Save Access

Senator Stevens effort to get enough votes to push his Telecommunications Bill (ATOR HR 5252) to the Senate floor has reached a new low point. On Sept 18th, Stevens released an opinion poll on the US Senate Commerce Committee web site that shows that Americans want better cable service for lower prices – quite an insight! Unfortunately for Stevens, the poll also clearly demonstrates that those polled know little about the issue at hand, much less the details of his telecommunications legislation. The poll questioned 800 registered voters and drew this astonishing conclusion: "an overwhelming majority of American voters favor video choice over onerous ‘Net Neutrality’ regulations". This is an extremely suspect conclusion given that the poll itself reports that 91% of those polled had not even heard of 'net neutrality'. Needless to say, the poll sought little to inform otherwise.

Not surprisingly, the majority of those polled equate lower prices with competition, a mantra of American corporate doctrine though it bears little truth in the current legislation nor has it been evidenced in recent telco video roll-outs in various states. The polling questions used exploit such familiar beliefs, amplifies their relation to the issue at hand, and coyly persuade subjects with leading questions to achieve the desired outcome. Such manipulation of public opinion is not new, yet it's tragic to see an esteemed Senator such as Stevens stoop so low to appease his corporate benefactors.

The Stevens poll was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies (POS), a republican pollster, and The Glover Park Group (GPG), known to many Democrats. Not surprisingly, both firms proudly count Verizon as a current client. POS has a track record of political polling for Republican candidates and also of of creating issue based polls that always seem to show support for Republican positions. Polls in the past on genetically modified foods and social security reinforced party positions.

Not to be outdone, Glover Park Group (GPG) made news last year when it was revealed that the firm created and directed the activities of the non-profit 'citizens' organization "Don’t Count Us Out" (an astroturf) to serve the interests of their client, Rupert Murdock's News Corp.(see: press release). GPG played the race card and used this astroturf to enrage the public to challenge a new Nielsen rating system that worried News Corp executives. This ranks as one of the most sordid and irresponsible manipulations of public opinion in recent years.

When prominent Senate Committee Chairpersons resort to public opinion polling and PR firms to pressure their colleagues to support legislation, something is broken. Ironically, that something is the credibility of our system of democratic communication, precisely what the Steven's ATOR Bill (HR 5252) will impact upon most negatively. We happen to know that Senator Stevens has received over a million impassioned and informed letters voicing dissent against his legislation, thousands were sent to him from saveaccess.org alone. On the issue of 'net neutrality' he has received over one million emails, far more than the 91% of the 800 individuals polled that knew nothing of this issue and how it affects them.

Yet we can expect that Stevens will persist in pushing his legislation through the Senate. His goal is to achieve cloture, a Senate procedure in which a Bill's sponsor secures 60 Senate supporters to agree to support the legislation in advance. Once this support and majority is achieved through private negotiations, the bill moves quickly to the floor for a vote with limited debate and without the possibility of filibuster.

Cloture is very much like the opinion poll released by Stevens today, It's a distortion of the democratic process in the name of democracy. It's public policy and opinion decided upon and manufactured by the few and imposed on the majority. Reject this poll, reject cloture and most of all reject ATOR HR 5252.

Call Stevens' office today and let them know what you think. Press contacts on the 'poll' press release are: Joe Brenckle w/Stevens 202-224-3991, Brian Eaton w/Stevens 202-224-0445

– saveaccess