The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

(Page 2 of 3)

Those companies had funneled through their lobbyists and consultants hundreds of thousands to dollars to groups like MoveOn to press Congress for the first real government regulation of the Internet.

Had MoveOn had its way, Google et al. would have had government regulations put in place that would have made it impossible for new competitors to compete against them online.

Like good little soldiers MoveOn and backers of "net neutrality" such as Matt Stoller of "My DD" made "net neutrality" a rallying cry for their followers and placed a political stake in the ground for Sens. Olympia Snowe, Barbara Boxer and John Kerry to grasp.

In the end, the Snowe-Dorgan "net neutrality" amendment lost in committee on an 11-11 vote, while the overall bill cleared it on a 15-7 vote. The marked-up bill included rules widely supported by the telecom and cable companies that gave consumers the right to an open Internet and the ability to file complaints with the FCC about network operator malfeasance online and to have those companies fined $500,000 per confirmed complaint.

Like just about every political fight MoveOn and its ilk have waged, they came up on the short end of the vote, once again raising questions inside the Democrat party and the liberal community whether the so-called "net roots" can muster the kind of broad-based support needed for a major political victory.

"You look at what MoveOn has done and you have to wonder. Claiming a victory like putting Howard Dean in charge of the party isn't going to take you very far," says a Washington lobbyist who has dealt with organized labor and MoveOn at times in the past three years. "They claim they got Barack Obama elected to the Senate, but Obama was going to be elected no matter what. Beyond him, who do they have to show for their efforts? They've had some close races, and maybe they can take credit for [Sen. Rick] Santorum if [Bob] Casey wins in Pennsylvania, but as organizations that can help get out a sustainable vote to win races and policy discussion in Congress, I'm not sold yet."

Part of the problem, say other Democratic consultants, is the elitist tone some MoveOn types take, while others just use hate and profanity to lash out at those they disagree with. "The language on their sites and the hate are just palpable," says another lobbyist. "We don't want to be associated with those types of people. That's the kind of language and talk that comes back to bite you during public debates, when you're asked whether that kind of talk and those views are representative of your own positions. Look, Cindy Sheehan is probably a nice person. I feel sorry for her, but no one who wants to win elective office wants to be publicly associated with her views. The same goes for a lot of these people on the far left."

That, and the fact that a number of these groups now appear to be working not only with longstanding Democrat supporters like organized labor, but also large corporations.

"To my way of thinking, there's just no way that groups like MoveOn should've been doing the bidding of Microsoft or Google," says another Democrat-leaning lobbyist. "By taking their money, they are turning a grassroots organization and making it an Astroturf organization with less and less credibility. This 'net neutrality' fight was just a bad thing to be getting involved in."

p> READY TO POUNCE br> With the end of the Supreme Court session, rumors continue to float through Washington that yet another judicial retirement is imminent. About two weeks ago, the rumors began to quietly percolate that one of two liberal judges was looking to exit. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is thought to be in weakened health and Justice John Paul Stevens

topics:
Barack Obama, Environment, Global Warming, Supreme Court, Energy