Feb 5, 2010 (Comcast Hearings Recap)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010
The BTOP/BIP road show stops in Detroit today http://bit.ly/9pVvbH and we have another busy week coming http://bit.ly/dABi79
COMCAST-NBC
Celebrating Comcast Day on the Hill | Comcast's fast-growing Washington presence | Hatch to play key role in Comcast-NBC merger
TELEVISION
Less Than 8% Of Consumers Would Cancel Pay TV: Survey
Could cable lose its grip on TV business?
NEWS FROM THE FCC
FCC Releases Feb 11 Meeting Agenda
Raise the E-rate Cap, Rockefeller tells the FCC
Thune and Genachowski Exchange Commitments to Serving Rural Areas
Kerry and Grassley Raise Concerns about Duopolies
FCC may redraw spectrum allocations in broadband plan
FCC to promote mobile health apps in broadband plan
Ads Prove Broadband Competition, Verizon tells FCC
FCC Announces Protocol for Emergency Response Interoperability Forum
CONTENT
Justice Still has Issues with Google Book Settlement
Studios crushed: ISP can't be forced to play copyright cop
Facebook Has All The News That's Fit to Share
SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
Is usage-based pricing inevitable?
Washington DC Partners with Feds to Test 4G Technology for National Public Safety Network
Sling reduces 3G bandwidth use enough to make AT&T happy
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
How Corporate Dollars Dominate the Black and Latino Conversation on Network Neutrality
CYBERSECURITY
House Approves Cybersecurity Enhancement Act by Overwhelming Majority
China, US vie for mantle of world's biggest hacking victim
How Legal Wiretaps Could Let Hackers In
Smart grid cybersecurity spending set to rise
ADVERTISING
Does Behavioral Targeting Need A Ranking System?
Google Patent Filings Shed Light On Future Of Internet And Online Advertising
A Super Bowl ad too far? Straights can take it
UK rethinks product placement plans
MEDIA AND ELECTIONS
Republicans losing their way on campaign finance reform
POLICYMAKERS
The myth of Washington bipartisanship and the art of true compromise
MORE ONLINE
US Scientists Given Access to Cloud Computing | Symbian phone operating system goes open source | Smart Phone Use May Correlate to Political Party | New Free Text Service For Pregnant Women, New Moms | Smartphone shipments hit new record | iPad Release Drives Social Media Narrative | UK vs. US Government Data Web Sites: The Old World Wins | The Right-Wing Media Machine Has Arrived on the Internet
COMCAST-NBC
CELEBRATING COMCAST DAY ON THE HILL
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
The proposed merger of Comcast and NBC Universal got two Congressional hearings on Thursday. The House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held a morning hearing. In general, Democrats talked about a careful and extensive review of potential anticompetitive harms, with a particular focus on access to online video, for which there are no program access regulations, the effects on broadband of combining the nation's top residential broadband provider with the fourth largest content provider and the effects on diversity and localism, among other topics. Republicans countered that the deal was between two companies with little overlap and presented few anticompetitive threats. They warned against turning the review into a referendum on criticisms of media in general or attempting to apply conditions in a game of "what ifs." [much more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/31951
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COMCAST'S FAST-GROWING WASHINGTON PRESENCE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
The tale of Comcast's remarkable rise in Washington tracks the story of how the cable giant built its business. In the same way that it aggressively grew its empire by acquiring one cable system at a time, the company has methodically added one lobbyist after another and steadily spread more money around the nation's capital as its interests expanded beyond the television screen. Now the nation's biggest cable and Internet service provider, Comcast's relatively new but highly visible presence in DC comes into focus just as a long regulatory review begins of its proposed $30 billion merger with NBC Universal. If completed, the deal would transform Comcast into a media and Internet giant just as the Web threatens to throw the cable and media businesses into turmoil. In effect, the company's hopes to turn itself into Comcast 2.0 lie in the hands of federal officials. Beyond Comcast's sheer size, some observers and telecom policy insiders say that the company's aggressive and sometimes combative approach has occasionally bothered key constituents in Washington's communications and tech circles. That style has come to define the cable giant: a relentless push for policies and a willingness to wage marathon battles to prove its point. It is already suing one of the federal agencies that is reviewing the NBC merger. It pushes back against consumer groups on multiple issues, and those groups have turned their attention to blasting the NBC deal.
