Wednesday January 25, 2006

Why Is this Man Smiling?

It’s probably because he’s about to be appointed to the FCC. Mediaweek reports that Sen. Ted Stevens, the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, is supporting Robert McDowell for the last vacant seat on the commission. Who is this guy?

Well, he is the assistant general counsel for Comptel, a lobbying organization for second-tier telecom providers. There, he works for Earl Comstock, a former Stevens aide who would have probably been named to the commission if it weren’t for nanny issues. (Nevermind that he also shares a surname with notorious puritan Anthony Comstock, the Brent Bozell of his day.)

Also, according to this site promoting his unsuccessful run for the Virginia General Assembly, McDowell was—like FCC chairman Kevin Martin—part of the Bush-Cheney Recount Team. His Republican bona fides appear to be in order, in other words. As for his stance on decency/indecency, he has no record, and Brent Bozell has not yet thrown a party. We’ll see.

Posted by jim at 12:08 PM ||