Google vs. China vs. American Jobs
BY Nancy Scola | Wednesday, February 24 2010
Here's a fascinating little twist for those of us who have been tracking the Google vs. China conflict, but mostly focused on the conflict's (significant) public policy implications. What has mostly been talked about as a cybersecurity face-off is seeping into the more purely political realm -- in what might be reasonably seen as a precursor to the impact of Google's faceoff with China on domestic politics.
A PAC by the name of Patriot Majority has put out a two-minute web spot called "Hacked" that ties cybersecurity aggressions allegedly coming from China to a push, from the American left, to defend "American values, American workers, American businesses, and American jobs." Patriot Majority is affiliated with Democratic strategist and a former advisor to Governor Tim Vilsack by the name of Craig Varoga. NPR reports that amongst Patriot Majority's funders are labor groups.
Featured prominently in "Hacked" are clips from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's provocative January address at the Newseum on "Internet freedoms." That speech, while well covered, hasn't really been treated as all that politically-charged, which a close read of it suggests that it is. But back to this spot. News reports on the infiltration of Google's networks provide the intro. There's Google's Chief Legal Officer David Drummond arguing that an increase in Chinese censorship makes practicing business in the country untenable. Then we see shots of American innovators -- Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, Amelia Earhart, George Washington Carver -- as a voiceover intones:
For more than two hundred years, America has grown strong and led the world because we are innovators and believe that freedom is the foundation of success. We will remain true to these traditions at home and across the globe, especially, as they are under attack.
In a bit of unfortunate editing, "under attack" is heard as a picture of Jonas Salk wielding a vaccination needle like a knife floats across the screen. But we're quickly kicked back to Clinton's speech. Her address focused on the Internet's global promise. But front and center here is her promise to defend America's cyber infrastructure:
States, terrorists, and those who would act as their proxies must know that the United States will protect our networks.
Then comes the kicker. Talk China's alleged nefariousness are dropped in favor of a broad appeal to some traditional talking points on protecting jobs here at home:
Patriot Majority believes that it is our patriotic duty to pursue policies that strengthen our national security, boost the economy, create jobs, and improve the lives of all Americans and their families.
An ad that spins the Google and China conflict into a domestic referendum on political priorities is intriguing (at least to this observer). But that doesn't mean it has attracted much attention. It's only attracted 55 views on YouTube since its release last Wednesday.