Industry-written policy has brought us higher broadband bills, limited choice among providers and efforts to stifle the creativity of entrepreneurs and the broader public.

It's no surprise that Illinois consumers expressed identity theft as their No. 2 complaint, right behind debt, according to the state attorney general's office.

First, find who his or her biggest corporate donors are. Then check his or her record on policies that may impact the bottom lines of those companies. Does she support or oppose financial-sector reform? Has he recently signed a letter or released a statement opposing EPA curbs to coal-plant emissions?

I thought John Sarik was trying to shake my hand when we met last Spring at the Columbia Laboratory for Unconventional Electronics (CLUE). Instead he was trying to hand me a small tan-colored plastic figurine of smuggler and rouge Han Solo, of Star Wars fame, frozen in carbonite.

However important the SOPA victory was in 2012, its lasting significance depends on how well the diverse coalition holds together in these and other fights -- and against business as usual in Washington.