For the last year, the name of the game for the Republican Party has been overreaching. They overreached in Alabama by choosing an extreme radical, and lost a Senate seat. They overreached to get the ACA repealed, and got egg on their faces.
But now, the GOP’s push to use the government to help large corporations and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else may resulted in the biggest, most politically consequential overreach yet. On Thursday, the FCC voted 3-2 to repeal Obama-era regulations protecting net neutrality. Large Internet service providers like Verizon, with their history of anti-competitive actions which bleed the consumer dry, will now have free reign to charge consumers to use Netflix or any other website.
There is no doubt that the repeal will hurt ordinary Americans. The Nation outright called this vote the Trump administration’s most brutal blow to democracy. In addition to harming consumers, they right noted that without a free and open Internet, activists fighting against the Trump administration will have a harder time organizing online.
But the good news is that the American people overwhelmingly understand the importance of net neutrality, and have voiced their opposition towards the FCC’s plans from the beginning. Common Dreams notes that over 80 percent of the American people oppose Net Neutrality, including 75 percent of Republicans. And while lobbyists will spin falsehoods and the GOP can count on their gerrymandered districts to some extent, the fall of Roy Moore should make it clear that Republicans are vulnerable everywhere if enough Americans mobilize to turn them out next November. The repeal of Net Neutrality could be that galvanizing, mobilizing spark.
Bringing the Youth Back
This is especially true for tech-savvy millennials who understand better than anyone else the consequences of the FCC’s vote. While the young have always trended liberal, the Democratic Party has for years struggled to motivate millennials to come out and vote. Many millennials have been convinced that both of the major parties are two sides of the same coin, willing to protect corporate interests at their expense. These corporate interests include gambling and casino companies, like the online casinos featured on hitcasinobonus.com.
But with net neutrality, the Democratic Party can demonstrate how that is not the case, and The Verge is detailing just how they are working to protect consumer interests. Democratic attorneys are fighting in court to keep net neutrality alive. Democratic state legislators are working to mandate net neutrality in their own states. The Democratic FCC commissioners denounced the vote, and Democratic members in Congress and even some Republicans are working to protect net neutrality.
Actions matter far more than words, and by acting to protect net neutrality, millennials can see that the Democratic Party truly does care about protecting them from ravenous corporations. And when they also look at how the Trump administration has consistently demonstrated their desire to engorge the wealthy with tax breaks, the Democratic Party has a chance to earn the loyalty of millions of millennials for life.
Millennials may already be generally liberal, but the Democratic Party needs enthusiastic, willing supporters who are willing to come out, vote, and break the cycle of youth political apathy. That apathy may have been shattered by Republicans overreaching on net neutrality. Now is the time for the Democratic Party to take advantage by demonstrating a firm commitment to protecting the Internet. There has never been a better opportunity to earn a loyal voter base.