SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"The math isn't complicated: voters overwhelmingly support net neutrality. We're going to make sure that every single voter knows if their representative sold them out. There's nowhere to hide," said Evan Greer of Fight for the Future. (Photo: Credo Action/flickr/cc)
To Make Sure They Know 'The Internet Is Keeping Score,' Net Neutrality Defenders Ramp Up Pressure on House Lawmakers
New "scorecard" lets constituents know which members of Congress stand with big ISPs and which back net neutrality
Jul 23, 2018
Turning up the heat on representatives who have yet to indicate their support for a joint resolution to restore open internet protections repealed by Trump's FCC, net neutrality advocates on Monday launched a new tool to make sure the lawmakers know "the internet is keeping score."
The new "scorecard" lets constituents know not only whether their representative backs a petition to force a vote on a measure that would override the FCC's repeal, but also how much in campaign contributions they have received from big internet service providers (ISPs) and the number of small businesses in the district that have signed an open letter in support of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution. It also features a tool to quickly contact representatives.
"Some elected officials are still under the woefully incorrect impression that they can hide from their constituents when it comes to net neutrality, or attempt to fool them by supporting symbolic legislation instead of the CRA," said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future.
Fight for the Future is part of the trio, along with Demand Progress and Free Press Action Fund, that makes up the tenacious BattleForTheNet.com team, which plans on ramping up its efforts to restore net neutrality through Congress's August recess.
The groups scored a victory in May after the Senate passed Sen. Ed Markey's resolution to restore net neutrality. And then the focus centered on the House, where Republican Speaker Paul Ryan's refusal to bring the resolution to the floor has necessitated a petition to force a vote. A positive sign came just last week, however, when the first House Republican, Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado, added his name to the petition.
Now, Battle for the Net says, "victory [is] increasingly within reach."
According to its tally, there are now 177 votes in support of net neutrality in the House, making it 41 shy of the 218 votes needed to win in the chamber. If it passes the House, it then heads to President Donald Trump's desk.
As Timothy Karr, senior director of strategy for Free Press, recently wrote, Republicans should get behind the measure--"that is, if they care at all about their constituents' wishes." He noted:
Poll after poll after poll after poll shows large majorities of Republican voters in opposition to the FCC's repeal. Any Republican seeking re-election in the fall can't run from this polling data or from the people back home who demand real net neutrality.
"Any lawmaker who sides with the big ISPs that line their pockets with campaign contributions over the basic internet freedom of their constituents will learn the hard way," Greer added. "The math isn't complicated: voters overwhelmingly support net neutrality. We're going to make sure that every single voter knows if their representative sold them out. There's nowhere to hide."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Turning up the heat on representatives who have yet to indicate their support for a joint resolution to restore open internet protections repealed by Trump's FCC, net neutrality advocates on Monday launched a new tool to make sure the lawmakers know "the internet is keeping score."
The new "scorecard" lets constituents know not only whether their representative backs a petition to force a vote on a measure that would override the FCC's repeal, but also how much in campaign contributions they have received from big internet service providers (ISPs) and the number of small businesses in the district that have signed an open letter in support of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution. It also features a tool to quickly contact representatives.
"Some elected officials are still under the woefully incorrect impression that they can hide from their constituents when it comes to net neutrality, or attempt to fool them by supporting symbolic legislation instead of the CRA," said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future.
Fight for the Future is part of the trio, along with Demand Progress and Free Press Action Fund, that makes up the tenacious BattleForTheNet.com team, which plans on ramping up its efforts to restore net neutrality through Congress's August recess.
The groups scored a victory in May after the Senate passed Sen. Ed Markey's resolution to restore net neutrality. And then the focus centered on the House, where Republican Speaker Paul Ryan's refusal to bring the resolution to the floor has necessitated a petition to force a vote. A positive sign came just last week, however, when the first House Republican, Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado, added his name to the petition.
Now, Battle for the Net says, "victory [is] increasingly within reach."
According to its tally, there are now 177 votes in support of net neutrality in the House, making it 41 shy of the 218 votes needed to win in the chamber. If it passes the House, it then heads to President Donald Trump's desk.
As Timothy Karr, senior director of strategy for Free Press, recently wrote, Republicans should get behind the measure--"that is, if they care at all about their constituents' wishes." He noted:
Poll after poll after poll after poll shows large majorities of Republican voters in opposition to the FCC's repeal. Any Republican seeking re-election in the fall can't run from this polling data or from the people back home who demand real net neutrality.
"Any lawmaker who sides with the big ISPs that line their pockets with campaign contributions over the basic internet freedom of their constituents will learn the hard way," Greer added. "The math isn't complicated: voters overwhelmingly support net neutrality. We're going to make sure that every single voter knows if their representative sold them out. There's nowhere to hide."
Turning up the heat on representatives who have yet to indicate their support for a joint resolution to restore open internet protections repealed by Trump's FCC, net neutrality advocates on Monday launched a new tool to make sure the lawmakers know "the internet is keeping score."
The new "scorecard" lets constituents know not only whether their representative backs a petition to force a vote on a measure that would override the FCC's repeal, but also how much in campaign contributions they have received from big internet service providers (ISPs) and the number of small businesses in the district that have signed an open letter in support of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution. It also features a tool to quickly contact representatives.
"Some elected officials are still under the woefully incorrect impression that they can hide from their constituents when it comes to net neutrality, or attempt to fool them by supporting symbolic legislation instead of the CRA," said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future.
Fight for the Future is part of the trio, along with Demand Progress and Free Press Action Fund, that makes up the tenacious BattleForTheNet.com team, which plans on ramping up its efforts to restore net neutrality through Congress's August recess.
The groups scored a victory in May after the Senate passed Sen. Ed Markey's resolution to restore net neutrality. And then the focus centered on the House, where Republican Speaker Paul Ryan's refusal to bring the resolution to the floor has necessitated a petition to force a vote. A positive sign came just last week, however, when the first House Republican, Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado, added his name to the petition.
Now, Battle for the Net says, "victory [is] increasingly within reach."
According to its tally, there are now 177 votes in support of net neutrality in the House, making it 41 shy of the 218 votes needed to win in the chamber. If it passes the House, it then heads to President Donald Trump's desk.
As Timothy Karr, senior director of strategy for Free Press, recently wrote, Republicans should get behind the measure--"that is, if they care at all about their constituents' wishes." He noted:
Poll after poll after poll after poll shows large majorities of Republican voters in opposition to the FCC's repeal. Any Republican seeking re-election in the fall can't run from this polling data or from the people back home who demand real net neutrality.
"Any lawmaker who sides with the big ISPs that line their pockets with campaign contributions over the basic internet freedom of their constituents will learn the hard way," Greer added. "The math isn't complicated: voters overwhelmingly support net neutrality. We're going to make sure that every single voter knows if their representative sold them out. There's nowhere to hide."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.