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Senate Will Force Vote On Overturning Net Neutrality Repeal (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) has mustered the 30 votes necessary to force a vote on the FCC's decision to repeal net neutrality. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) announced that she's signed onto Markey's request to overturn the new rules, under the Congressional Review Act -- which lets Congress nullify recently passed regulations with a simple majority. Markey announced his intention to file a resolution of disapproval in December, just after the FCC voted on new rules that killed net neutrality protections from 2015. These new rules were officially published last week, and with 30 sponsors, Markey can make the Senate vote on whether to consider overturning them. If this happens, it would lead to a debate and final vote. That's not remotely the end of the process: if it's approved, the resolution will go to the House, and if it passes there, the desk of Donald Trump, who seems unlikely to approve it.
The intent isn't to repeal it of course. It's too embarrass the republicans.
It's also to expose all the republicans who oppose it, so when the abuses start, and they will, the dems can target them with ads come election time.
go on record opposing Net Neutrality. So far when the issue's come up they've mostly said they support it while putting 3 folks in charge of the FCC who are against it at all costs. The Republicans have been able to kill NN without much political fallout. This aims to end all that. If it doesn't pass it means the Republican lead Congress opposes NN, despite what they've said. If it _does_ pass it means their party head, Donald Trump, personally killed NN.
Right now everybody's blaming Ajit Pai for the loss of NN. This aims to ship the blame where, I would argue, it rightfully belongs.
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This is dead folks.... Until the number of supporters allows a cloture vote to pass, this is dead. The Republicans, who currently control the Senate majority, cannot make things happen there, how would a democrat make it happen along partisan lines? This is dead, no way it manages cloture.
So getting it to the floor isn't going to make anything happen here. Why bother with this? Why to map out a campaign issue of course... Nothing more... It's like the House passing an Obamacare repeal 20+ times, full knowing the Senate wouldn't take it up and Obama wouldn't sign it, then when it actually would be passed and signed they wiffed it. It was for show, not for substance, just like this NN thing.
It's 2018.... Get ready for silliness in politics where weird things are done in an effort to get donations and get elected..
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And piss off your biggest donors? No, You want your constituents to believe you are working in their best interest without having to actually commit. Rattling a sabre at the FCC's new rules accomplishes this without getting any blood on their hands because they know the actual vote will fail. Then when the voters complain they just point out there just weren't enough votes.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
But really will it change anything in terms of votes?
It will make every politician take a stand one way or the other then answer for it down the road when they come up for reelection. I'm just hoping it's harder to buy off hundreds of senators and congresspeople than it was to buy off Mr. Pai.
Republicans are big on profit, and corporate freedoms. If enough Republicans don't know enough about Net Neutrality, they would likely swallow any propaganda against it as harming capitalism. Republicans are big into the religion of capitalism, and usually back the "free market" solution. Even when we know that solution doesn't work. Capitalism is meant to be a tool, not a guiding philosophy. And Net Neutrality is about protecting and maintaining critical infrastructure. Roads, phones, internet, our nation depends on these things nowadays.