This week's interesting tidbit from Megavote at Congress.org shows us what goes through a Congressman's head when they decide how to vote on a bill. Sometimes they vote one way or another because the bill represents a deeply held belief in their core values - or it defies that belief. Most of the time, they vote a certain way due to the notice from up top, telling them how to vote. That's not always the case for Jim Clyburn....
Nope, Jim often votes to protect and strengthen his own power base.. Case in point: Bill HR 3309, The FCC Process Reform Act . Like many Federal agencies, it is either overregulated or it is underregulated. In the FCC, they have been given too much authority in issues that are essentially Freedom of Speech and Commerce issues. Jim's had his eye on helping make the FCC bigger and stronger for years. Remember his push to give the FCC more regulation over indecency? We do. Luckily, no one was listening, so he did what any devious Congressman did - he got his daughter Mignon selected to be on the FCC Board... Yeah, she was on the PSC Board here in South Carolina, but before that, she had no qualifications for it - not that it matters...
While we are all learning that overregulation is as destructive to the American economy as underregulation (or most of us are learning), the Republican House of Representatives are taking steps to peel back a few of the FCC's overreaching powers, and give business an opportunity to create jobs. The Ex-Whipper is having nothing of it...
The bill passed the House by a vote of 247-174, so that does tell you that there was more than bipartisan support, in that a few Democrats realize the FCC is too big and overbearing. This isn't the EPA or the SEC, where citizens safety or financial security are at risk - it's a BS agency to oversee the airwaves. But, this is Jim's claimed turf. He voted no. Why? His daughter isn't on the Board , he is. In the movie Spinal Tap, a limo driver notes that Sammy Davis' book, 'Yes I Can', should be called 'Yes I Can - If Frank Sinatra Says It's OK'... The Mignon-Jim Clyburn-FCC relationship is the same way.
No, there are plenty of reasons to guess why he is against loosening up the power of one of the most overbearing agencies there are in DC. But, our money is Jim is saying don't mess with his daughter, because when you mess with his kid, you're messing with him....literally.
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