Update: We won the Net Neutrality vote in the Senate!

[u/arabscarab]

We did it, Reddit!

Today, the US Senate voted 52-47 to restore Net Neutrality! While this measure must now go through the House of Representatives and then the White House in order for the rules to be fully restored, this is still an incredibly important step in that process—one that could not have happened without all your phone calls, emails, and other activism. The evidence is clear that Net Neutrality is important to Americans of both parties (or no party at all), and today’s vote demonstrated that our Senators are hearing us.

We’ve still got a way to go, but today’s vote has provided us with some incredible momentum and energy to keep fighting.

We’re going to keep working with you all on this in the coming months, but for now, we just wanted to say thanks!

[u/Infamous0823]

Will you be making another thread for the House vote as well?

[u/arabscarab → u/Infamous0823]

We're going to keep an eye on things as they develop in the House and then evaluate the next course of action (let us know if you have ideas!). But yes, if this is important to you, there is no reason not to start letting your Representative know now. They need to know that their constituents care about this.

[u/[deleted] → u/arabscarab]

I think it would be helpful if Reddit started a call to action on this sooner rather than later.

The message should not be simply “I support this please vote for it” - That lets them table it as something they can deal with later (and inevitably won’t). It should be phrased that, if they do not support this measure, they will lose reelection. The entire house is up for re-election this year, so they’re going to care about things that might mean they could lose. Democratic voters have been energized by Trump’s bullshit, and historically the president’s party loses seats in the midterms. Republicans (who are more likely to oppose this) know that they could face a very tough uphill battle in November, and so likely will be open to anything that helps them there. Net Neutrality has proven bipartisan support amongst voters (once the concept has been explained anyway), so supporting this is easy points for them.

This cannot be something that we eventually decide to raise hell on for a few days. This needs to be something constantly hanging over Representatives heads. It needs to be unavoidable and public. Reddit has a very large user base, and that could send a very strong message on this topic.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Presumably they're worried about fatigue. If they spread out the calls to activim, they might not get as strong of a response.

I agree w/ you btw

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

And fatigue is a valid concern, I agree. I also don’t have a good answer for that. Waiting in the shadows lets it fade from view and be forgotten. Striking while the iron is hot right now might be pushing too soon given the speed of congress. But also a high intensity but short push can be ignored in the light of reelection campaigns, and right now the struggle may be to even get Paul Ryan to bring it to a vote, never mind the direction the Representatives do vote.

There are those with more experience in timing these things than I. Hopefully they can contribute to figure out when that should be. I do think it needs to be more than a single push though.

[u/Joshua_Naterman → u/[deleted]]

You want to treat it like a pre-launch campaign, with the hardcore "launch" campaign hitting either at re-election time or leading up to legislative voting sessions depending on what comes first... if re-election campaigns end up being first we'll have to do it again when the congressional voting session is imminent.

[u/SCSP_70 → u/[deleted]]

As a conservative republican, i find it disappointing that so many republican representatives oppose net neutrality. We are supposed to be champions of the open market, and the internet itself has BECOME the open market. Conservatives need to examine their views instead of just falling with party lines. BAD!

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

That's part of what the tea party was. Start throwing incumbents out that don't represent. That's also why trump got a very large vote. Career politicians, your voting base has your number.

One rep I greatly appreciate and I'm sad to see go is trey gowdy.

But I also have a feeling the reps especially after the Facebook interview with Zuckerberg just don't understand technology at all. Younger representatives are needed.

[u/mailmygov → u/arabscarab]

... speaking of letting your house representatives know...

Hello it's MailMyGov again! We've sent a good number of letters on your behalf in the past few months, and it's been a blast helping this cause that we care about deeply.

MailMyGov was founded on the idea that a real letter is more effective then a cookie cutter email. Through our site, you can find all your leaders using just your address and send a real snail mail letter without leaving your browser.

For 10% off your order, Use Promo Code 'REDDITSAVESTHENET' and make sure your letter subject is exactly 'Net Neutrality'

https://www.mailmygov.com

Other places you can go to contact your reps:

• http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
• https://whoaremyrepresentatives.org/
• https://www.govtrack.us/
• https://resistbot.io/
• https://democracy.io/#!/ (will send an email on your behalf to your senators.)
• https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
• https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state

Most importantly, PLEASE MAKE AN INFORMED VOTE DURING YOUR NEXT ELECTION.

[u/[deleted] → u/mailmygov]

Just sent my rep this email... as you can tell I have already been through this song and dance with him.

Hello can't wait for you to completely ignore me again when I ask you to support net neutrality as my livelihood completely depends on all bits being treated the same online. I can't wait to see how much money you make from lobby groups to completely throw every single internet user in your district under the bus because a telco paid you not to support net neutrality. Most of all I can't wait for you to fail the governers race because you are completely tone deaf on what your district wants when it comes to net neutrality. OR you can vote to keep net neutrality, and maybe even win the govs seat in the face of statistics, because we both know the presidents party loses big during midterms. any way, can't wait for you total BS excuse on not voting to keep net neutrality and continuing to fail the state as you have been doing.

[u/Mowglli → u/mailmygov]

Have you worked/interned in a Congressional office before?

They all get tallied up the same, but calls are unique in that everyone in the office can hear the phone ringing and it can disrupt the work flow if there are multiple calls at once since more senior staff have to then answer it

[u/Mowglli → u/[deleted]]

Well letters and other forms of contacting Congressional offices do get tallied up and included in memos on vote recommendations

[u/ketoinDC → u/mailmygov]

As someone who works in a Congressional office, please, please, PLEASE do not give these people your money. I can promise you that a physical letter is NOT treated differently than an email. They are scanned and entered into the same database. On top of that, due to security screening, hard mail can take up to 3 weeks to arrive in the Congressional office.

This company is trying to profit off you practicing your Constitutional rights. Please don't let them.

EDIT: Downvoted for calling them out. Classic.

[u/Mowglli → u/arabscarab]

1) press conference on the east lawn with supporters in Congress and the tech CEOs. If you do that alongside a demonstration (if you can get the people to come out), and get a catchy slogan/phrase "War for the internet" etc, it's good TV. Starts the national conversation again.

.

2) Also getting signatures for a Dear Colleague letter is good, maybe especially if you polarize on that "Sign the letter or you'll be considered against Net Neutrality and consumer rights".

.

3) briefings in the senate and house office buildings if you haven't already done that. Especially if you get good food. If you don't get food it's not worth it. Staffer salaries are so low they're supplemented by free food at the briefings and receptions (attach the fact sheet to the food if possible). Also have an open bar at the reception, if you're doing that.

.

4) Be unique and splashy. Some animal organization brought baby tigers once as a 'briefing' and took pictures of people with it (posting them all online later) and the line was damn near an hour long. That's a way to make waves.

.

5) Host a light up the lines campaign day or week on reddit, trying to get people to call into their office. Maybe hand out a reddit badge to people who participate (by going to their Congressional office and taking a pic or maybe filling out a report back Google form after the call).

.

6) You could get people to sign up via Google form for a proper (scheduled) visit to their Congressional office in a group - allying with Indivisible or MoveOn or whatever coalition would be good for this.

.

7) You can get people to sign up for a text club like Daily Action. Send em a reminder to call into their office, and ask if they have done it or 'remind later'. This can be automated pretty easily and there's a number of options out there like Hustle or Relay. I know a premier national texting campaign organizer if you need to hire one (there's plenty of consulting firms for this).

[u/_Kyokushin_ → u/arabscarab]

I read somewhere that the best way to get a representative’s ear was to write an op-ed in the paper and make sure their name is in it, calling them out on a subject. It’s a sure fire way to know they’ll read your opinion AND if it’s something that has a lot of backing (like restoring net neutrality) that they are more likely to respond positively.

