On Net Neutrality, Thune Can't Read the Writing on the Wall ... or in His Local Newspaper

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) that the average voter isn’t likely to be swayed by the fight to restore Net Neutrality protections. But when it comes to the wave of support for Net Neutrality, Chairman Thune is misreading the writing on the wall ... if he’s reading at all. The senator certainly hasn’t been listening to his constituents in South Dakota, who have joined others across the country to write dozens of letters to the editors of local newspapers urging elected officials to support Net Neutrality, or else. “Senators, have you polled us? Are you listening?” wrote Missy Slaathaug in an open letter to Chairman Thune published in the Argus Leader of Sioux Falls. “We want Net Neutrality. We do not want the regulations protecting Net Neutrality repealed.” Indeed. Polls show strong majorities of both Republican and Democratic voters oppose the FCC decision to repeal Net Neutrality. A poll from December 2017 found that more than 83 percent of voters favor keeping the rules, including 75 percent of Republicans, 89 percent of Democrats and 86 percent of independents. “Ending Net Neutrality will not benefit the citizens of South Dakota, but rather it will hurt them by letting corporations choose what can be accessed on the Internet,” wrote Seth Meyers Brandon in the Argus Leader. “Voting against Net Neutrality will directly hinder the freedom of speech over the Internet.” Slaathaug and Brandon aren’t alone.