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'Network Neutrality' As A Campaign Issue

Congress is far from reaching a decision on whether to legislate a guarantee of "network neutrality" for different types of Internet content, but some candidates already are taking a stand on the issue.

Blogger Matt Stoller of MyDD has been tracking candidate statements on the issue. His tally indicates that four Democrats -- Senate candidate Harris Miller of Virginia, and House candidates Paul Arohnson of New Jersey, David Harris of Texas, and Chris Owens of New York -- back the legislative push for net neutrality.

"I'm also hoping that we can find some primary challenges out of this as well," Stoller added in an e-mail interview. "Americans want to protect the freedom and openness of the Internet. That makes it a campaign issue."

Erick-Woods Erickson of RedState isn't convinced. He gave two reasons why net neutrality won't take root as a campaign issue.

"I don't think people understand the issue," he said. "The broadband providers and others confuse the issue with talk of a tiered network, something that I have no problem with and something that already exists. I also don't think high-speed Internet is as much a part of the culture of the average voter as it is for bloggers to really make a big difference to average voters."

Posted by Danny | 07:00 AM