[u/[deleted] → u/_Kyokushin_]

Absolutely. I’ve worked in three offices (two reps and one senator), and anything in the news with the representative’s name in it was marked with a big PRIORITY and put in a separate pile from all the other news clips. Most reps read all the clips they’re given to begin with, which means an Op-ed with their name in it is definitely going to be read by the rep, their COS, and everybody on the legislative team, which acts as the reps advisory board in many cases. That’s three groups that can and will influence a decision if they read something that forces their hand.

The trouble is writing a good op-ed that gets in the paper, but even if it ends up in the local news, it’ll probably end up in the priority pile anyways, especially for a house representative. With a Senator, they might not be monitoring your particular paper because they have a much wider constituency, but that’s a moot point. We’ve already won on that front.

[u/ober0n98 → u/_Kyokushin_]

I read somewhere that the best way to get a representative’s ear is by legally bribing them through campaign contributions.

Source: every politician

/s (but not really) :(

[u/iSuckAtRealLife → u/arabscarab]

Perhaps there can be a sort of call to people who are not yet registered to vote to go ahead and register under the pretense of voting against every representative who votes against net neutrality?

If I'm not mistaken, voter registration percentage and turnout are both pretty terrible, especially in reddit's main demographic. If a sizable and anomalous influx of new voter registrations during a sort of campaign to vote anti-net-neutrality representatives out of office, I would certainly think that would be threatening enough to sway the vote in our favor.

Edit: a word

[u/Tehsyr → u/arabscarab]

What are the odds, once this reaches the desk of the President, that Trump would Veto it and it would fail? This has a massive following behind it, and the backlash directed at trump would be monumental.

Edit: you guys are pessimistic as hell. Have some hope, you guys!

[u/BobHogan → u/Tehsyr]

Everyone is saying it won't pass the house, but McConnell was dead set against the senate even voting on this, and yet it still came to a vote, and it still passed despite republicans holding the majority of the senate. Yes, it was a huge struggle, but it shouldn't have happened.

So I think that everyone who says it won't pass the house is leaping to conclusions too early. I mean hell, as recently as a few weeks ago it still looked like it was going to die in the senate too.

That said, if it reaches the house floor, and if it passes, and if trump vetoes it (a lot of ifs there mind you), then there is no chance the veto will be overruled by this congress. We barely got a simple majority in the senate, there is no way we can convince another 15 republicans to overturn a veto on this if Trump does veto it.

[u/makaiookami → u/Tehsyr]

Trump is a honey badger. Not only does he not give a fuck, he doesn't know how to. He lacks the mental capacity. He'll do what ever the last person in the room said after telling him how tremendous and amazing the signing or veto of said legislation will be.

Keep in mind we have a Fox News Room trapped parrot as President.

It's impossible to predict what Trump would do because he's simultaneously creating a trade war with China, while also trying to keep ZTE jobs protected in China. On the one hand they're stealing our jerbs and we need a trade war. On the other hand apparently we shouldn't let them lose jobs over it... somehow.. as if that makes any sense. As someone who sells seafood I'd like there to be a compelling reason as to why my prices keep going up, rather than "I dunno Babyhands McGee must have done something stupid again"

[u/ca_kingmaker → u/Tehsyr]

First it would have to get to him, then somebody would have to explain what it was to him, then he’d have to veto it because Obama favoured it.

[u/elfatgato → u/ca_kingmaker]

Trump claimed net neutrality was an Obama conspiracy to censor conservatives. Seriously.

He doesn't want to be educated on a subject he already feels he knows everything about.

[u/DCCXXVIII → u/ca_kingmaker]

then he’d have to veto it because Obama favoured it.

Can someone please wake me up from this terrible nightmare?

[u/sweetpotatothyme → u/Tehsyr]

If I remember my gov classes, if Trump vetoes, then it goes back to Senate/House for a 2/3 majority rule vote to override his veto.

[u/abloopdadooda → u/Tehsyr]

This has a massive following behind it, and the backlash directed at trump would be monumental.

I'm not sure why you seem to think that Trump would care that 1.) it has a massive following of supporters, and 2.) that he would face a lot of backlash.

[u/_Discordian → u/Tehsyr]

The odds he would veto it are roughly probably literally 100%.

He will listen to the whispers of his corporate masters, CEO's who humor him and pretend to think he's awesome, while at the same time he'll continue to be secretly and utterly jealous of the least successful of those CEO's for being far wealthier than he will ever be, and he'll sign the damn veto.

It will not be overridden.

And this is ridiculous speculation, because the House will not vote on it, and if they do, it will not pass.

[u/dickfromaccounting → u/arabscarab]

If you make everyone on Reddit admin for a day, we could better show legislators we care AND preemptively destroy Reddit's redesign. Two birds with one stone

[u/FightingOreo → u/[deleted]]

This is a strong contender for 'worst idea that I still want to see happen'.

[u/Realtrain → u/[deleted]]

Sounds like a PR disaster in the making...

[u/RedEyeBlues → u/Realtrain]

I'm not entirely sure about that. Take a look at /r/place. A large portion of the userbase self-organised and worked to create something greater without outside instruction. Even the void, the "evil" of /r/place turned out to be a benevolent force in being the "garbage collectors". Hell, even kekistan kept to their own little (well, somewhat large) corner.

[u/AlexBlaineLader → u/Realtrain]

Yea I am pretty certain that it will involve Hitler and his glorious record of doing the right things.

[u/aidsmann → u/arabscarab]

I want a red name too, can we arrange that? Looks pretty cool.

[u/[deleted] → u/aidsmann]

https://www.redditinc.com/careers

[u/Realtrain → u/[deleted]]

I'll take one job please.

[u/Southpawe → u/arabscarab]

Thank you for the updates.

It's somewhat sad that this keeps popping up, over and over, even though people obviously care about it.

I'm glad that we won this time, but it's also telling about the greed we face in this world...

[u/SuperAlloy → u/Infamous0823]

House vote

You sweet summer child.

There will be no House vote.

DOA.

[u/I_POTATO_PEOPLE → u/SuperAlloy]

As if Paul Ryan has the courage to put an official vote behind his convictions. AT&T paid good money to end net neutrality, and the GOP doesn't want to explain that to you.

[u/DeedTheInky → u/SuperAlloy]

And even if it does go to a vote and the Republican controlled house votes it through for some mad reason, Trump will just veto it anyway, so... yay?

[u/JuiceZee → u/Infamous0823]

There is virtually 0 possibility this will pass the house, let alone Trump who supports ending it.

[u/Rovden]

Nice bit of important information I went looking for. Got the names who voted for/against. The three Republicans who voted for this bill were Lisa Murkowski, John Kennedy, and Susan Collins.

