In the end, the hit parade of hypothetical horrors failed to carry the day. Preemptive regulation is rarely a good idea and as many of the Senators’ statements yesterday showed, neither is a vast new expansion of federal power over the Internet.

So-called Net neutrality may emerge again on the Senate floor – despite the lopsided (and clearly bipartisan) 15-7 final vote. But in the meantime, it’s worth remembering some of the truly independent voices that came out in eloquent opposition to suffocating new regulations on the Internet:

* The 700,000-strong Communications Workers of America spoke on behalf of working families who depend on broadband deployment.

* LULAC, the nation’s leading advocate for Hispanic Americans, warned lawmakers in a June 20th letter that this proposed new regulations were “complex and potentially damaging to the Internet.”

* David Farber, former FCC Chief Technologist, and two former FCC Chief Economists

* Newspaper editorials from The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Oregonian and many others that warned against new Internet regulation.

Thanks for speaking out, folks. Your voices helped carry the day.