Republicans, joyous over having launched Chinagate, are now writing the script for what they hope will be a best seller come 2000. We’ll call it White House in the Unbalance for now.
Al Gore, who scored political points as vice president embracing computers with personalities on par with his own, is beginning to feel the whack of a high-tech boomerang that’s begun flying wildly around this town.
Mr. Gore promised a computer in every classroom, library and hospital by the time he could take credit for it on the campaign trail two years from now. And he anointed himself Y2K czar, the man of steel who would derail high tech Armeggedon in the New Millennium.
Too bad this is Live TV. Republicans, following Gore’s lead, are making discounted education and health-care Internet hook ups a 2000 election issue. In fact, the GOP have coined the universal service subsidy embraced by the vice president and a majority of Congress the “Gore Tax.” Cute.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), the latest darling of the fickle Washington press corps and the GOP big tease for 2000, is making it-along with tobacco and campaign-finance reform-a federal case.
Gore is on his own on Y2K, the Computer Consultants Employment Act of 2000.
And it weren’t bad enough already that the Portals controversy is littered with folks in Gore’s orbit and with Tennessee politics, so, too, it appears, is the schools’ and libraries’ Internet program.
The Nashville Tennessean, where Gore once worked as an investigative reporter, says Al Ganier, a close friend of Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist, won a $49 million grant the state is seeking from the Schools and Libraries Corp. that GAO says is illegitimate. The kicker: The losing bidder offered to do the job for $23 million less.
All this is good news for wireless carriers, which claim universal service financial obligations are so burdensome that they’re left with no choice but to hit up subscribers.
FCC Chairman Bill Kennard is getting a little testy about being made the scapegoat by wealthy industry players that he suspects are pocketing the benefits of deregulation rather than passing them to the public.
Congrats to NTIA spokeswoman Paige Darden and AMTA’s Lynnee Mallonee, both super ladies, on their upcoming weddings. Darden will set up a PR shop in Montana Big Sky Country. Good luck to Liz Maxfield, another wonder woman and cellular industry pioneer, on her move from CTIA to Texas family.