benton.org/node/31937 | Washington Post
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HATCH TO PLAY KEY ROLE IN COMCAST-NBC MERGER
[SOURCE: Salt Lake tribune, AUTHOR: Matt Canham]
General Electric Chairman Jeffery Immelt sent Sen Orrin Hatch (R-UT) a $2,000 campaign contribution the same day his company announced a deal giving Comcast controlling interest in NBC Universal. It was the first time Immelt has donated to the Utah senator, and yet the contribution capped a fundraising barrage during the previous month where top GE vice presidents and the company's political action committee funneled a total of $23,000 to Hatch's campaign account. Sen Hatch is expected to play a key role in the congressional review of the controversial merger. He is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary's antitrust committee, which will hold its first hearing on the Comcast-NBC deal Thursday. A GE spokesman said the contributions' proximity to the merger announcement was a coincidence and nothing more, while Hatch's staff said the donations have no impact on his views. Coincidence or not, Sen Hatch is likely to be more sympathetic toward the massive media merger than many others on the subcommittee.
benton.org/node/31939 | Salt Lake tribune
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TELEVISION
CONSUMERS WANT PAY TV
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
About 5.5 million U.S. households, or less than 8% of broadband consumers, would consider dropping cable or satellite TV service in favor of online video, DVDs and over-the-air broadcasts -- but roughly half are pondering a switch to a new pay-TV provider, according to a survey from Parks Associates. The survey shows that the primary competitive threat to pay-TV services continues to be other multichannel providers, according to Parks research director John Barrett. Just 0.5% of broadband households (approximately 350,000 homes) had previously subscribed to pay TV, cancelled it and now watch five or more hours of online video per week. "People who have made the switch to online video are few in number, and they don't watch much TV anyway," Barrett said. Households likely to cancel or switch cable or satellite TV service watch an average of 10 hours of Internet video each week -- versus a median of less than 1 hour among respondents who are unlikely to drop or change providers -- and express strong interest in "TV Everywhere" services that would allow online access to pay-TV channels, Parks found. In addition, this group rented more DVDs: The median number of DVD rentals within the last six months was 18, compared with two among all households.
benton.org/node/31947 | Multichannel News
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COULD CABLE LOSE GRIP ON TV BUSINESS?
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: ]
Cable companies may be raking in profits as they add more broadband subscribers, but price-sensitive consumers may only be a discount away from ditching them. Comcast and Time Warner Cable managed to report profits and add broadband subscribers, but they each lost video subscribers. The sluggish economy and slumping housing market are mostly to blame for the poor performance in the TV market. But growing competition, especially from phone companies offering their own TV services, is also taking a toll on cable's subscriber base. Experts warn that if cable operators aren't careful, the subscriber slide could continue. The biggest problem the cable companies face is that their customers don't like them. And if given enough incentive, they are willing to switch providers or cancel their TV subscriptions altogether.
benton.org/node/31946 | C-Net|News.com
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NEWS FROM THE FCC
FCC RELEASES FEB 11 MEETING AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on Thursday, February, 11. The agenda includes: 1) a report on the status of the National Broadband Plan, 2) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to enhance the efficiency, openness, and transparency of the Commission's proceedings, 3) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to improve the transparency and effectiveness of the FCC's decision-making process by reforming the ex parte rules, and 4) an Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to enable schools that receive funding from the E-Rate program to allow members of the general public to use the schools' Internet access during non-operating hours at no additional cost to the Universal Service Fund.
