FCC Rebuffs at Least One Lobbying Effort

[Commentary] Washington’s “Rear-View Regulation” (Review & Outlook, April 25) that killed the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger may be another instance of incompetent government overreach to solve yesterday’s problems, but one bright spot is that “Comcast Spent Big for Little Result” (Business & Finance, same-day), a rare setback for cronyism.

Comcast’s CEO Brian Roberts was a longtime acquaintance of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler (a former cable lobbyist) and a solid supporter of President Obama. According to your article, Comcast built a giant lobbying operation in Washington, employing more than 100 individuals at 40 lobbying firms, and paid “former aides to just about every significant lawmaker and policy maker as well as Mr. Wheeler himself” to press for merger approval. If it is our economic destiny to be steered by government bureaucrats with 20/20 hindsight, it is good to see that a White House BFF still can get rear-ended by regulators.