Bobby Rush and the Telecom Bill

Last night, when I was writing about the links on the net neutrality issue, I noticed that Save the Internet.com features a picture of Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush on its site and notes that he's supporting the Barton bill that would expose the Net to telecom takeover. But it was late, and I was tired and wanted to go to bed, so I didn't mention it or look into it any further. Call that a missed opportunity.

This morning's Sun-Times, in a screamingly large point size, headlines "Bobby Rush's Million-Dollar Conflict?" It appears that SBC (now AT&T) has donated $1 million to a community center Rush founded. Let's let Lynn Sweet tell it:

An Englewood community center founded by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), a key player on telecommunications legislation, received a $1 million grant from the charitable arm of SBC/AT&T, one of the nation's largest phone companies.

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On Wednesday, the energy and commerce panel on which Rush sits is set to vote on a controversial rewrite of telecommunications law co-sponsored by Rush and backed by major phone companies eager to compete with cable television companies.

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Rush is the only Democrat to sponsor the "Communications Opportunity Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006." He has been working with committee chair Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) to promote the "Barton-Rush" bill.

Although we've focused pretty much on just the net neutrality aspects of the bill, it has a much wider scope than that, and Rush insists his support is intended to bring more media access and cheaper prices to the economically deprived areas he represents.

While that's possible, Sheila Krumholz, acting executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, sums up the problem: "People can disagree about where to draw the line on contributions and abstaining from votes, but $1 million is definitely over that line." Maybe just a little bit.