to unpack, especially information on how the Biden administration refuses to meet with the Senator and his colleagues on renewable fuels such as ethanol, because they are focusing exclusively on electric cars.
Which if it’s a cold, crappy day like today, I’m going to stick with my reliable internal combustion engine, thank you very much.
Also heard about efforts to address big tech and censorship, as well as other issues, including the military, our nation’s foreign policy, as well as a number of other topics.
I asked the senator a question regarding what’s going on in the US Senate regarding big tech, and whether they could face efforts to break up the monopolies held by Google and Facebook, who keep buying up competitors. He noted that Anti-trust/tech breakup would be challenging, but there is bipartisan support for that approach, well as less direct approaches.
He did speak at length regarding proposals to allow people to opt in or out of algorithms determining what they do and do not see, and addressing laws which once gave big tech a carve-out because they were platforms, but now that they’re deciding content, that carve-out needs to be revisited.
Great turnout for the event with 50 or more people, including about a dozen College Republicans. Well worth venturing out, and thanks to Senator Thune for zipping up the Interstate on this blustery winter day!
Perhaps, Senator, you can explain the need to speed up the HB-2 visas that you expressed in a letter to demanding the Biden Administration? As a group, Republicans want to reduce the number of immigrants.