benton.org/node/31949 | Federal Communications Commission
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RAISE THE E-RATE CAP, ROCKEFELLER TELLS THE FCC
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski]
In October 2009, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski with concerns that the funds available for the E-Rate have not increased since the FCC initially capped them at $2.25 billion annually. Chairman Rockefeller wrote: "I am concerned that more than a decade later the strength of this program has been reduced by the failure of the agency to adjust its rules to accommodate the impact of inflation. Taking into consideration growth in the consumer price index, the cap that was put in place in July 1997 has an equivalent value in August 2009 of $1.68 billion." The real dollar value of the E-rate dwindles, Sen Rockefeller wrote, as the broadband educational opportunities for students increase. In mid-January, Chairman Genachowski, who helped implement Sen Rockefeller's legislative language in the 1990s, wrote Chairman Rockefeller saying that "updating the Universal Service Fund rules and policies must be one of our first steps in implementing the National Broadband Plan."
benton.org/node/31955 | Federal Communications Commission | Sen Rockefeller
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THUNE AND GENACHOWSKI EXCHANGE COMMITMENTS TO SERVING RURAL AREAS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski]
In mid-October, Sen John Thune (R-SD) wrote Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski concerning access to broadband services in rural areas. Sen Thune pointed out that both rural and non-rural carriers serve high-cost rural areas of the country, yet their Universal Service Fund (USF) distribution mechanisms are considerably different. "The result of this difference in USF methodologies is that some rural carriers are ineligible for high-cost USF support under the historic investment model and unable to elect to receive support under the forward looking cost model," Sen Thune wrote. He asked that the FCC consider the important role rural carriers play when deciding issues such as identical support rule, reverse auctions, and expanding USF to include broadband services. Last month, Chairman Genachowski replied to Sen Thune assuring him that the FCC would be mindful of the importance of ensuring service to Americans living in rural areas.
benton.org/node/31954 | Federal Communications Commission | Sen Thune
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KERRY AND GRASSLEY RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT DUOPOLIES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski]
In November 2009, Sens John Kerry (D-MA) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski to raise concerns about some broadcast companies taking advantage of a sympathetic FCC over the last eight years to gain control of multiple television stations in a given market. As a result of consolidation, the senators write, local evening newscasts are now presented on competing network affiliates by the exact same news staff and anchor team in markets across the country, from Honolulu to Cedar Rapids to Baltimore. They asked that as the FCC examines media ownership rules that it study the effect multiple station ownership within a local media market has on the public interest and to consider potential courses of action should the problem need to be addressed. On January 13, 2010, Chairman Genachowski replied, noting that the FCC had recently commenced the 2010 Quadrennial Review of its media ownership rules with a series of workshops to receive public input from a broad range of interested parties on the scope and methodology for the ownership proceeding.
benton.org/node/31953 | Federal Communications Commission | Sens Kerry and Grassley
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FCC MAY REDRAW SPECTRUM ALLOCATIONS
[SOURCE: EE Times, AUTHOR: Rick Merritt]
A Federal Communications Commission director suggested the agency is exploring new ways to use a swath of spectrum to serve multiple users including utilities building smart electric grids as part of a national broadband plan the FCC will release March 17. "Just looking at data growth for iPhones and other devices, you can see broadband in America will increasingly be a wireless solution, so spectrum will be a core issue we will be handling in the national broadband plan," said Nick Sinai, director of energy and environment on the National Broadband Task Force at the FCC. Canadian regulators recently set aside spectrum around 1.8 GHz for utilities building smart grids. At the Grid ComForum where the FCC official spoke, a handful of vendors discussed their use of cellular Wi-Fi, WiMax as well as 900 and 700 MHz links for smart grid projects. Sinai said the FCC held discussions with Canadian regulators, but suggested their solution was not well suited to the U.S. for several reasons. The U.S. has a much higher population and a more complex set of existing commercial networks regulated by the FCC and federal networks regulated by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
benton.org/node/31942 | EE Times
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FCC TO PROMOTE MOBILE HEALTH APPS IN BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: GovernemntHealthIT, AUTHOR: Mary Mosquera]
The Federal Communications Commission wants to foster the use of wireless devices and applications in healthcare as part of a national broadband plan the agency expects to release next month, according a senior FCC official. The FCC plan will describe "where government has a role to reduce some of the hurdles to these technologies both in connectivity and to promote innovation in applications," said Dr. Mohit Kaushal, digital healthcare director of the FCC's Omnibus Broadband Initiative. As part of the plan, the FCC will analyze health IT applications enabled by broadband, including electronic health record systems, video conferencing and remote monitoring, Kaushal said at a Feb. 3 conference sponsored by the mHealth Initiative, which advocates the use of cell phones and other mobile devices to improve healthcare. One of the biggest issues for the long-term future of mobile devices is the finite amount of spectrum, or radio frequencies that carry voice and data wirelessly. "FCC must efficiently allocate the spectrum that is available in order to drive innovation for both infrastructure and applications," Kaushal said.
