Ajit Pai helps boost conservatives in FCC

Federal Communications Commission member Ajit Pai, the newest Republican on the panel, is proving anything but shy about establishing his conservative credentials from the get-go.

In a speech in Pennsylvania and in his first dissenting vote opposing the Democratic majority, Commissioner Pai is making it clear that he isn’t just going to be a go-along-to-get-along member of the panel that oversees some of the most important industries in America. The stance that Commissioners Pai and Robert McDowell took in opposing an order that found Comcast discriminated against the Tennis Channel in favor of sports networks underlines the difference between the parties when it comes to the commission’s role. Democratic staffers say the language in the dissent surprised them, telling POLITICO it struck some sparks in what is a usually collegial atmosphere. “That caused all kinds of anger here,” one Democratic staffer admitted. Pai’s staffers say the Democrats should have known what was coming, as they had already told Chairman Julius Genachowski that they planned to oppose the administrative law judge’s decision that found Comcast in violation of the program carriage rules.