(DailyDig.com) – Within hours of Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announcing his opposition to Gigi Sohn’s appointment to the FCC on March 7, Sohn withdrew her candidacy.
In explaining his opposition to Sohn’s nomination to fill the available seat on the FCC, Manchin pointed to her history of political involvement, her making inflammatory remarks online, and her association with far-left organizations. The left-leaning telecom lawyer also previously retweeted postings calling for the defunding of police and had proposed that the FCC investigate whether the Sinclair Broadcast Group, a right-leaning company, was suitable for a license to broadcast.
In October 2021, President Biden nominated Sohn, a former FCC employee and longstanding public interest champion, to be the third Democrat commissioner. Over the course of the previous 16 months, however, a vicious and, at times, bad-faith effort has persisted to thwart her candidacy. With just four commissioners, the FCC is practically powerless to enact Biden’s internet ambitions without the support of the opposing party. The administration’s campaign to restore net neutrality regulations was dealt a significant setback by Sohn’s decision to resign.
According to Sohn, she never would have guessed that lobbyists for the media and cable industries, their hired shills, and shadowy political organizations with deep budgets would twist her 30-year record as a consumer champion into “an absurd caricature of blatant lies.” She and her family have endured tremendous stress because of the consistently false and brutal assaults on her integrity and her work as a champion for the public good.
Sohn concluded by saying that it’s a terrible day for our democracy and nation when powerful companies are able to select their watchdogs. The influential media and cable corporations were able to accomplish this thanks to the support of their Senate allies.
Sohn withdrew her name from consideration about four weeks after the committee met for the third time to talk about her candidacy.
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