More on Mignon

Now that we have official word on Mignon Clyburn’s nomination to the FCC, it’s time to cull the Internet and (try) to provide more insight into her communications background and experience.

My takeaway: There’s little known about Clyburn’s actual stance on competitive telecom. It sounds like she’s in deep with the incumbents, via her seat on South Carolina’s Public Service Commission; if this is true, that stance doesn’t mesh with President Obama’s stated support for net neutrality and competition. So one would then have to wonder if Obama named Clyburn for her qualifications or – please God, no – her political connections (her father is one of the most powerful men in Congress as House Majority Whip).

I genuinely hope the negative speculation is all wrong but we won’t find out until Clyburn casts her votes at the FCC.

• Official CV on South Carolina’s PSC site
  
• A softball exploration of Clyburn’s apparent FCC aspirations: Getting to Know FCC Hopeful Clyburn
  
• The heavy-hitting stuff: Blogger Sascha Meinranth, a tech policy expert who also served on President Obama’s Technology, Media & Telecom Committee, is trepidatious about Clyburn’s nomination. He writes, “I'm keeping an open mind, having never worked with Ms. Clyburn ... [but] just about everyone I've talked with – right across the board – has been deeply concerned that Ms. Clyburn will be a disaster for the public interest. The dominant feeling is that she is extremely tight with the telecom incumbents and that having her on the FCC will all but ensure a stalemate that will prevent any meaningful telecom reforms from being passed.” Read the full post.