A new survey released Thursday revealed a majority of Americans oppose the Federal Communications Commissions proposed overhaul of the nation’s broadband regulatory regime.
The poll, conducted by Hart Research Associates, found that a full 75% of Americans nationwide believe the internet is “working well.” The survey also found that 55% of respondents believe that the government should have no hand in regulating the internet.
But for senior FCC brass, the heartburn does not end there: The poll of 800 likely voters found that a plurality of respondents conceded having voted for President Barack Obama in 2008, signaling to Mr. Obama’s White House that it may yet be losing Independent voters on another regulatory issue.
That the FCC’s proposed Net neutrality rules rates even lower than many incumbent Democrats — in an election cycle where political handicappers maintain that GOP’ers stand a good chance of retaking the House and an outside chance of wresting control of the Senate — should give pause to anyone Administration official still pushing for the measure’s adoption.
“We believe broadband access should be available and affordable for every household in the nation,” the group Broadband for American, who commissioned the poll, said Thursday in a release. “These findings support our belief that the Internet should be open and secure.”
“As the old adage goes: If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it,” one FCC watcher told Capitol Confidential.