Some delegates to an international telecommunications commission have been bumped because they or their employers gave campaign contributions to John Kerry. A White House spokesman was actually quoted as saying “We wanted people who would represent the Administration positively, and–call us nutty–it seemed like those who wanted to kick this Administration out of town last November would have some difficulty doing that.”
Now, I respect the idea that they want their position supported, but this is the wrong way to do it. If they want their opinion voiced in this international, non-governmental, industry meeting, they should send an FCC delegate. This decision instead sets the standard of quid pro quo, a big banner saying that governmental support is directly related to contributions. In politics, that is often considered a bad thing. Wikipedia goes so far as to call such things “a breach of the public trust and a dishonest circumventing of the democratic process for special interests.”
In a way, it is refreshingly honest to say up front that in the future, political contributions will be a matter of simple extortion, and that if you support a loser, you can expect political retribution.
Wait… did I just say that?