Copps On Patrol

Jesse Walker | January 22, 2009

Bad news at the Federal Communications Commission:

President Obama today designated Democratic FCC Commissioner Michael Copps as acting chairman, replacing Republican Chairman Kevin Martin who resigned earlier this week.

As acting chairman, Copps will run the agency until the permanent chairman is appointed by the president.

Most believe that appointment will be longtime Obama friend and former FCC General Counsel Julius Genachowski. However, the White House has yet to announced its intention.

This is unexpected, if only because everyone allegedly in the know has been treating the Genachowski appointment as a done deal. I realize the president is supposed to put someone in charge of the agency while his long-term choice goes through the appointment process. That doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. The appropriately named Mr. Copps is an old-school regulator with an extremely expansive view of the FCC's powers. Not surprisingly, he is also the commission's most ardent censor, outdoing even Martin in his desire to drive indecency from the airwaves.