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Yes, Virginia, there are ethics in Washington

By Dawn Holian Iype
Posted on Wed Dec 20, 2006 at 11:39:11 AM EST

It's easy to be "affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age." Corruption and ethical lapses can make us jaded and weary of the world of politics. But there are public servants who put personal integrity ahead of partisanship: FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell is one of them.

In case you don't know the history -- for months, McDowell has recused himself from voting on the proposed $67 billion merger between AT&T and BellSouth. McDowell wants to avoid even the appearance of a conflict-of-interest, since his former employer has weighed in with the FCC on the deal.

Two FCC commissioners are pushing for consumer-friendly conditions like net neutrality; the other two, including Chairman Kevin Martin, believe it's best to complete the transaction as quickly as possible, without controversial conditions. The two sides haven't been able to reach a compromise, and without McDowell's tie-breaking vote, the FCC has been forced to delay the matter time and time again.

In a shameless attempt at forcing McDowell's hand, Martin asked the FCC's general counsel to weigh in on whether McDowell could vote on the merger. Not surprisingly, the report came back that he was A-OK to vote.

McDowell could have taken the politically expedient road, done what Martin wanted, and cast his vote in favor of the merger. But instead, he reviewed the Ethics Agreement he had signed when he became an FCC Commissioner - and his own conscience - and came to the conclusion that the right thing to do was to disqualify himself from voting. (Read his statement here.) Now it's time for the remaining Commissioners to renew their efforts to find a compromise.

Here's to a 2007 filled with more ethics stories like this one.


Tags: Media and Democracy, ethics, FCC, telecom, net neutrality (all tags)


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Yes, Virginia, there are ethics in Washington :: 2 Comments

Election Reform

When we give priority to voting, we will get more participation. If I had a job working for minimum wage, do you think I would take time off from my job to go vote? No. Therefore when we make a national holiday out of election day and give everyone time off to vote (Remember it can take up to 3 hours in some states), we'll get more participation. For many of us, it's more about putting food on the table than an issue of who's going to be in office for the next 4 years. Of course, this would unfairly benefit the working poor, a principle that would be objectionable to those with money. Do we not think the office of the president is important enough for a national holiday? What do we do on memorial day, veterans day, etc.besides shop. OR, think about if we celebrated President's day and election day together? Then we would'nt have to remove a workday.

by joykatl on Wed Jan 03, 2007 at 02:24:07 PM EST


Time off for voting

My concern about making Election Day a federal holiday is that many people might decide to turn it into a long weekend and go on vacation, rather than go to the polls.  A better solution -- one that's already been implemented in some states -- is to give workers paid time off for voting.  This website has a good rundown of each state's laws re: time off on Election Day.

by Dawn Holian Iype on Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 09:19:07 AM EST


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