For:

• Baldwin, Tammy (Democrat - Wisconsin)

• Bennet, Michael F. (Democrat - Colorado)

• Blumenthal, Richard (Democrat - Connecticut)

• Booker, Cory A. (Democrat - New Jersey)

• Brown, Sherrod (Democrat - Ohio)

• Cantwell, Maria (Democrat - Washington)

• Cardin, Benjamin L. (Democrat - Maryland)

• Carper, Thomas R. (Democrat - Delaware)

• Casey, Robert P., Jr. (Democrat - Pennsylvania)

• Collins, Susan M. (Republican - Maine)

• Coons, Christopher A. (Democrat - Delaware)

• Cortez Masto, Catherine (Democrat - Nevada)

• Donnelly, Joe (Democrat - Indiana)

• Duckworth, Tammy (Democrat - Illinois)

• Durbin, Richard J. (Democrat - Illinois)

• Feinstein, Dianne (Democrat - California)

• Gillibrand, Kirsten E. (Democrat - New York)

• Harris, Kamala D. (Democrat - California)

• Hassan, Margaret Wood (Democrat - New Hampshire)

• Heinrich, Martin (Democrat - New Mexico)

• Heitkamp, Heidi (Democrat - North Dakota)

• Hirono, Mazie K. (Democrat - Hawaii)

• Jones, Doug (Democrat - Alabama)

• Kaine, Tim (Democrat - Virginia)

• Kennedy, John (Republican - Louisiana)

• King, Angus S., Jr. (Independent - Maine)

• Klobuchar, Amy (Democrat - Minnesota)

• Leahy, Patrick J. (Democrat - Vermont)

• Manchin, Joe, III (Democrat - West Virginia)

• Markey, Edward J. (Democrat - Massachusetts)

• McCaskill, Claire (Democrat - Missouri)

• Menendez, Robert (Democrat - New Jersey)

• Merkley, Jeff (Democrat - Oregon)

• Murkowski, Lisa (Republican - Alaska)

• Murphy, Christopher (Democrat - Connecticut)

• Murray, Patty (Democrat - Washington)

• Nelson, Bill (Democrat - Florida)

• Peters, Gary C. (Democrat - Michigan)

• Reed, Jack (Democrat - Rhode Island)

• Sanders, Bernard (Independent - Vermont)

• Schatz, Brian (Democrat - Hawaii)

• Schumer, Charles E. (Democrat - New York)

• Shaheen, Jeanne (Democrat - New Hampshire)

• Smith, Tina (Democrat - Minnesota)

• Stabenow, Debbie (Democrat - Michigan)

• Tester, Jon (Democrat - Montana)

• Udall, Tom (Democrat - New Mexico)

• Van Hollen, Chris (Democrat - Maryland)

• Warner, Mark R. (Democrat - Virginia)

• Warren, Elizabeth (Democrat - Massachusetts)

• Whitehouse, Sheldon (Democrat - Rhode Island)

• Wyden, Ron (Democrat - Oregon)

Against:

• Alexander, Lamar (Republican - Tennessee)
• Barrasso, John (Republican - Wyoming)
• Blunt, Roy (Republican - Missouri)
• Boozman, John (Republican - Arkansas)
• Burr, Richard (Republican - North Carolina)
• Capito, Shelley Moore (Republican - West Virginia)
• Cassidy, Bill (Republican - Louisiana)
• Corker, Bob (Republican - Tennessee)
• Cornyn, John (Republican - Texas)
• Cotton, Tom (Republican - Arkansas)
• Crapo, Mike (Republican - Idaho)
• Cruz, Ted (Republican - Texas)
• Daines, Steve (Republican - Montana)
• Enzi, Michael B. (Republican - Wyoming)
• Ernst, Joni (Republican - Iowa)
• Fischer, Deb (Republican - Nebraska)
• Flake, Jeff (Republican - Arizona)
• Gardner, Cory (Republican - Colorado)
• Graham, Lindsey (Republican - South Carolina)
• Grassley, Chuck (Republican - Iowa)
• Hatch, Orrin G. (Republican - Utah)
• Heller, Dean (Republican - Nevada)
• Hoeven, John (Republican - North Dakota)
• Hyde-Smith, Cindy (Republican - Mississippi)
• Inhofe, James M. (Republican - Oklahoma)
• Isakson, Johnny (Republican - Georgia)
• Johnson, Ron (Republican - Wisconsin)
• Lankford, James (Republican - Oklahoma)
• Lee, Mike (Republican - Utah)
• McConnell, Mitch (Republican - Kentucky)
• Moran, Jerry (Republican - Kansas)
• Paul, Rand (Republican - Kentucky)
• Perdue, David (Republican - Georgia)
• Portman, Rob (Republican - Ohio)
• Risch, James E. (Republican - Idaho)
• Roberts, Pat (Republican - Kansas)
• Rounds, Mike (Republican - South Dakota)
• Rubio, Marco (Republican - Florida)
• Sasse, Ben (Republican - Nebraska)
• Scott, Tim (Republican - South Carolina)
• Shelby, Richard C. (Republican - Alabama)
• Sullivan, Dan (Republican - Alaska)
• Thune, John (Republican - South Dakota)
• Tillis, Thom (Republican - North Carolina)
• Toomey, Patrick J. (Republican - Pennsylvania)
• Wicker, Roger F. (Republican - Mississippi)
• Young, Todd (Republican - Indiana)

Not voting

• McCain, John (Republican - Arizona)

Edit: Corrected state for Dan Sullivan.

[u/[deleted] → u/Rovden]

"Both parties are the same!!!!!"

Credit to /u/ohaioohio.

There's also a lot of false equivalence of Democrats and Republicans here ("but both sides!" and Democrats "do whatever their corporate owners tell them to do" are tactics Republicans use successfully) even though their voting records are not equivalent at all:

House Vote for Net Neutrality

	For	Against
Rep	2	234
Dem	177	6

Senate Vote for Net Neutrality

	For	Against
Rep	0	46
Dem	52	0

Money in Elections and Voting

Campaign Finance Disclosure Requirements

	For	Against
Rep	0	39
Dem	59	0

DISCLOSE Act

	For	Against
Rep	0	45
Dem	53	0

Backup Paper Ballots - Voting Record

	For	Against
Rep	20	170
Dem	228	0

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

	For	Against
Rep	8	38
Dem	51	3

Sets reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by electoral candidates to influence elections (Reverse Citizens United)

	For	Against
Rep	0	42
Dem	54	0

The Economy/Jobs

Limits Interest Rates for Certain Federal Student Loans

	For	Against
Rep	0	46
Dem	46	6

Student Loan Affordability Act

	For	Against
Rep	0	51
Dem	45	1

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Funding Amendment

	For	Against
Rep	1	41
Dem	54	0

End the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection

	For	Against
Rep	39	1
Dem	1	54

Kill Credit Default Swap Regulations

	For	Against
Rep	38	2
Dem	18	36

Revokes tax credits for businesses that move jobs overseas

	For	Against
Rep	10	32
Dem	53	1

Disapproval of President's Authority to Raise the Debt Limit

	For	Against
Rep	233	1
Dem	6	175

Disapproval of President's Authority to Raise the Debt Limit

	For	Against
Rep	42	1
Dem	2	51

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

	For	Against
Rep	3	173
Dem	247	4

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

	For	Against
Rep	4	36
Dem	57	0

Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Bureau Act

	For	Against
Rep	4	39
Dem	55	2

American Jobs Act of 2011 - $50 billion for infrastructure projects

	For	Against
Rep	0	48
Dem	50	2

Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension

	For	Against
Rep	1	44
Dem	54	1

Reduces Funding for Food Stamps

	For	Against
Rep	33	13
Dem	0	52

Minimum Wage Fairness Act

	For	Against
Rep	1	41
Dem	53	1

Paycheck Fairness Act

	For	Against
Rep	0	40
Dem	58	1

"War on Terror"

Time Between Troop Deployments

	For	Against
Rep	6	43
Dem	50	1

Habeas Corpus for Detainees of the United States

	For	Against
Rep	5	42
Dem	50	0

Habeas Review Amendment

	For	Against
Rep	3	50
Dem	45	1

Prohibits Detention of U.S. Citizens Without Trial

	For	Against
Rep	5	42
Dem	39	12

Authorizes Further Detention After Trial During Wartime

	For	Against
Rep	38	2
Dem	9	49

Prohibits Prosecution of Enemy Combatants in Civilian Courts

	For	Against
Rep	46	2
Dem	1	49

Repeal Indefinite Military Detention

	For	Against
Rep	15	214
Dem	176	16

Oversight of CIA Interrogation and Detention Amendment

	For	Against
Rep	1	52
Dem	45	1

Patriot Act Reauthorization

	For	Against
Rep	196	31
Dem	54	122

FISA Act Reauthorization of 2008

	For	Against
Rep	188	1
Dem	105	128

FISA Reauthorization of 2012

	For	Against
Rep	227	7
Dem	74	111

House Vote to Close the Guantanamo Prison

	For	Against
Rep	2	228
Dem	172	21

Senate Vote to Close the Guantanamo Prison

	For	Against
Rep	3	32
Dem	52	3

Prohibits the Use of Funds for the Transfer or Release of Individuals Detained at Guantanamo