benton.org/node/31941 | GovernemntHealthIT
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ADS PROVE BROADBAND COMPETITION, VERIZON TELLS FCC
[SOURCE: Verizon, AUTHOR: ]
Verizon has supplied the Federal Communications Commission with a CD full of advertisements that illustrate, the telecom giant says, "the head-to-head rivalry between telephone companies and cable operators, both to win new broadband customers and to lure away existing customers." The company offers the ads as proof of "vigorous competition" among broadband Internet access service providers.
benton.org/node/31936 | Verizon
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EMERGENCY RESPONSE FORUM
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission's will hold a public forum to discuss the creation of an emergency response interoperability center for public safety broadband communications on Wednesday, February 10, 2010. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Public Safety Communications Research Program, and the Bureau will make brief opening remarks. The floor will then be open to the audience for questions and comments. Attendees who would like to speak will be given no more than three minutes to ask questions and/or make comments. Those who are interested in speaking at the forum must notify Susan McLean, PSHSB Outreach Coordinator, at Susan.McLean@fcc.gov no later than noon on Tuesday, February 9. Due to the limited meeting time, speakers will be given time to speak on a first come, first served basis. All information gathered in connection with this forum, whether submitted in person or over the Internet, will be made part of the record in the National Broadband Plan proceeding, GN Docket No. 09-51.
benton.org/node/31950 | Federal Communications Commission
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CONTENT
JUSTICE STILL HAS ISSUES WITH GOOGLE BOOKS SETTLEMENT
[SOURCE: Department of Justice, AUTHOR: Press release]
On Thursday (Feb 4), the Department of Justice advised the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that despite the substantial progress reflected in the proposed amended settlement agreement in The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc., class certification, copyright and antitrust issues remain. The department also said that the United States remains committed to working with the parties on issues concerning the scope and content of the settlement. The department told the court that the amended settlement agreement still confers significant and possibly anticompetitive advantages on Google as a single entity, thereby enabling the company to be the only competitor in the digital marketplace with the rights to distribute and otherwise exploit a vast array of works in multiple formats. The department said it continues to believe that a properly structured settlement agreement in this case offers the potential for important societal benefits. The department stated that it is committed to continuing to work with the parties and other stakeholders to help develop solutions through which copyright holders could allow for digital use of their works by Google and others, whether through legislative or market-based activities.
benton.org/node/31961 | Department of Justice | NYTimes | FT
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ISPs CAN'T BE FORCED TO BE COPYRIGHT COP
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
In a definitive defeat for film studios—and in a first case of its kind worldwide—Australia's Federal Court has ruled that ISPs have no obligation to act on copyright infringement notices or to disconnect subscribers after receiving multiple letters. If copyright holders want justice for illegal file-sharing, they need to start by targeting the right people: those who committed the infringement. The ruling handed down today by Judge J. Cowdroy aims to be nothing less than magisterial: in 200 pages, it examines the issue from every possible angle because of the "obvious importance of these proceedings to the law of copyright both in this country and possibly overseas."
