It looks like StoptheCap! gets to wrap up North Carolina Week today after four days of intense lobbying and fighting back against telecom lobbies and the clueless legislators duped into doing their bidding (or financially rewarded with a nice campaign contribution.)

We’ve learned several lessons from this battle, which we managed to win on both fronts, thanks to the help of everyone who got involved:

1. Having a group on the ground in these communities is critical for rapid response, legislator lobbying, and knowing the ropes of how things work in each locality.  Clearly, we need to have organized teams in each locality ready to engage, even at the last minute when funny business is being attempted.  Therefore, this site is going to start finding volunteers to help coordinate those more localized activities.  We are going to start in North Carolina, where Jay Ovittore has agreed to be our North Carolina coordinator.  He has already developed an impressive contact list and was involved in legislative affairs even before the cap issue reared its head.  Jay will be able to get our readers and volunteers more insight on what is going on in the state and where our efforts will prove most effective.  He worked with us throughout North Carolina Week, and I think we can all celebrate the results.
2. There are good politicians and bad ones.  We need to honor and thank the good ones, and try very hard to rehabilitate the bad/duped ones and get them on our side.  Jay already put together a list of the legislators that have stood with North Carolina consumers so we can begin the “thank you” calls and notes.  The list of the good actors and the bad ones will also be brought up in the month before their next election, to remind voters which legislators voted for consumers, and which ones found it easier do the bidding of lobbyists.  We’ll be encouraging people to contribute and support those who stand with the people, should they be incumbents or challengers seeking to replace one of the “bad ones.”
3. Social media like this site and companion tools like Twitter, Facebook, and other alert mechanisms have demonstrated effectiveness at rapidly mobilizing people to action.  But it must never be assumed by any reader that there is enough of an “army” here to excuse them from participating in crucial Calls to Action.  If something involves your state or locality, you absolutely must get engaged and involved.  Stalling two bad bills in a state legislature is easy compared to fighting back the next effort to bring back tiered pricing and usage caps.  When the time comes to engage the return of the “gas gauge” as a prelude to Internet rationing, or when another broadband provider tries to one-up Time Warner’s lousy broadband marketing test, there cannot be a single reader here making the assumption their efforts are not needed, or someone else will “do the work” for them.

So here is what is going to happen next with North Carolina.  HB 1252 and SB 1004 are likely dead for the session, mired in the “study committee.”  However, there may be an attempt to force them back out onto the floor after being “duly studied.”  It’s unlikely, but vigilance will absolutely need to be maintained.  You can also definitely expect similar bills will come back in the next session, where we will need to see them killed or voted down once again.

One of the proponents of this anti-consumer nightmare is totally unrepentant about today’s actions, being quoted in Mark Binker’s Capital Beat blog in the Greensboro News & Record:

You can expect to see 1004 on the Senate floor and sent over to the House soon, said Sen. David Hoyle, its sponsor. Hoyle says he doesn’t much care how it gets studied, as long as it gets there.

“It’s an issue that needs to be looked at,” Hoyle said. “All the parties need to get in the same room and defend their position.”

Opponents of the original bill say that local governments should be able to get into the broadband business, particularly where a private company isn’t providing service or service at the level that residents want.

Supporters of limits – Hoyle is among those – say local governments shouldn’t be able to compete with private enterprise.

A nice sentiment, if it was accurate of course.  The platitudes about the democratic process and hearing all views didn’t exactly work out in reality.  Instead, as we’ve documented, hearings were held where ordinary consumers had no voice whatsoever.  Cable company employees or their representatives answered questions on behalf of legislators in hearings, and were even handed the phone by office aides to explain the legislation to those opposing it.  It’s also mighty difficult to “defend” a “position” in a sneak attack meeting scheduled for first thing in the morning the day after a bill failed in the other body.  Although nobody got to “defend their position” at this morning’s affair, at least the legislation wasn’t simply passed through on a voice vote.

Meanwhile, we’re scrutinizing public records to follow the money, something else that “needs to be looked at.”  If we discover industry contributions appearing in the campaign coffers of North Carolina elected officials, particularly among those pushing these horrible bills this term, we’ll be publishing names and amounts.  A smarter ideas is not to take industry cash in return for introducing custom-written legislation on their behalf.

Brian Bowman in Wilson is happy with the results, but is also aware that city’s Greenlight municipal broadband service is not permanently in the free and clear:

Historically speaking, they’ll start looking at it sometime this September and have a report prepared about a year from now. Meanwhile, North Carolinians and people all over the country will continue to see more and more how important true high speed is to our economic development. The landscape has changed in a good way over the past couple of years and it will continue to change while they do this study.

Two bills sent to study committees in less than 24 hours. Wow.

Let’s all hope that our future efforts will bring about additional successes.