OAKLAND – Members of ColorOfChange.org erupted in protest over news that Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) is in position to become Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, generating more than 15,000 petition signatures and 750 phone calls to Speaker Pelosi. Rush, a longtime net neutrality opponent, announced his intention to lead Democrats on the panel after Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) decided to lead another committee.

In an earlier letter to Speaker Pelosi opposing Rush’s bid, ColorOfChange.org executive director James Rucker contended that in light of commitments to net neutrality made by President Obama and the Speaker, allowing Rush to lead such a critical panel “would seem to cut in the opposite direction of those promises.”

The protest comes as FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski prepares to announce a set of net neutrality rules. Open Internet advocates say that Genachowski’s proposals fall far short of what President Obama has promised – in large part due to political pressure from Democrats like Rush, who last summer joined an effort to dissuade the FCC from regulating broadband Internet.

“Republicans have already signaled their intention to attack Internet freedom in the next Congress, and AT&T has all but announced its intention to pursue paid prioritization schemes,” said Rucker.

“Yet Congressman Rush maintains that net neutrality is ‘a solution in search of a problem.’ This demonstrates either a serious lack of understanding of the issue, or outright hostility to a key policy priority for both President Obama and Speaker Pelosi. Either should disqualify him, or anyone else, from the Ranking Member job. I hope Democratic leadership does the right thing.”

ColorOfChange plans to deliver its petitions to Pelosi and other key members of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which helps determine committee leadership assignments for Democrats. About ColorOfChange.org With more than 700,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the largest African-American online political organization in the country.