benton.org/node/31948 | Ars Technica
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FACEBOOK NEWS SHARING
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Mathew Ingram]
[Commentary] Facebook staffer Malorie Lucich wrote a post on the site's blog recently in which she talked about using the social network to keep up with the news in two different ways — both by picking up news from the friends you follow through their news feeds and status updates, but also by becoming a fan of pages from news outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, CNN and so on. As I read her description of how she found out about Michael Jackson's death, the earthquake in Haiti and other major news events through Facebook, I remember thinking to myself: "I do that, too. But is it really that big a deal?" As it turns out, it just might be a big deal, in the sense that whatever a social network of 300 million people does tends to be a big deal. According to research from Hitwise, the number of visits from Facebook to news and media web sites has been climbing rapidly — particularly when compared with Google News, which has barely budged from where it was a year ago. Hitwise staffer Heather Hopkins writes that "Last week, Google Reader accounted for .01% of upstream visits to News and Media websites, about the same level as a year ago. Google News accounted for 1.39% of visits and Facebook 3.52%." Increasingly, regular folk seem to be getting their news from social networks such as Facebook as well as from the usual news sites such as MSN, Yahoo and Google News. And as more and more traditional media entities build out their Facebook presence, that trend seems likely to continue.
benton.org/node/31933 | GigaOm
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
IS USAGE-BASED PRICING INEVITABLE?
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Phil Goldstein]
Wireless carriers are facing a conundrum: They have invested billions of dollars into improving network capacity, but only a small number of users are responsible for the majority of the network's total data traffic. And while there has been some discussion about usage-based pricing as a solution, there are a range of roadblocks facing operators that chose to travel down that path. Metered pricing is a simple-sounding solution that has many complex parts. It's technically possible, but how carriers implement the service will depend on their individual business situations. "I think that it is inevitable for the industry to move toward this, otherwise the business model is not sustainable," said Rafi Kretchmer product marketing manager for revenue management at billing systems vendor Amdocs. He noted that low-volume data users are essentially subsidizing heavy data customers. "In order to address this conflict, they realize that to not leave money on the table, they must differentiate the pricing." Others agree.
benton.org/node/31928 | Fierce
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CYBERSECURITY
HOUSE APPROVES CYBERSECURITY MEASURE
[SOURCE: House Committee on Science and Technology, AUTHOR: ]
On Feb 4, the House of Representatives passed the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act (HR 4061), by a vote of 422 to 5. This bill will improve cybersecurity within the federal government as well as the public and private sectors by: helping to develop a skilled cybersecurity workforce; coordinating and prioritizing the federal research and development (R&D) portfolio; improving the transfer of cybersecurity technologies to the marketplace; and promoting cybersecurity education and awareness for the general public. This bipartisan legislation addresses recommendations from the Administration's Cyberspace Policy Review, released May 29, 2009, and input from the four hearings on cybersecurity the House Science and Technology Committee held in 2009. HR 4061 is a combination of two Committee discussion drafts: the Cybersecurity Research and Development Act of 2009, which passed the R&SE Subcommittee on September 23, 2009, and the Cybersecurity Coordination and Awareness Act of 2009, which passed the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee on November 4, 2009.
benton.org/node/31927 | House Committee on Science and Technology | TechDailyDose
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ADVERTISING
DOES BEHAVIORAL TARGETING NEED A RANKING SYSTEM?
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Laurie Sullivan]
EMarketer estimates online advertisers in the United States will spend about $2.6 billion by 2014 on behaviorally targeted (BT) advertising, up from more than $1.1 billion this year. Estimates put the industry on a growth rate of about 20% from 2009 through 2014. But even with all that projected growth, do advertising and marketing executives understand the benefits and the challenges? David Hallerman, senior analyst at eMarketer, tells me the report, scheduled for release on Feb. 11, will cover topics from the potential for combining data and social media, to how the government will address privacy concerns. When it comes to actually implementing BT platforms, Hallerman tells me advertisers' biggest concerns are focused on brand reputation and campaign effectiveness. Can the technology actually hit the mark and drive higher conversions? There's also a growing recognition that BT can become a useful tool -- but, like all useful tools, it can't always work alone. BT belongs in the narrow part of the marketing funnel, where advertisers have a better sense of the target, Hallerman says. In the upper part of the funnel, where advertisers try to build awareness for the brand, other targeting methods and tools work better, more cost-effectively.
