NET NEUTRALITY and UDALL

I published a story in today's New Mexican about Congressman Tom Udall catching grief from Democrats as well as his Republican opponent over his vote last week on the telecommunications bill known as the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement (COPE) Act.

Here's what Democracy For New Mexico had to say about the vote:
CLICK HERE

Udall's GOP opponent Ron Dolin doesn't have his statement on this issue posted on his Web site yet. Some of his comments are included in my story.

A little background on the issue:

The COPE Act is opposed by a wide-reaching, diverse umbrella group called the Save the Internet Coalition, whose include groups like The American Civil Liberties Union, The Christian Coalition, Moveon.org, Common Cause, Parents Television Council, U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group), The American Library Association and Gun Owners of America.

According to the coalition’s Web site, net neutrality is “the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet.”

According to the coalition, companies like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner “want to tax content providers to guarantee speedy delivery of their data. They want to discriminate in favor of their own search engines, Internet phone services, and streaming video — while slowing down or blocking their competitors.”

This would be the end result of the COPE Act, the coalition says.

“These companies have a new vision for the Internet,” the Web site says. “Instead of an even playing field, they want to reserve express lanes for their own content and services — or those from big corporations that can afford the steep tolls — and leave the rest of us on a winding dirt road.”

Here's the House vote on the COPE Act: CLICK HERE

Here's the link to an OpenSecrets.org page on Udall's contributors: CLICK HERE