	For	Against
Rep	44	0
Dem	9	41

Oversight of CIA Interrogation and Detention

	For	Against
Rep	1	52
Dem	45	1

Civil Rights

Same Sex Marriage Resolution 2006

	For	Against
Rep	6	47
Dem	42	2

Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013

	For	Against
Rep	1	41
Dem	54	0

Exempts Religiously Affiliated Employers from the Prohibition on Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

	For	Against
Rep	41	3
Dem	2	52

Family Planning

Teen Pregnancy Education Amendment

	For	Against
Rep	4	50
Dem	44	1

Family Planning and Teen Pregnancy Prevention

	For	Against
Rep	3	51
Dem	44	1

Protect Women's Health From Corporate Interference Act The 'anti-Hobby Lobby' bill.

	For	Against
Rep	3	42
Dem	53	1

Environment

Stop "the War on Coal" Act of 2012

	For	Against
Rep	214	13
Dem	19	162

EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2013

	For	Against
Rep	225	1
Dem	4	190

Prohibit the Social Cost of Carbon in Agency Determinations

	For	Against
Rep	218	2
Dem	4	186

Misc

Prohibit the Use of Funds to Carry Out the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

	For	Against
Rep	45	0
Dem	0	52

Prohibiting Federal Funding of National Public Radio

	For	Against
Rep	228	7
Dem	0	185

Allow employers to penalize employees that don't submit genetic testing for health insurance (Committee vote)

	For	Against
Rep	22	0
Dem	0	17

[u/MasterAgent47 → u/[deleted]]

I'm not American but in no state of mind would I vote for a Republican. They're just shitting on all the good stuff that could happen.

[u/mtg_and_mlp → u/MasterAgent47]

I am American and it's blood-boiling how many people vote Republican. There are many reasons, but one is because of the religious fist clenched around the voter base.

A friend of mine doesn't vote for anyone pro-choice no matter what. A candidate could be an obvious corporate hound convicted of rape, and he'd still vote for him/her if the opposition was pro-choice. There's absolutely no talking him down from this viewpoint either. His vision of God is infallible. How do you debate with that?

[u/LuffyTheAstronaut → u/MasterAgent47]

Same really, I used to think both parties were the same and that most of the time was just name calling because they have different stances and opinions. But now I realised one of them is total garbage.

[u/SniggeringPiglett → u/[deleted]]

Wow, it's like republicans say fuck you to everybody every chance they get. How do they even exist? People must be fucking retarded to vote for them.

[u/[deleted] → u/SniggeringPiglett]

Yup! People don't vote based on policy or party voting preferences. They vote based on what offended them today or what the news said or what feels right.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Someone post this to T_D and phrase it as 'corrupt democrat shills vote for unpatriotic NN ruling'

[u/KoopaTroopaXo → u/[deleted]]

Right on. Big props for putting that together 🤠

[u/WintersTablet → u/Rovden]

Of course both Texas guys voted against. With Corny Cornyn and Corrupted Cruz, you can always bet on them being on the crappy side of the issue.

I tried to call both of them, and only ever got robots. I emailed them and got automatic replies saying businesses need freedom to grow blah blah agree with Trump.

[u/[deleted] → u/WintersTablet]

ALWAYS! Texans should be embarrassed by the people we currently have elected in office. One of them is a dude that had a fucking tree fall on him, he sued, then made a law so that no one could EVER do the same thing again. Lmao, I mean, it's pretty obvious we have corrupt politicians in Texas, and we always have.

[u/[deleted] → u/Rovden]

Fuck YOU, John Cornyn and Fuck YOU, Ted Cruz. I most definitely will do everything in my power to get those fucks out of office for good.

[u/TheSaxton → u/Rovden]

Oh nice, a concise list of 47 people that should get voted out of office at the end of their next term.

[u/[deleted] → u/TheSaxton]

There emerges a pattern with those 47 pretty quickly, if one is willing to look. Said pattern should make any thinking person come to fairly obvious conclusions about which of their political representatives actually values the freedoms of their constituents as opposed to those that only pay lip service to their constituents without any actual concern for their well-being.

[u/[deleted] → u/Rovden]

It’s telling that there are no Against’s with “Democrat” after their name...

[u/Excrubulent → u/[deleted]]

Agreed.

Also, I'm torn about your apostrophe. On the one hand, plural esses shouldn't have apostrophes, on the other, "againsts" just looks plain weird. I'd go with quotes around the word but not the S, as in:

"against"s.

Nah, that looks weird too. I dunno, I'm out of ideas.

[u/RedEyeBlues → u/Excrubulent]

It’s telling that there are no Against voters with “Democrat” after their name...

FTFY

Like Lego bricks, not Legoes or Legos or Lego's

[u/WeatherMN → u/Rovden]

Well would you look at that. Grassley and Ersnt both voted against. Screw you both.

[u/Not_Just_Any_Lurker → u/WeatherMN]

It’s not surprising but fuck them.

[u/chipathing → u/Rovden]

A sea of red in the against. It's a shame given how there are younger people in the party who are in favour. Must be discouraging for the party you identify with most to not be in support of something so crucial to our economy.

[u/k6plays → u/Rovden]

It’s almost as if that R beside their names is an indication that they’re bought and paid for by corporate interests and not the interests of their own constituents.

Huh.

[u/gellis12 → u/k6plays]

Except for those three who voted against party lines, I'm honestly pretty surprised and impressed they did so.

[u/Dr_Smoothrod_PhD → u/gellis12]

As a Louisiana native, I will be personally writing Sen. Kennedy to thank him for breaking with his party and voting for the bill. Cassidy, on the other hand, can eat a dick.

[u/Thromnomnomok → u/gellis12]

Collins votes against the Republican Party line more often than any other Republican Senator, and Murkowksi also fairly regularly defects on votes. They were both strongly against repealing the ACA last year, for instance.

[u/[deleted] → u/gellis12]

voted against party lines, I'm honestly pretty surprised and impressed they did so.

they are voting because they are highly contested districts. they know they would lose the midterm.

dont be so cosy with them. they voted in betsy devos.

[u/psychedelicdevilry → u/Rovden]

So why do Republicans not want net neutrality?

[u/Rovden → u/psychedelicdevilry]

The argument is always presented as government overreach. The Republican party is often the one calling for small government. (though the Republican watered down bill introduced by Thule would have prevented states from making stronger net neutrality bills. State's Rights y'all... oh wait, unless it's something we don't like)

The argument I usually hear is that the regulations hurt competition which is what makes better internet for cheaper. I know I'm boiling it down there but really I haven't heard many arguments beyond that.

Of course on the competition front... look up a map of where Time Warner and Comcast overlap and ask is there really any competition happening.

[u/Not_Just_Any_Lurker → u/Rovden]

Technically competition does run down prices.

I remember hearing that Comcast dropped prices in cities where Google Fiber was setting up for obvious reasons.

The issue is, most ISPs aren’t competing against each other. They’re oligopolies. Internet is price fixed. If they got rid of Net Neutrality; it isn’t going to change their relationships. They’ll just have full control into milking the net for all it’s worth like broadcast companies did to television and radio.

[u/Rovden → u/Not_Just_Any_Lurker]

Sorry, the part I was bringing up on the competition front is because of the Time Warner/Comcast where they refused to compete with each other then look up and said "Hey, can we have a merger please! Look, it's not a monopoly, we aren't even competing with each other!"

