The Obama appointees who could save net neutrality

[Commentary] When one of the country's most powerful appeals courts heard oral arguments on net neutrality in September, it looked as if the Federal Communications Commission's rule against Web traffic discrimination might be headed for the trash bin. But the successful confirmation of the first of three Obama nominees to the DC Circuit court improves the regulation's chances of survival.

With the Senate's recent rule change on filibusters, Patricia Millett has become the first judicial nominee to benefit from approval by simple majority. By the end of the year, the Senate could approve Obama's two remaining nominees to the court, Nina Pillard and Robert Wilkins. Altogether, the court would then have seven members appointed by Democratic administrations to the four that were appointed by Republican presidents (although the D.C. Circuit also has a handful of semi-retired judges appointed by Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush that can choose to rule from time to time).