Democrats Still Cool to GOP Network Neutrality Bill

Liberals are still scoffing at a GOP draft bill to implement network neutrality rules, even though it might be their best chance to maintain prohibitions against broadband providers blocking or slowing down internet traffic. … The stakes are high: If President-elect Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission repeals the agency’s rules, congressional Democrats may have to make a deal on net neutrality or risk losing the internet protections altogether. But any post-election reckoning with Republicans’ new grip on Washington so far has not softened their line on the Republican legislative offering. While Democrats say they’re open to the idea of legislating on net neutrality, several were not enthused about the idea. Instead, they focused on ways to delay or hamstring a potential repeal of the FCC’s Open Internet Order. Many are even hoping the issue is so far down on Trump’s priority list that he wouldn’t actually undo it, especially if he feels it would upset the populist voters who elected him. “If you said net neutrality to him right now, he wouldn't know what you were talking about,” Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA).