With a Democrat’s Help, the F.E.C. Goes From Deadlock to Deregulation

psychothumbs@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 77 points –
The F.E.C. Was Deadlocked for Years. Then a Democrat Sided With the G.O.P.
nytimes.com
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This is why many Americans believe there's little that separates the two parties.

Fair. But also this probably wouldn't have been an issue hadn't Trump filled it and the supreme court with his goons.

Commissioner Dara Lindenbaum, a Democrat who has repeatedly crossed the aisle to vote with her Republican colleagues since President Biden appointed her

Her Wikipedia-level history doesn't have any red flags. She had history in voting rights organizations one would generally expect to be pro-regulation.

Biden's appointment advisers might have known something that Wikipedia didn't. They do vet and interview the person at some length, to avoid surprises. Tldr, Wikipedia is useless for this.

"Wikipedia" is her employment history, which is usually the best tool anyone has of determining a new hire's goals and philosophy. Sure, maybe behind closed doors she said "choose me, I'll be a corporate stooge", but she also could have just been a corporate stooge who kept her mouth shut during vetting or a much more mundane regulator who was corrupted after gaining power. Vetters aren't omniscient and corruption is often extremely banal.