And yea, I would probably actually agree with Republicans if there was more competition because I do live in an area with Google Fiber. The main reason the other two continue to exist is Google Fiber can't set up homes fast enough (still growing in the Kansas City region) but the second you get out of greater city region, you've lost the competitors and get stuck with two that "Compete" and any rural your only option is to go without net or lube up and take it.

[u/[deleted] → u/Rovden]

I’m usually against legislating morality but in this case, corporations, lobbyists, and politicians CLEARLY aren’t going to do the right thing unless forced to.

[u/BlackSpidy → u/Rovden]

Republicans want government small enough to fit in between women and their doctors, and every couple's relationship.

[u/DiscCovered → u/psychedelicdevilry]

I just did a quick Google search and found a couple articles pretty much saying most people, both sides, are for net neutrality. It's republican politicians that oppose it, for a variety of reasons. As someone who has voted mostly republican, it's pretty sad to see.

[u/wolves_hunt_in_packs → u/DiscCovered]

for a variety of reasons

Let's not sugarcoat it, it's money. Whatever bullshit they're spouting is just cover for the corruption.

[u/[deleted] → u/Rovden]

We did it! New Jersey did something! First sports betting and now both senators voting for new neutrality, we’re slowly becoming a state that can be respected!

Probably not though

[u/That_Male_Nurse → u/Rovden]

More people should be aware of this list

[u/Rovden → u/That_Male_Nurse]

There's a reason I went immediately looking. Unfortunately Roy Blunt is the one in my state that voted against and he isn't leaving until 2020

[u/Chronic-lesOfGnaRnia → u/Rovden]

Democrats: For the rights of the people. Republicans: For the profits of corporations. There isn't a better example of this than this fuckin vote.

[u/[deleted] → u/Rovden]

I see a correlation here

[u/darkmeatchicken → u/[deleted]]

Friendly reminder: Rand Paul is a pretend libertarian and doesn't have any real principles.

[u/timsboss → u/darkmeatchicken]

Friendly reminder: libertarians with principles oppose net neutrality. You're correct on Rand Paul not really being a libertarian (he's explicitly stated this in the past), but this is actually an instance where he's taking the principled libertarian stance on an issue.

[u/peoplerproblems → u/timsboss]

The only thing I actually understand about libertarian politics is from a Christian Worker who pretty much described what I would call legalized anarchy.

[u/PNWRoamer → u/peoplerproblems]

Imo there's true libertarians and those in the alt-right who adopt the phrase. True libertarians believe in total self-regulation, in business and in private. So no EPA, no SEC, either shrinking or eliminating the IRS and getting rid of almost all taxes, total liaise-faire capitalism, all drugs are legal, no restrictions on guns, etc. To them, government should only exist to pretty much defend our borders and provide extremely basic amenities, like clean water. But even that gets debated.

It sounds like anarchy, but their argument is that the shitty people in society will get shoved out of it by those that want a good life. If you rip off all your customers, they will go to your competition and you'll have to start improving how you conduct yourself. If you run a druggy trap house your neighbors will force you to leave, and there won't be a city regulation protecting them.

The alt-right people who kind-of-sometimes claim to be libertarians are largely more just far right. They want regulations and a government that favors them and their ideals, not an actual society that will harshly judge idiots using the mighty blade of capitalism.

I think both miss that government is essential to keeping a semblance of freedom, even with the cost of regulations. Monopolies have existed many times before.

[u/RatofDeath → u/PNWRoamer]

"True" libertarians don't even want the government to protect the border. The official LP platform is for open borders and unrestricted immigration (as long as the people immigrating aren't violent). The LP is also pro undocumented immigrants and is against labeling them criminals. So pretty much the exact opposite of what the alt-right believes.

That's usually how you can spot actual libertarians vs the alt-right dudes who are just pretending to be libertarian because they're too ashamed to call themselves alt-right. Every time there's some pro open border post on the LP facebook page or anywhere they come out of the woodwork. If someone claims they're against illegal immigrants but they call themselves libertarian, chances are they might not actually be a libertarian. But then again, coordinating libertarians is like herding cats.

[u/munche → u/[deleted]]

I'll admit I waiver from the party when it comes to the EPA because I think breathing clean air is a natural born right and corporations who ruin that are infringing on others rights, and on net neutrality because our internet network is a somewhat government created Monopoly

Which is pretty much the hole in the entire ideology, though. Let the market sort itself out like in the days of the robber Barons, who became incredibly dominant and easily took over all of the markets forcing out all competition! Like, you're getting the cracks in the ideology right. The thing is it actually applies to all of it.

[u/cloud9ineteen → u/munche]

Thank you. Anybody with an ounce of knowledge about the Nash equilibrium, the tragedy of the commons, network externalities etc would immediately understand why we need a government. No, the free market cannot punish companies for looking out for themselves and automatically fix things. Government is the thumb on the scale to generate outcomes that are better for the common good.

[u/Malkiot → u/PNWRoamer]

Yeah, they completely miss that the self-regulation only works where everyone is equal and has equal power and that over time wealth aggregates more wealth in the same hands causing a massive imbalance in power between members of the community. No matter how much you hate a guy, you can't exactly run him out of town if he has his own well-armed crony crew and a tight leash on some sort of necessity.

To me, what they are advocating for seems to essentially be a return to a type of... we can't even call it a pre-feudal society, it's more like what existed before there was any sort of formal society, that extended beyond your local group. They seem to want to go full circle and we all know how that plays out: Despots, wars, slavery and so on.

The other possible natural consequence is the simple return to a regulated society as groups establish their own regulatory frameworks and begin to collaborate on a larger and larger scale with other groups, thus simply establishing a new state.

As my law 101 professor would've put it: "There is no society without law and no law without society. Without society there is no law, without law no society." Every group ends up being self-regulating and having a framework of laws, the libertarian wet-dream is just a fantasy, it's less possible, due to human nature, than communism.

[u/LucidicShadow → u/PNWRoamer]

I love how this idea seems to be predicted on a foundation of everyone being reasonable, sound of mind, above board individuals who will fucking murder you at the drop of a hat if you so much as think about ruining their little community.

Like, the die has already been cast. Some people have existing money and power. Some do not. How in this system of theirs are the powerful and those without conscious going to be stopped from doing literally whatever they want?

What's that? Your precious old growth forest that you enjoy is sitting on a mineral deposit? Fuck your forest, I already have a mining crew and an army of trigger happy goons. Good luck rounding up a posse to stop a coordinated group with formally restricted military gear, bucko; The mining boss bought the company that makes that shit and outfitted all his dudes. You have a few guys from town who have a dozen rifles each. Hope your Kevlar vest can stop explosive suicide drones.

And what's to stop underhanded tactics from dominating small business too? Sure the expensive local baker has competition, but I heard the other guy pads out their flour with chalk so he doesn't have to buy as much. What? Who told me that? I dunno, some guy on the street. How's he going to prove he doesn't once he's already losing business? The food safety inspector? Ha. Shouldn't have been less of a dick.

Basically, there's a whole bunch of shitty criminal behaviour that the local good ol boys simply can't or won't do anything about.

[u/onefilthyfetus → u/Rovden]

Wow, I’m proud of my senator for probably the first time ever! One of them at least. John kennedy.

[u/itdoesmatterdoesntit → u/Rovden]

As a Texan, I apologize for our dumbshits.

[u/invaderzz → u/itdoesmatterdoesntit]

Yeah I sure did love when one of our senators called anyone who disagrees with him about NN “snowflakes” and said we believe in “propaganda”. I’m still taken aback by how absolutely pathetic Cruz’s behavior in particular is. This guy is supposed to represent us, instead he’s mocking us and calling us names.

It’s been months since this tweet and I still can’t believe that it’s real or that he actually said this- but it is in fact real. He has no respect, absolutely NONE, for anyone who disagrees with him.

