Nearly 100 Democrats gunning for seats in Congress are trying to turn net neutrality into a campaign issue Thursday. They're casting themselves as the champions of the people against corporations that want to control the net and divide it into fast lanes and slow lanes.

While net fairness rules were a part of President Obama's campaign platform, they have not been a major part of this year's heated election cycle, which has been defined by voter anger over economic issues. Democrats are clearly now trying to position themselves as populists fighting greedy corporations as a way of tapping into that zeitgeist.

The so-called Net Neutrality Protectors campaign, launched Thursday by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, is being led by Ann McLane Kuster, a New Hampshire Democrat in a tight race. She's campaigning as a populist and progressive, a message reflected in the net neutrality statement signed by the Democratic candidates.

I believe in protecting Net Neutrality – the First Amendment of the Internet. The open Internet is a vital engine for free speech, economic opportunity, and civic participation in the 21st century. I stand with millions of working families and small businesses against any attempt by big corporations to control the Internet and eliminate the Internet's level playing field. In Congress, I'll fight to protect Net Neutrality for the entire Internet – wired and wireless – and make sure big corporations aren’t allowed to take control of free speech online.

While President Obama promised to prohibit so-called fast lanes on the net, the drive to have federal regulators enforce internet fairness and openness rules has faltered over the first two years of his presidency.

The FCC's attempt to extend fairness rules to wireless and to expand prohibition on ISPs interfering with traffic they don't like was derailed when Comcast challenged a Bush-era directive not to block peer-to-peer traffic. Collateral damage from that suit included pre-existing federal principles that guaranteed Americans could use the software, services and computers of their choice. Those "Four Freedoms" were struck down when the judge found that the Bush-era rules were built on air after the FCC deregulated broadband.

The FCC's attempts to re-establish its authority quickly ran into fierce opposition from telecoms, Republicans and some Democrats. In May, 75 House Democrats and 171 House Republicans signed a letter to the FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski urging him not to regulate ISPs (.pdf), saying it is a matter best left to Congress. Senate Republicans threatened to de-fund the FCC if it proceeded to re-establish rules prohibiting ISPs from discriminating against services like Skype, Netflix or Pandora.

In September, the FCC extended its deliberations, conveniently keeping any controversial decision from being made before the mid-term elections.

Net neutrality rules do not apply to the content on the internet, though Hollywood is pushing for an exception that would allow ISPs to look for and block pirated movies and music. Free-market opponents of the rules argue that there's enough competition among mobile and landline ISPs to prevent unfair behavior.

Photo: A series of tubes Credit: wheresmysocks

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