Lots on line in 'Obama phone' fight

TracFone, a prepaid service provider led by one of the world’s richest men, longs to cut the “Obama phone” line of attacks to save a program for the poor — and its bottom line.

The company, controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, has launched a lobbying ground war to promote the controversial phone subsidy initiative known as Lifeline. And in the wake of congressional blasts, the program’s largest participant has found backhanded support from an unlikely coalition of rights groups and industry advocates pushing for the same goal: to spare it. “We had enough,” said Jose Fuentes, a spokesman for Miami-based TracFone who registered as a federal lobbyist this spring. “A lot of this misinformation was generated by Washington lawmakers themselves. And a few members have picked up on this issue and made it a political one to score points back in their districts.” TracFone funded a full-page ad in The Times-Picayune this spring that depicted flooded New Orleans with the banner: “Lifeline’s wireless benefit was born out of Katrina. Sen. David Vitter must have forgotten.”