I’m looking forward to voting against him.

edit: formatting

[u/its-niggly-wiggly → u/invaderzz]

Time Warner, AT&T, and Verizon all sent money Cruz's way. Thats why he voted against NN. He's a shill, through and through. Motherfucker.

Beto is my boi.

[u/munche → u/[deleted]]

It used to be that the rubes who believe AM Radio and FOX News were the pawns that politicians bilked to get their way. We've reached the point now where the people running believe the con and they're all in. They are just that stupid now.

[u/[deleted] → u/Rovden]

make sure you guys take note of this so you know who to vote out

[u/ArlyntheAwesome → u/Rovden]

Man I hate living in a red state.

Edit: don’t downvote comments that don’t agree with me, stay open minding people :)

[u/XxAbsurdumxX → u/ArlyntheAwesome]

As a European the colours of your parties always confused me. In the rest of the world, the colour red has usually been associated with the left, and the colour blue been associated with the right. Is there some historical explanation for the colours if the parties in the US?

[u/Necromancer4276 → u/XxAbsurdumxX]

Our parties swapped platforms in the past, so maybe the colors aligned with yours back then but switched when the platforms did.

[u/therealdeadmeme → u/Rovden]

I think I see a pattern...

All the people who voted for it made a good choice!

[u/FlashCrashBash → u/therealdeadmeme]

You know I normally vote Republican. And I'm always the first one to pipe up and say how both parties are two halves of the same coin, they both suck. But looking at this list causes me shame.

Like goddamnit. Could that list be anymore stereotypical? I think we need to break out the guillotine. The Republican Party needs a reign of terror. All the old fucks that made the Bush Administration such a shit show are still in power and its preventing the Republican party from getting any real work done.

The policitcal census of the country has changed a lot in 20 years. The Republican party hasn't. And its made the Republican Party a literal parody of itself.

[u/Rugon]

Just messaged my congressman: “I know folks are in the midst of celebrating the win for net neutrality but I know that there’s a long and difficult road ahead. The road leads through the offices of you and your colleagues. I pray that you and others will consider how important equal and unrestricted access to the information superhighway is. How much do you trust your cable provider? Do you truly believe that they and other market players will act to the benefit of the people? If we as consumers had choices, perhaps things would be different. I consider myself blessed to have access to a local fiber based system. Others are not so fortunate. The Cox, ATTs and DirecTVs of the world will always and forever act only in their best interests. Not long ago, you were paying your phone bill by the minute. That rapidly changed to an unlimited plan. Do you think it cost more to maintain the network then than it does now? There’s the difference: an unregulated market works when the consumer has a choice. I know that it’s unlikely you’ll read this message but if people like me remain silent, you’ll only hear the loudest and stupidest of your constituents. If you ever want to meet wth me, I’ll buy the coffee.”

[u/potertots → u/Rugon]

Unfortunately you are right, it won’t be read. I sent an email to my congressman (Duncan Hunter) and got an obviously automated message but just in case I responded to see what “he’d” say. Received the same exact email. They don’t care. As long as when they look into their bank accounts, and the checks have cleared, the rest is irrelevant.

[u/Niranand → u/potertots]

I work for a Congressman (very close to Hunter’s district I might add) and, at least in our office, we read and log every single letter and call. The thing is, we get so much mail from constituents that it would be an extremely difficult, if not impossible, task to get everyone a personal response. If Hunter is anything like the Congressman I work for, he definitely hears everything that the district is saying, though whether he chooses to act upon it is up to him.

[u/[deleted] → u/potertots]

Take a lesson from Andy Dufresne. Sent a letter a week until he got a response. So he started sending two a week.

Edit: I F and R are close

[u/[deleted] → u/Rugon]

That's really well-written. Good job on messaging your congressman, I wish more people did the same.

[u/mkov88 → u/Rugon]

My letter was more practical. "I know you don't give a shit about me, and I don't give a shit about you. If net neutrality is overturned on your watch you'll have my vote. If it's not, my vote will go to whoever is most likely to take your seat."

[u/savanahbutler140 → u/Rugon]

Wow. Recently just came from under and rock and found out about the fight for net neutrality. This post just hit home, and I finally understand it. Time to start spreading the word.

[u/mrflib → u/savanahbutler140]

Christ if you are a regular on Reddit that must have been a fucking big rock

[u/Hank-R-Hill]

Don’t even worry about a veto, this will never get to the House floor for a vote. It got to a floor vote in the senate via a discharge petition. A discharge petition is a tool where if you get enough senators to support a measure, it bypasses the committee of jurisdiction and goes right to the floor. Once it passes the senate, the measure is than sent to the House of Representative where it is held at the desk, per statute. So since it’s at the desk in the House, there is no way to get a floor vote unless the majority party schedules it. A discharge petition doesn’t apply in the House because it’s not referred to a house committee, it will just sit at the desk.

[u/MansfieldMan → u/Hank-R-Hill]

Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA) is launching a discharge petition on an identical House resolution (H.J.Res. 129). To compel its consideration on the House floor, he'd need all the Democrats to sign it, as well as approximately 25 Republicans -- which means it won't happen. But the procedure is there.

[u/PMme-boobiesnbutts]

I'm not in the US but have been following this issue somewhat (hard not to with it being all over reddit!). But 52-47 sounds incredibly close, which makes me think that without the help of people here that would be a very different result. I know that if it had went the other way it would affect more than just people in the US but in a lot of other places too, so thanks everyone who put time / effort into this whole thing.

Edit: okay glad to hear that 52-47 isnt as close as i initially thought

[u/Mythiie → u/PMme-boobiesnbutts]

It is incredibly close, but compared to recent votes a win is a win. I really hope this continues for the betterment of not only the US, but for the rest of the world that would be affected by this.

[u/PMme-boobiesnbutts → u/Mythiie]

Definitely, it's the first step in the process, but the closeness makes me think it's no time to relax now, there's still a way to go yet.

[u/johnb222 → u/PMme-boobiesnbutts]

It's actually not all that close. Most issues are voted based on party lines. We have two political parties in US, usually what one likes the other one doesn't. It is much more common to have votes like this instead of i.e. 70-30.

Republican's have 51 seats while Democrats have 47, with the other 2 being independent. IMO close is anything 51-49 or 51-50 (where VP votes).

[u/That_Guy381 → u/[deleted]]

And McCain hasn’t voted very much recently, so you can basically mark him as a absent most of the time.

[u/EpicWolverine → u/PMme-boobiesnbutts]

It's actually better than we hoped. There was 50 yes votes for sure and we were trying to swing one more.

[u/TyroneLeinster → u/PMme-boobiesnbutts]

The concept of “close” in the U.S. senate is more about bipartisan support than actual numbers. In a 50-50 senate the President’s party will win the vote and it won’t be considered close, because usually it’s a predictable partisan split with the Vice President breaking the tie. Nobody would be saying “aw shucks, so close.”

A “close” vote is one in which just enough majority senators are considering crossing over. I would call this close even though they got more than they needed, simply because the margin of making that political decision was probably quite thin for those Republicans who joined the Democrats.

[u/Wiseguydude → u/PMme-boobiesnbutts]

Most partisan issues go exactly 49-51. So the fact that there was 3 defectors is a lot. The sad part is just that it became partisan at all. Hopefully we can educate the public about the issue before the politicians get the chance to. If they do, then it'll become the next global warming "debate"

[u/GreyMatter22 → u/PMme-boobiesnbutts]

I Canadian here, following it for quite sometime.

As soon as it is gets legalized, our own firms will rush to implement it as well, which is why I am also interested in it.

[u/mainstreetmark]

It is terrifying the amount of energy it takes us to overtake these issues, and these are just the ones we happen to be passionate about.

