Pai embraces chief critic role on net neutrality
The toughest critic of the FCCâs new net neutrality rules isnât marching outside the building waving a sign. Heâs sitting at a desk in the agencyâs D.C. headquarters. GOP Commissioner Ajit Pai is taking the lead in crafting and articulating the conservative argument against Democratic Chairman Tom Wheelerâs plan, which represents one of the most sweeping efforts to regulate communications in the agencyâs history. A Kansas-raised lawyer and onetime aide to former Sen. Sam Brownback, Pai was Mitch McConnellâs choice for a Republican seat on the Federal Communications Commission back in 2011. Now heâs seizing the spotlight as the chief agitator against the net neutrality order. With Wheelerâs proposal to ban blocking or slowing of Web traffic headed for an agency vote on Feb. 26, Pai is slamming the rules as a shift toward government control over the Internet. Heâs repeatedly taken his message to cable TV and Twitter â criticizing the chairmanâs plan in unusually blunt and broad terms. Story Continued Below âIâve not been shy about expressing my views on a great many subjects,â Pai said in an interview in his office at FCC headquarters in Washington. âIâve done my best to make sure that my views are expressed, whether through the spoken word or the pen.â Conspicuously visible on Paiâs desk is Wheelerâs net neutrality proposal, which has been circulated among the FCC commissioners but not released to the public. Pai has repeatedly wielded the bulky document as a prop in media appearances to condemn Wheelerâs plan and to needle the chairman for refusing to publish the text ahead of the FCCâs vote. âNobodyâs ever done the things he has â pulling out all the stops and using all the tricks he does,â said Harold Feld, senior vice president at Public Knowledge, a public interest group that supports the net neutrality plan. âHeâs very much like Justice [Antonin] Scalia in terms of being a standard-bearer for a particular philosophical and ideological view that has a consistent, albeit very narrow, view.â Born to Indian immigrant parents, Pai grew up in the small town of Parsons, Kansas. Along with working as a staffer for Brownback, he did stints in the FCC general counselâs office and the Justice Department. With the backing of McConnell, President Barack Obama nominated Pai for an open Republican seat on the commission in 2011. (The White House traditionally defers to the minority party for its designated slots at the FCC.) Since taking office, Pai has been a reliable economic conservative, railing against commission overreach and warning about government intrusion into the marketplace. Heâs often in lock step on telecom policy issues with the Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Reps. Fred Upton (Mich.) and Greg Walden (Ore.). And he enjoys the support of conservative think tanks like the Phoenix Center, the Free State Foundation and TechFreedom. Now, with Wheelerâs plan to regulate broadband like a utility making headlines, Pai is hammering home the message that burdensome rules could lead to higher consumer broadband prices, harm online innovation and be a boon for trial lawyers. While Wheelerâs office declined to comment for this story, current and former Democratic FCC aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity, blame Pai for creating an atmosphere of partisan distrust at the commission. They say he often plays fast and loose with the facts just to score a political point. âHeâs more interested in grandstanding than getting something done,â said one former staffer. âHeâs always saying we wonât negotiate with him â that we wonât compromise, but when his idea of compromise is to gut the order, than why even negotiate?â Some at the commission also chafe at Paiâs efforts to portray himself as an everyman fighting for the little guy. Wheeler has taken hits for being a former cable and wireless industry lobbyist, but Pai â they point out â once worked for Verizon and stakes out positions that tend to favor the big telecom companies. Pai denies heâs simply a show horse and says heâs someone whoâs willing to put in hard work. âThe proof is in the pudding,â he said. âLook at my position over the past few years.â Pai said heâs taken the lead on a number of important issues at the commission, including a task force to examine the nationâs ongoing transition to digital phone networks and an update of wireless infrastructure rules. âEven in those areas where I have been on the other side of the majority, weâve gotten results whether you like them or not,â he said. Pai insists his criticisms are not personal and heâs not trying to rile the chairman, but there is a discernible animosity in the relationship that shows up in FCC open meetings, with Wheeler often staring darts at Pai as the Republican attempts to eviscerate the chairmanâs ideas. FCC commissioners who are not in the majority have often been viewed as inside-the-Beltway Rodney Dangerfields, firing off a punch line here and there but getting little respect on the major issues. But Pai has shown a flair for the big stage of Washington â and displayed a special talent for finding and exploiting weak spots in Wheelerâs major initiatives. In one recent example, he pumped up controversy over the FCCâs recently completed $45 billion airwaves auction, saying satellite TV giant DISH Networkâs partnership with smaller companies to claim $3 billion in auction credits made a âmockeryâ of the discount program. The chairmanâs office responded that Pai voted for the very auction rules he criticized. In another skirmish last year, Pai seized on FCC plans to conduct a study on newsroom activities, which included asking TV stations how they determine what stories to cover. He penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed saying the government has no place in the nationâs newsrooms â helping to turn the issue into a major public relations headache for the agency. The FCC later canceled the study. Pai isnât likely to achieve that same disruption in the case of the net neutrality rules, which are expected to clear the FCC on a 3-2 party-line vote. But heâs clearly using the debate to advance his philosophy â and stature. âThe role of a minority commissioner is to present the ideas of the loyal opposition,â he said. âTo represent the views of those opposed to the majority and to provide a road map to the courts, the Congress and the American public to see a different point of view.â