who was appointed by an elected official (Pres. Barrack Obama)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajit_Pai

I'm simply pointing out that we empower and trust the "good people" we elect to choose "good people" they appoint.

While technically correct, your comment is misleading because the seat legally belonged to the Republicans and he was chosen by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Obama could have rejected the nomination but anyone that the Republicans have a say in will be anti-net neutrality.

Appointed by a candidate who lost by 3 million votes

> Appointed by a candidate who lost by 3 million votes

Obama won by ~5 million and ~10 million votes in 2012 and 2008, respectively.

Designated as Chairman by Donald Trump - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajit_Pai

Obama Designated Tom Wheeler chairman, and he put in place the regulations that Pai dismantled today - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wheeler

The appointment was chosen by a Republican congress.

Do you mean Trump? President Obama appointed Pai.

EDIT: I am not factually incorrect, so could you please explain why you are downvoting?

That's not true. He was appointed in 2012 by Obama and confirmed unanimously by the Senate. Trump merely renominated him to keep the position for another 5 year term.

No, Trump selected him to be the chair, he didn't merely renominate him.

But, in any case, Obama nominated him but did not choose him so much as he choose not to violate long-standing precedent as to how the seats that cannot (because the 3 members of one party limit has been reached) be from the President’s party are selected.

Now, he could have violated that precedent, but that wouldn't have likely gotten someone else into the seat, just given up any chance of Senate confirmation.

Obama still made the decision to nominate him. Plain and simple. And Trump did renominate him for another 5 years. Yes, he elevated him to chairman, but he still gets the same 1 vote, so it doesn't matter. Not quite sure what point you were trying to make.

Yes, but I took the OP to mean that you could press your congressional rep to sponsor or support a Net Neutrality bill that would override agency regulations.

Appointed by President Obama allegedly as a sort of "Olive Branch" to the Republicans.

I really wish the Democrats had just started firing broadsides at Republicans in the last decade, given that the Republicans clearly can stomach the lowest of the low political gamesmanship.

> Appointed by President Obama allegedly as a sort of "Olive Branch" to the Republicans.

It was an “olive branch” to Republicans in much the same sense as the British sovereign offering the leader of the party that has secured a majority the opportunity to form a government is an “olive branch” to that party; it is, through combination of law (limiting the number of members of one party, and mandating Senate confirmation before a nomination becomes an actual appointment) and established custom (as to how nominees that are not of the President’s party are chosen), a requirement that, if violated, would produce a major crisis.

It's not an olive branch. The President is required to appoint no more than 3 members of one (his own) party, and 5 total. The chair is then designated by the President.

But it's predictable that one party would have appointed someone like him and not the other.

Except Obama originally appointed him to the commission, Trump just promoted him.

People keep saying this like he's the person who chose Pai. The way these commissions work is:

- it's staffed by members of each party

- each party's leaders (typically in the Senate) choose the people who will be appointed

- the President typically rubber-stamps those appointments

- the President at the time really only gets to choose which member of the commission is the Chairman

So if you want to blame someone for Pai, you should be blaming Senator McConnell for telling President Obama "here's the Republican we want you to put on the commission".

Not disagreeing with you - I'm taking issue with the parent poster who wanted to blame this on trump. There's plenty of blame to go around in our government, but it doesn't all fall on Trump (as the post I replied to implied)

True, but the parent poster didn't blame it on Trump, he blamed it on the Republican party:

> But it's predictable that one party would have appointed someone like him and not the other.

It is fair to blame this vote on Republicans, given that the vote fell along "party lines".

The general point being: it goes back to elected officials.

The FCC was not against net neutrality under the Obama administration

Ajit Pai was appointed to the FCC by Obama, your elected official, and was designated FCC Chairman by Trump, your other elected official. So it looks like you voted wrong twice in a row!