This week Comcast derided opponents of its disastrous proposal to buy its biggest rival, Time Warner Cable, accusing us and our allies of “extortion.”

But there’s no hidden agenda here. Here are a few reasons Common Cause — along with hundreds of thousands of supporters — have asked regulators to reject this merger:

• It would create a de facto cable monopoly in much of the country, harming competition and innovation;
• Comcast would have increased gatekeeper control over what you can see on the cable dial, making it harder for independent and alternative voices to break through; 
• Comcast and Time Warner Cable both have a bad track record of spending big to influence elections and public policy, and combining them would make a bad problem worse;

We joined our allies at Consumers Union to make our case to the FCC last month. (Read it here.) Hundreds of thousands of people – maybe even you — have added their voices as well.

Yet rather than responding to our arguments, Comcast is baselessly accusing us of feigning opposition to the merger so we can get something out of them. They might not care about a free and open media environment, but we sure do. 

Here’s what former FCC Commissioner and Common Cause Special Adviser Michael Copps had to say,

“We’ve never sought anything from Comcast, directly or indirectly, and the company knows it,” Copps said. “Comcast owes us an apology.

“Comcast is trying to change the channel while quietly throwing around big money and influence in Washington,” he added.

Our endorsement is not for sale. Common Cause has unambiguously opposed this Comcast’s proposal from day one. To suggest otherwise is dishonest.