benton.org/node/31931 | MediaPost
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GOOGLE PATENT FILINGS SHED LIGHT ON INTERNET'S FUTURE
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Laurie Sullivan]
Google updated a series of patent filings in January that could suggest the search giant plans to dig deeper into behavioral targeting, video content, and might also roll out dynamic advertising in its mapping applications. The patents range from a method to deliver, target and measure advertising over networks to an overlay for advertisements in video content. For a company that attempts to stay away from the word "targeting" comes an update on a patent originally filed on July 24, 2009. The filing, updated on Jan. 28, 2010, provides a method to deliver ad targeting and measuring tools over networks. The abstract explains methods for targeting the delivery of advertisements over a network, such as the Internet. Statistics are compiled on individuals and networks, and advertisements are tracked to permit targeting to individuals. In response to requests from affiliated sites, the patent explains how an advertising server delivers the advertisements to people accessing the Web site page. The ad is based on profiling the person and networks.
benton.org/node/31930 | MediaPost
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MANCRUNCH SUPER BOWL AD
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Kevin Huffman]
[Commentary] On Sunday, as I hunker down with family and friends for the Super Bowl, I can rest easy knowing that CBS is working hard to defend my heterosexual sensitivities. On the surface, heterosexuality doesn't seem like a particularly distinctive trait or one in need of broad institutional protections, but many seem to believe that we heterosexuals are delicate souls. The media, the government, the military -- all are ready to head off potential sightings of gay people. In the case of the Super Bowl, CBS has refused to broadcast an ad by the gay dating Web site ManCrunch. CBS didn't bother to offer a real explanation for the ban, saying simply, "the creative is not within the network's broadcast standards for Super Bowl Sunday." Let's review those standards. In 2007, the last time CBS broadcast the Super Bowl, it ran a Snickers commercial featuring an inadvertent heterosexual man-on-man kiss. The second-to-last time, in 2004, the esteemed network shared Janet Jackson's nipple with the country. So what is so offensive about the ManCrunch ad? I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's the gay part. Apparently, we can't have our Super Bowl disrupted by gayness, particularly in high-def on the big screen. Heterosexuality has never felt so fragile.
benton.org/node/31959 | Washington Post
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MEDIA AND ELECTIONS
REPUBLICANS LOSING WAY ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Warren Rudman]
[Commentary] Campaign finance laws championed by President Theodore Roosevelt, Republican Sen. Robert Taft and Republican Rep. Fred Hartley were dealt a serious blow by last month's Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. That such a rash and immoderate ruling could come from a chief justice once committed to respecting precedent, and win praise from leaders of my party, is beyond former-Sen Rudman's comprehension. The history of Republican leadership on campaign finance reform should remind Republicans in Congress today that it is not in our true nature to side with the moneyed interests against the interests of the American people. The Supreme Court has taken that stand. It's time to return to our roots and take up Teddy Roosevelt's challenge from over a century ago by enacting the only real and lasting solution I know: citizen-funded elections. Republicans and Democrats in Congress must work together to expand political speech for all citizens by replacing special-interest money in politics with small donations and public matching funds. Supreme Court opinion notwithstanding, corporations are not defined as people under the Constitution, and free speech can hardly be called free when only the rich are heard.
benton.org/node/31958 | Washington Post
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POLICYMAKERS
THE MYTH OF BIPARTISANSHIP
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Steven Pearlstein]
[Commentary] The president, key lawmakers and even the press have begun to focus on the dysfunctionality of the political process that now threatens all incumbents, irrespective of party and ideology. People have begun to talk to one another -- Obama with House Republicans, Jon Stewart with Bill O'Reilly -- and the tone has gotten noticeably more civil. In the 12-step program for overcoming our partisan addiction, we're now somewhere between Step 1 (acknowledging the problem) and Step 2 (accepting personal responsibility for doing something about it). One thing that is already obvious is that most people in Washington have forgotten what bipartisanship means in practice, if indeed they ever knew it. The only way a democratic system like ours can work is if the majority party acknowledges that winning an election means winning the right to set the agenda and put the first proposal on the table, though not the right to get everything it wants. By the same logic, if members of the minority party want to influence that policy, they have to understand that it will require them to accept some things they don't like to get some things they do. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/31956 | Washington Post
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