Stevens is still trying to force a vote on his inaptly titled telco give-away bill, the Communications, Consumers' Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006 (S. 2686). But
he's not having much luck so far.
The first major overhaul of telecommunications laws in a decade appears to be sinking in the quicksand of election-year politics.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), is racing to round up enough support for the measure to clear the 60-vote hurdle set by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) before granting the measure floor time. But the Alaska Republican is running into resistance in his own ranks -- including from GOPers locked in tough reelection races. . . .
Now, with several Senate Republicans eager to avoid controversial votes as they struggle to hang on to their seats in a difficult election climate, many are resisting Stevens' drive to push the measure to a vote before the November elections, said aides and lobbyists close to the issue.
The article singles out Santorum, DeWine, and Chafee as resisting efforts to push the bill to the floor before the elections. Not only are they hearing from constituents on this issue, they are raking in some serious cash from moneyed interests on both sides of the debate. They really don't want to have to vote on this before the election.
Stevens seems to remain determined to try to get his 60 votes by tomorrow. Here's my favorite part of the article:
But Stevens did say he was devoting extensive attention to the matter this week, even as he is charged with managing a defense spending bill that he wants passed before the August recess.
"There are some I don't have to see," he said, referring to the Senators he is counting on to support his telecom bill. "I just talk to them and say, 'Are you with me or aren't you?' Others I have to talk to, and some don't have a working knowledge of the issue, so that takes some time."
As much fun as it is to think about how exactly Senator Tubes is explaining this complicated issue to his Senate colleagues, we need to keep up the pressure. We're doing a good job so far, but have to make sure this bill doesn't move to the floor tomorrow.
Below the fold is the long list of Senators who have not committed one way or the other on net neutrality, according to Save the Internet. Please call these Senators and ask them to oppose the Stevens bill unless it contains strong provisions protecting net neutrality. There are a handful whose names are bolded. We want to focus particularly on them because they are likely to be with us, or are in tight races and pressure might mean more.
And humor me. Take the poll.
Akaka, Daniel K.M (D-HI), 202-224-6361
Alexander, Lamar (R-TN), 202-224-4944
Allard, Wayne (R-CO), 202-224-5941
Baucus, Max (D-MT), 202-224-2651
Bennett, Robert F. (R-UT), 202-224-5444
Bingaman, Jeff (D-NM), 202-224-5521
Bond, Christopher S. (R-MO), 202-224-5721
Bunning, Jim (R-KY), 202-224-4343
Burr, Richard (R-NC), 202 224-3154
Byrd, Robert C. (D-WV), 202-224-3954
Carper, Thomas (D-DE), 202-224-2441
Chafee, Lincoln D. (R-RI), 202-224-2921
Chambliss, Saxby (R-GA), 202-224-3521
Coburn, Tom (R-OK), 202 224-5754
Cochran, Thad (R-MS), 202-224-5054
Coleman, Norm (R-MN), 202-224-5641
Collins, Susan (R-ME), 202-224-2523
Conrad, Kent (D-ND), 202-224-2043
Cornyn, John (R-TX), 202-224-2934
Craig, Larry E. (R-ID), 202-224-2752
Crapo, Mike (R-ID), 202-224-6142
Dayton, Mark (D-MN), 202-224-3244
DeWine, Mike (R-OH), 202-224-2315
Dole, Elizabeth (R-NC), 202-224-6342
Domenici, Pete V. (R-NM), 202-224-6621
Durbin, Richard J. (D-IL), 202-224-2152
Enzi, Michael (R-WY), 202-224-3424
Frist, William H. (R-TN), 202-224-3344
Graham, Lindsey (R-SC), 202-224-5972
Grassley, Charles E. (R-IA), 202-224-3744
Gregg, Judd (R-NH), 202-224-3324
Hagel, Chuck (R-NE), 202-224-4224
Harkin, Tom (D-IA), 202-224-3254
Hatch, Orrin G. (R-UT), 202-224-5251
Inhofe, James M. (R-OK), 202-224-4721
Isakson, Johnny (R-GA), 202 224-3643
Jeffords, James M. (I-VT), 202-224-5141
Johnson, Tim (D-SD), 202-224-5842
Kennedy, Edward M. (D-MA), 202-224-4543
Kohl, Herb (D-WI), 202-224-5653
Kyl, Jon (R-AZ), 202-224-4521
Landrieu, Mary (D-LA), 202-224-5824
Levin, Carl (D-MI), 202-224-6221
Lieberman, Joesph I. (D-CT), 202-224-4041
Lincoln, Blanche Lambert (D-AR), 202-224-4843
Lugar, Richard G. (R-IN), 202-224-4814
Martinez, Mel (R-FL), 202 224-3041
McConnell, Mitch (R-KY), 202-224-2541
Menendez, Robert (D-NJ), 202-224-4744
Mikulski, Barbara A. (D-MD), 202-224-4654v
Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK), 202-224-6665
Murray, Patty (D-WA), 202-224-2621
Reed, Jack (D-RI), 202-224-4642
Roberts, Pat (R-KS), 202-224-4774
Salazar, Ken (D-CO), 202 224-5852
Santorum, Rick (R-PA), 202-224-6324
Sarbanes, Paul S. (D-MD), 202-224-4524
Schumer, Charles (D-NY), 202-224-6542
Sessions, Jeff (R-AL), 202-224-4124
Shelby, Richard C. (R-AL), 202-224-5744
Specter, Arlen (R-PA), 202-224-4254
Stabenow, Debbie A. (D-MI), 202-224-4822
Talent, Jim (R-MO), 202-224-6154
Thune, John (R-SD), 202 224-2321
Voinovich, George (R-OH), 202-224-3353
Warner, John W. (R-VA), 202-224-2023