Stoller has a lengthy,
remarkable account of what happened in committee yesterday when the Net Neutrality amendment went down to an 11-11 defeat.
The scene in the room was surreal, with Senators debating in front of a room full of Blackberry-armed lobbyists. There were aides behind the Senators who would pass their bosses arguments and information, with the lobbyists passing arguments and information to the aides based on the arguments Senators were making. There were over 50 Bell lobbyists alone, including 12 employees of Verizon. Some Senators were simply proxies for lobbyists to argue through [...]
Stevens, at one point in his rant, aimed some serious blows at the Internet companies. He said he felt that the 5 big Internet companies (all of whom wanted a "free ride" on the Internet) had cooked up this network neutrality amendment and were pushing it through the Congress. He said that in his opinion, more money had been spent by these 5 companies on this amendment than on any other amendment in history.
The irony of the moment was almost too much to bear. In the audience at the mark-up were around 200 people. I counted 8 from Internet companies. The total of telephone company lobbyists was more like 50 or 75. And of course, they are spending $15 million a week on advertising to push the bill and kill network neutrality. The Internet companies have bought almost no advertising, and they are outgunned by a factor of 10 to 1 in lobbying clout.
When Stevens was done, Dorgan just took him to the woodshed. Dorgan said, "You're such a passionate speaker, when you're finished, I'm not always sure whether you're carrying a strong hand or a weak hand. You've argued both sides of this case quite well." Everyone laughed. Dorgan then broke out the Hands off the Internet television commercial which claimed that telco-sponsored legislation prevented discrimination on the internet. Dorgan said, "Can you explain why it is that your supporters are lying on television? They say that nondiscrimination is in your bill. Can you show me where it's in your bill?" Dorgan hammered the point until Stevens wouldn't respond.
Sounds quite dramatic.