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McCain leads rural battleground by 10 points

Read the full story here.

John McCain leads Barack Obama by 10 points among rural voters in battleground states, a poll commissioned by the Center for Rural Strategies and the National Rural Assembly finds.

Bill Greener, a Republican adviser for the Rural Strategies poll, says McCain is on his way to amassing a large enough rural margin to take the general election in November. But Democrat Anna Greenberg says that Obama remains competitive and that current economic turmoil could favor the Democratic candidate.

Thepoll finds that the rural battleground is more competitive this year than it was at this point in the 2004 election, when George W. Bush led John Kerry in a similar poll by 13 points.

Rural Broadband and the Vacant TV Channels

In October the Federal Communications Commission is expected to complete a rulemaking process that could help solve the rural broadband Internet access problem.

Or this rulemaking could further delay a solution to the lack of affordable broadband which disadvantages so many of our rural communities.

The ruling will decide whether vacant TV channels may be used for unlicensed wireless broadband Internet access.

The transition from analog to digital TV will create more vacant TV channel space to provide Internet access to rural communities. These TV channels are a part of our public airwaves and have exceptional reach and coverage: Signals travel farther, using less power than in the higher frequency bands, and can penetrate foliage and solid objects, making it easier and cheaper to construct networks. Unlicensed use of this spectrum is a cost-effective solution to the rural broadband problem.

Without unlicensed access to these vacant public channels, rural America will continue to depend on absentee-owned telecommunications networks which have yet to make Internet access universally available and affordable.

A growing coalition of rural organizations -- including the Center for Rural Strategies, Main Street Project, and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance -- invite you to add your organization's name to the letter (link below) urging the FCC to approve unlicensed use of the vacant TV channels.

This letter will be added to the official FCC file on the vacant TV channels known in technical jargon as "White Spaces."

Thanks for supporting this historic effort to ensure affordable broadband for ALL!

Take Action!

• Download and read this letter to the FCC. (PDF format)
  
• Then, e-mail Edyael Casaperalta with your name, your organization's name and your title and we'll add you to the list.
  
• Click here to learn more about Vacant TV Channels.
  

Rural Tracker 2008

McCain leads Obama by 9 in rural battleground

Republican John McCain leads Democrat Barack Obama by 9 points among rural voters in battleground states, according to a poll released May 18 by the Center for Rural Strategies on behalf of the National Rural Assembly.

Among likely voters in rural parts of 13 swing states, 50 percent favored McCain while 41 percent supported Obama, who leads in Democratic primary delegates. In a matchup between Hillary Clinton and McCain, likely rural voters split evenly, each with 46 percent.

The poll reveals problems and opportunities for both parties, according to political consultants who analyzed the nonpartisan poll.

Read more about the poll.

Endorse the Rural Compact

The Rural Compact is a statement of principle calling for positive changes for rural America that will benefit all of us.

The Rural Compact is a project of the National Rural Assembly, a movement of people and organizations devoted to building a stronger, more vibrant rural America.

The National Rural Assembly is asking individuals and organizations to endorse the Rural Compact as a step forward for the nation as a whole. The Assembly will present the Compact and the endorsement list to those who are in a position to help rural communities, including federal and state policy makers, journalists, corporate leaders, philanthropists, community leaders, and others.

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