Why two prominent Republicans are now backing network neutrality

[Commentary] Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) endorsed network neutrality and called for a bipartisan compromise to defend it. This is the most conciliatory note senior Republicans in Congress have sounded on this issue in years.

Chairman Thune has been calling for Congress to overhaul telecommunications law for a while, but when he talked about the topic a year ago, he didn't specifically endorse network neutrality regulations. In April, Chairman Upton called network neutrality regulations "a solution in search of a problem." Now the two men say they want to "prohibit blocking and throttling" and make it illegal for internet service providers to "charge a premium to prioritize content delivery." In other words, they're in favor of network neutrality. It would be a mistake for Democrats to dismiss Chairmen Thune and Upton's overtures out of hand. Legislation can do two things: it can cement network neutrality rules into law, and it can build bipartisan support for the concept. That would make it more likely that network neutrality will be protected regardless of who wins the White House in 2016.