The midterm election results are a great leap forward for anyone who cares about saving the free and open Internet.

Reps. John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) — both strong supporters of Net Neutrality — will most likely take command of telecommunications policy when their party reclaims majority power in the House in 2007.

According to a report today in MultiChannel News, Dingell and Markey “are poised to take control after House Republicans were trounced at the polls Tuesday night, restoring Democrats to power for the first time since 1994.”

Dingell should be seated as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the panel that oversees phone, cable operators and Internet companies. Markey will take the helm of the key Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee. He has been an outspoken champion for Net Neutrality. New telecommunications legislation by Dingell and Markey in 2007 would likely include Net Neutrality mandates from the outset.

The victory vindicates expected majority leader Nancy Pelosi’s decision over the summer to elevate Net Neutrality in the Democratic Party platform — a risky move after many a Washington prognosticator declared it a dead issue.

In the Senate all pro-Net Neutrality Senators won decisive victories in their states. This list includes members of both parties:

• Sen. Akaka won in Hawaii with 61%
• Sen. Bingaman won in New Mexico with 70%
• Sen. Cantwell won in Washington with 58%
• Sen. Clinton won in New York with 67%
• Sen. Feinstein won in California with 60%
• Sen. Kennedy won in Massachussetts with 69%
• Sen. Menendez won in New Jersey with 53%
• Sen. Nelson won in Flordia with 60%
• Sen. Nelson won in Nebraska with 64%
• Sen. Snowe won in Maine with 73%

They will be joined by newcomers Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Sherrod Brown, (D-Ohio), Jim Webb (likely - D-Virginia) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) who have also come out in support of Net Neutrality.

Over the year, more and more politicians came to realize that the public was paying attention to this issue. The blogosphere caught fire and helped shift the momentum in Washington on this issue.

Whereas before, the big telephone companies and their coin-operated lobbyists were confident that Congress would simply roll over and do their bidding, today, no member of Congress can vote with the telecom cartel without full public scrutiny.

The major telecommunications bill pending in the Senate is a massive giveaway to the phone and cable companies, and should be blocked during the lame duck Congress. It’s time to start from scratch in 2007, and begin having a genuine public debate about what the future of the media and the Internet should look like.

Timothy Karr is the campaign director for Free Press, the national media reform group, and coordinator of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition

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