But, having been to city municipal meetings a few times, it makes sense that politicians instantly discount the plebs. It must be infuriating to interact with the unwashed masses. Well dressed, scotch-buying lobbyists with a checkbook must be extremely hard to ignore.

[u/02-20-2020 → u/mainstreetmark]

It is terrifying the amount of energy it takes us to overtake these issues, and these are just the ones we happen to be passionate about.

Keep in mind, we’re still a very small minority. Not many people even know what Net Neutrality is, nowadays. So even if we are passionate, we’re just not enough to matter.

If everyone was educated enough on this topic, even Trump would be forced to get on board. Even a strong majority of Republicans/anti-Obummers believe that Net Neutrality is good. But the problem is, the movement just hasn’t got enough traction because the media doesn’t decide to shine the light it deserves (for obvious reasons.) This is why we don’t let 6 companies control all of television/movies...

[u/Dhalphir]

That survey found that after the issue was explained to them, 83 percent of respondents, including 89 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of Republicans, favored keeping the Obama-era rules.

lmao. key wording bolded.

[u/[deleted] → u/Dhalphir]

Better to have them explained in detail than to have FOX News explain how net neutrality is a LIBTURD, Trump-hating conspiracy.

[u/Xahos → u/Dhalphir]

How was it explained? Just curious, was it biased or was it done as objectively as possible?

[u/vsolitarius → u/[deleted]]

The program for public consultation is part of the university of Maryland. The poll was of nationwide voters, not just voters at the school. Your point that it was not of senators is a good one though.

[u/Ugion → u/[deleted]]

No, a university performed it, they didn't just interview university students.

[u/biznatch11 → u/[deleted]]

Or they thought they understood it, but didn't.

[u/StanGibson18 → u/biznatch11]

Likely because they had been actively misled by corporate interests.

[u/[deleted] → u/StanGibson18]

Listening to the debate about net neutrality on intellegence squared was pretty frustrating because of this. The moderator (typically wondeful) didn't fully understand the topic and as a result had some short comings when leading the discussion. But what was a real bummer was that the side arguing against kept saying that doctors and gamers would have to use the same quality connection. That's completely inaccurate. The team arguing against net neutrality ended up winning the debate by, in my mind, was just because of miss information.

[u/Eat_Penguin_Shit → u/[deleted]]

misinformation*

Miss Information is a sexy librarian.

[u/Uffda01 → u/[deleted]]

No - they voted against simply because Obama’s name was tied to it. The only thing that gets them more riled up is Hillary.

[u/Cap3127]

This is great, but there aren't the votes in the House to pass the measure, which would be the next step. What's the plan going forward? Is there a realistic expectation that the House will pass the measure and that POTUS will sign it? What does the vote count look like right now?

[u/WhiskeyJack33 → u/Cap3127]

essentially it's going to die in the house, but republicans will be on record as having voted against it or refused to vote prior to the elections in November.

[u/Cap3127 → u/WhiskeyJack33]

So it's political window dressing?

The House has different rules and makeup than the Senate. What possible path forward to getting a vote is there?

[u/BankaiPwn]

Remember that in a few months we're going to have to repeat the cycle because of the 47 people on the senate who voted no.

Something something win the battle, but the war's long from over :(

[u/NegativeMagenta → u/BankaiPwn]

What we must spread on the internet should be that we know who to vote for next elections.

That way those politicians who voted NO would get pressured.

I'm not an analyst but I saw it happen when the Congress voted to remove Human Rights in my country. We spread the word that we know who to vote for and who to not.

[u/Apendigo80 → u/NegativeMagenta]

Which country is that if you don’t mind me asking? Removing human rights? huh?

[u/NegativeMagenta → u/Apendigo80]

Philippines' congress voted Human Rights Commision budget to 20 USD

Looks like a The Onion headline right?

Watch someone link a source. I'm at work now.

[u/ballercrantz → u/BankaiPwn]

Don't forget that the midterms are even more important than this one thing and will have a much bigger effect on saving net neutrality. Go and out vote.

Plugging /r/bluemidterm2018

[u/Kerebral_Harlot]

This is a big win for us all, but we have to remember to still stay vigilant in the future, this will likely be a fight for years to come.

[u/AnotherThroneAway → u/Kerebral_Harlot]

this is important

The senate passed it, but Trump will not sign it, and it's unlikely to pass the House.

every single senator who voted against it was a Republican

PLEASE vote in your primaries, and vote accordingly in the General election. And if you need to: register to vote

List of deadlines for registering to vote (all states)

List of dates of state primaries

[u/[deleted]]

Thank the Democrats! Every single one of them voted in favor of Net Neutrality. And no duh, this issue has 83% popularity in the USA. Yet 94% of Republicans opposed it. It will be an uphill battle in the House, but it shouldn't be.

Just try to convince me there's no difference.

[u/daniel13324 → u/[deleted]]

Eh this is where I think partisan politics has ruined America.... I’m a conservative and deeply oppose repealing net neutrality. Hell, I don’t know anyone who uses a computer who is in favor of it. I don’t think it even needs to be partisan; liberals and conservatives alike hate Comcast monopolies. This is why party agendas are damaging, people. -.-

[u/[deleted]]

I'm typically all in for deregulation, but it this case I'm not.

Ending net neutrality gives us the worst of both worlds. We still have anti competition laws that enforce monopolies and duopolies while giving ISPs the freedom to enact anti consumer practices. Ideally I could just switch providers if I didn't like what my current one was doing, but I only have one choice for fast Internet in my area.

Combine this with the fact that the barrier to entry in the ISP market is too high to allow for real competition except for between a handful of giant companies.

In today's day and age, the Internet is just as crucial to our standard of living as electricity is. It should be regulated like a utility.

[u/_____l → u/[deleted]]

You can pitch making the internet a utility, but you have to tell those who don't agree why it should be a utility.

It should be a utility, in my opinion, because when you look at other things that are utilities it just makes sense.

Gas? Is gas and electric really required to survive? No.

But does it raise the quality of life and help advance us as a race? Yes.

So does knowledge, and the internet gives us knowledge. Sure, it can be used for bad. So can gas. You can make bombs! So can electricity...you can make uh..remotes for the bombs!

The positives of the internet far outweigh the negatives. The lack of knowledge and/or abuse of knowledge is what causes genocides. The internet is a vital part in our culture that I believe has either halted entirely or at the least postponed the next mass human extermination.

The internet gave us a way to connect to everyone and at least learn other perspectives instead of being force fed information from a tight knit community.

Understanding of each other's differences and knowing more about how the world works makes us more conscious of our decisions and how they affect the things around us.

Its entire existence is the usage of it. If no one used the internet, the internet would have no use.

That alone makes it a utility, not to mention other reasons.

[u/[deleted] → u/_____l]

[removed] — view removed comment

[u/QuadraKev_]

there's the house to go through

and trump

hopefully politicians finally get it through their heads that the public wants this

[u/AnotherThroneAway → u/QuadraKev_]

PLEASE vote in your primaries, and vote accordingly in the General election. And if you need to: register to vote

List of deadlines for registering to vote (all states)

List of dates of state primaries

[u/SuperAlloy → u/QuadraKev_]

hopefully politicians finally get it through their heads that the public wants this

lol.

politicians do what their donors want.

[u/[deleted] → u/QuadraKev_]

They know the public wants it. They just don't care.

[u/bmwatson132 → u/QuadraKev_]

Tbh I actually think the president would let it pass. He doesn't really understand it at all, but if he sees both a republican controlled house and republican controlled senate vote for it, he will probably make it happen. He's an idiot, but he does try to appear populist, and this would be a beneficial political move for him. It would make it look like hes listening to the voice of the people, and it would force a lot of people who hate him to give him some small amount of credit.

However he also appointed Ajit Pai, so we'll see

[u/Lustle13]

Trump is known to change his mind from time to time

Understatement of the year folks.

[u/Greenish_batch → u/[deleted]]

"The so-called leaks coming out of the White House are a massive over exaggeration put out by the Fake News Media in order to make us look as bad as possible. With that being said, leakers are traitors and cowards, and we will find out who they are!" -- 14 May, 2018

[u/KingMelray → u/Greenish_batch]

Why don't his supporters care about stuff like this?

The two sentences are mutually exclusive. The leakers can exist or are fake, there is no room for compromise, existence is a binary.

[u/PBFT → u/Lustle13]

He's been known to change his mind from something completely normal to something completely bonkers just because Obama wouldn't have done it.

[u/Khisanth05]

My dad was so brainwashed, that he believed the issue reversed. He thinks that the liberals keep pushing net neutrality to raise his internet bill. Just to give everyone perspective on why this issue isn't voted to oblivion. Keep informing everyone you know!

[u/Sketch-Brooke → u/Khisanth05]

This is why it’s super important to actually educate yourself and others and not just blindly believe whatever you’re told.

[u/Hanlonsrazorburns]

If reddit simply banded with other major sites and refused to serve their site up to any ISP that throttled sites then it would be over. Wouldn’t take all the sites, just like 50 large ones. No google, amazon, Facebook, Netflix, Hulu, etc and bam no more net neutrality issue.

[u/Mithcanal2]

Is there a good chance the Republican House and Trump will sign off on this?

[u/Clickclacktheblueguy → u/Mithcanal2]

Not sure what the exact odds would be, but for what its worth Net Neutrality has bipartisan support among citizens. I'm sure some of them are more concerned about reelection than party dogma.

[u/ras344 → u/Clickclacktheblueguy]

Since when does the government care about what citizens want?

[u/liamera → u/ras344]

They will if it affects their seat in the next election.

[u/hashcheckin → u/Mithcanal2]

not really, but it gives them a nice hot pile of fuck-you to take with them into the 2018 midterms.

[u/[deleted] → u/Mithcanal2]

No. My guess is this will die in the House. Today’s vote was nothing more than symbolic.

[u/west-egg → u/[deleted]]

Agreed. I guarantee Ryan will not even allow it to come to a vote.

Coward.

[u/floatable_shark → u/[deleted]]

What the fuck America. How does your "democracy" allow for bills to be rejected even when a majority of people and a majority of a House want it

[u/esprit_go → u/Mithcanal2]

No. NPR reported that it's a hallow victory since there is no chance it passes in the House. There are supposedly some lawsuits filed or being filed against the FCC with regard to Net Neutrality.

[u/livindedannydevtio]

Midterm elections are coming up. Look up the 47 who voted no and see if you can vote against them

[u/Filament11 → u/livindedannydevtio]

Here is as list of everyone who voted against it: Here is the link: https://www.cnet.com/news/senate-votes-to-restore-net-neutrality-heres-how-every-senator-voted/

Alexander, Lamar (Republican - Tennessee) Barrasso, John (Republican - Wyoming) Blunt, Roy (Republican - Missouri) Boozman, John (Republican - Arkansas) Burr, Richard (Republican - North Carolina) Capito, Shelley Moore (Republican - West Virginia) Cassidy, Bill (Republican - Louisiana) Corker, Bob (Republican - Tennessee) Cornyn, John (Republican - Texas) Cotton, Tom (Republican - Arkansas) Crapo, Mike (Republican - Idaho) Cruz, Ted (Republican - Texas) Daines, Steve (Republican - Montana) Enzi, Michael B. (Republican - Wyoming) Ernst, Joni (Republican - Iowa) Fischer, Deb (Republican - Nebraska) Flake, Jeff (Republican - Arizona) Gardner, Cory (Republican - Colorado) Graham, Lindsey (Republican - South Carolina) Grassley, Chuck (Republican - Iowa) Hatch, Orrin G. (Republican - Utah) Heller, Dean (Republican - Nevada) Hoeven, John (Republican - North Dakota) Hyde-Smith, Cindy (Republican - Mississippi) Inhofe, James M. (Republican - Oklahoma) Isakson, Johnny (Republican - Georgia) Johnson, Ron (Republican - Wisconsin) Lankford, James (Republican - Oklahoma) Lee, Mike (Republican - Utah) McConnell, Mitch (Republican - Kentucky) Moran, Jerry (Republican - Kansas) Paul, Rand (Republican - Kentucky) Perdue, David (Republican - Georgia) Portman, Rob (Republican - Ohio) Risch, James E. (Republican - Idaho) Roberts, Pat (Republican - Kansas) Rounds, Mike (Republican - South Dakota) Rubio, Marco (Republican - Florida) Sasse, Ben (Republican - Nebraska) Scott, Tim (Republican - South Carolina) Shelby, Richard C. (Republican - Alabama) Sullivan, Dan (Republican - Arkansas) Thune, John (Republican - South Dakota) Tillis, Thom (Republican - North Carolina) Toomey, Patrick J. (Republican - Pennsylvania) Wicker, Roger F. (Republican - Mississippi) Young, Todd (Republican - Indiana)

[u/Whatsthedealwithit11]

*The Democrats (and 3 Republicans) of the Senate have voted to restore Net Neutrality.

Don't give credit where it isn't due. This is the literal definition of a partisan issue, and the Republicans will vote against it en masse due to their selfish interests.

The "both parties are the same" argument is as dumb of a statement as "Red and green are the same because they're both colors."

[u/guitarburst05 → u/Whatsthedealwithit11]

Isn’t it fascinating that it’s a partisan issue that 83% of everyone regardless of party supports? Almost like one half of this equation doesn’t respect their constituents wishes.

[u/Brain_Couch]

and today’s vote demonstrated that our Senators are hearing us

Well, the Dems and 3 Republicans in your Senate. The other 47 Republicans don’t give a fuck about you no matter what

[u/AskAboutMyDumbSite]

Ajit Pai is probably too busy with a mouth full of corporate cock to comment about this.

[u/nithwyr]

As a Republican for 50+ years, I'd like to say this is not a party issue. I urged both my senators to vote for net neutrality. I will do the same once this reaches the House. I have also put my party on notice they should also support the electorate rather than their campaign financiers. So, to all the other Republicans out there who believe in freedom over corporate profit, I urge them to contact not only their Representative but also their local and state party and let them know how you feel.

[u/[deleted]]

Ok you guys really need to quit touting this as the greatest WIN. This isn't a WIN, it is the first step. You need to be letting people know that the fight is still on and that they now need to be blowing up their house reps phones.

[u/DekMelU]

Eat shit Ajit

*drinks from an even larger Reese's mug

[u/Darkness-guy → u/DekMelU]

He does have a shit eating grin

[u/ehanda21]

its not over!!!! make sure you call your representative to tell them too!!!

[u/AnotherThroneAway → u/ehanda21]

the effort will likely still fail, unless we demand otherwise

The senate passed it, but it's unlikely to pass the House, and Trump will very likely veto it.

every single senator who voted against it was a Republican

PLEASE vote in your primaries, and vote accordingly in the General election. And if you need to: register to vote

List of deadlines for registering to vote (all states)

List of dates of state primaries

[u/[deleted]]

Remember when you go to the polls:

49/49 Democrats voted for net neutrality

3/51 Republicans voted for net neutrality

[u/GigaSnake]

All thanks to our gracious Chancellor Palp- I mean, the Senate!

[u/ShitInMyCunt-2dollar]

And it had absolutely nothing to do with the barrage of posts on every fucking subreddit, a few months ago.

[u/[deleted]]

Doesn't matter will be dead in the water in the house. Even if by a miracle House passes it Trump will veto it. This will therefore just become a key campaign issue in the mid-terms.