Republicans who regulate the Internet may get cover from telecom groups, but not the Tea Party

House Republicans who support network neutrality legislation could face political consequences for "regulating the Internet" from Tea Party activists who may not provide the political cover that telecommunications groups with industry connections already seem prepared to serve up.

House Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) is expected to introduce the bill this week, possibly as soon as Sept 28, with backing from industry stakeholders likely including phone and cable companies. Supporting a bill that creates unprecedented Internet rules will not be an easy vote for Republican members who have historically opposed a policy they view as an unnecessary regulation of the Internet. Tea party groups who have taken an interest in net neutrality may focus on the fact that the bill creates new rules and not that it prevents stricter ones at the FCC, according to Seton Motley, a Tea Party supporter who runs the group Less Government. Though supporters will portray the bill as a narrow fix to an intractable problem, that argument might not appease Tea Party groups who are wary of new government regulation, according to Motley.