McSlarrow Backs Pal McCain

As Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) might put it, “What’s a little disagreement among friends?”

McCain — Capitol Hill’s most rabid proponent of mandated cable a la carte — is running for the GOP presidential nomination with firm financial support from an unexpected source: National Cable & Telecommunications Association president Kyle McSlarrow.

On Monday night, McSlarrow and wife Alison — along with many more from the Beltway’s GOP political pantheon — will co-host a big fundraiser for McCain at a swanky restaurant at the foot of Capitol Hill.

The event is set for the night before the Florida primary, which could give McCain full frontrunner status. It has been a remarkable turnaround for a candidate whose fortunes, and finances, were so low last summer that many pundits were writing his political obituary. Victories in the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries have instead propelled him into the lead.

“I am well-aware Sen. McCain has been exceedingly tough on this industry, but, really, the reason I am supporting him is that we have a personal friendship that goes back 15 years,” McSlarrow said last Friday, uncertain whether McCain will be able to attend the bash.

In a losing cause, McCain has fought for a decade to force cable companies to sell their channels one-at-a-time so that, say, an 85-year-old grandmother in Gila, Ariz., with no interest in sports can say no thanks to ESPN.

McCain has tried to pass a law that would deny TV stations the ability to protect their digital signals from piracy if they refused to sell their affiliated cable networks a la carte (think Disney’s ABC stations and ESPN).

Another McCain measure would have cut cable’s franchise fees if they offered an a la carte menu.

Fond of taking rhetorical swipes at cable, McCain likes to say that cable companies give their customers “all the 'choice’ of a North Korean election ballot.”

Isn’t it a little dangerous for cable’s Kim Jong Il to be trying to install Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin’s a la carte clone in the Oval Office?

“When you look at the entire array of issues facing the next president, I think he’s the right leader,” McSlarrow said. “As is always the case, we need to agree to disagree on some issues, but agree on others.”

Golden Moose Awards Proceed

So, the Golden Globes fizzled. The Academy Awards pageant might be drastically different. But some ceremonies are soldiering on as usual. Golden Moose Awards, anyone?

In all fairness, that competition is not affected by the writer’s strike. Few scribes spend their time in duck blinds and fishing holes. Not many in Hollywood, we imagine, have video that could compete for “best bird hunting footage (excluding turkey).”

No, a different clientele is drawn to the Golden Moose Awards, presented by the Outdoor Channel. The event will be held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Feb. 4. Attendees will be drawn from the Shot Show, described as the largest show for professionals in the shooting and hunting industries.

There’s some star power scheduled, though. Ted “Cat Scratch Fever” Nugent, a noted bowhunter, is set to entertain.

And don’t worry about the turkeys. They get their own category.

Aide 'Leaves’ With Little Word

A Federal Communications Commission press release last Tuesday said chairman Kevin Martin had hired a new man to serve as the agency’s general counsel.

In a break with past personnel announcements, Martin’s statement contained a glaring omission: What happened to his old general counsel, Sam Feder?

Usually, Martin has a kind word for a departing top aide but in this instance, he was silent — which was strange given that Feder had been a Martin aide to camp for at least five years.

After a few phone calls, plus an e-mail or two in search of a cooperative Martin insider, we learned that Feder remains on the FCC payroll — but he’s “recused.” Recused from what, exactly, the Martin aide did not say. A day later, an FCC spokesman contributed more information: Feder is on leave.

In Washington, politicos resist frankness, which, in Feder’s case, means this: He is collecting his federal salary while in search of employment elsewhere.