Despite claims of Capitol Hill Democratic legislators that the FCC already has the power to demand the identities of people funding political advertising, the Commission has no plans to go there short of an act of Congress.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said it was off the radar.
Instead, Wheeler told reporters the FCC would be focusing in “difficult telecommunications related issues….”
If Congress were to pass a low mandating FCC entry into the political advertising disclosure arena, then it would do so, said Wheeler.
However, the prospects of getting such legislation through the Republican-led Congress are slim. In fact, the partisan divide on this issue is severe enough that it is the opinion of RBR+TVBR that nothing short of Democratic control of the Senate by a filibuster-proof 60-40 margin would be enough for such a bill to pass.
And then it would have to clear the judiciary.
