Why Was Chris Dodd Chosen to Helm the MPAA?
Hollywood loves copyright. It owns enough congresspeople to get serious Hill attention, and its hefty political contributions ensure that executive branch doors are open at all times, so usually it can safely ignore the rantings on this issue of its liberal bedfellows.
The current big content issue concerns draft legislation to allow the government to deal peremptorily with pirate websites, in particular those based overseas and thus beyond the reach of conventional U.S. legal action. The issues involve not just digital piracy of entertainment but counterfeit goods of all kinds, including pharmaceuticals and sensitive chipsets, and — speaking of odd bedfellows — the content industry and the Chamber of Commerce are united on this one, and have secured substantial bipartisan sponsorship.
But the substantive and political issues are very tough. The proposals would allow the government to take immediate action to block pirate websites, and to enlist and sometimes compel the help of all parts of the Internet ecosystem — service providers, domain name registries, payment networks, and advertising placers.
Obviously, there are questions of over-reach in the definition of offending sites, of mechanisms to prevent errors and to correct those that occur, and of limiting the demands on the other Internet players. Even those who are property rights hawks regard this law as a deadly minefield, and want to tread with great care. Those who are skeptical of IP anyway, like much of the tech community, regard it as an outrage.
So Hollywood needs to woo both its own usual allies as well as its usual opposition. It needs support of more than the business groups in the Chamber.
Courting the Republican opposition starts with a big handicap. Hollywood has never supported property rights as a general institution. It favors its own property, period. In terms of protecting land, or the right to make a living, or sunk investment capital, or anything else, Hollywood never met a progressive program of rapine and plunder that it would not support.
It has a habit of coming to Republicans and saying, “Well this is a property rights issue and you favor property rights, so you are bound by your principles to help us even though, since we have no principles, we are not bound to reciprocate on your problems.”
This game has gotten old, and Republicans are getting reluctant to play. One hears, increasingly, that the proper response should be, “Yes, we favor property rights, but we’ll make an exception for yours.”
Given this disquiet, from the standpoint of the business firms concerned with the very big problem of counterfeit goods, it is not clear that the alliance with Hollywood remains a plus. It might be easier to draft legislation that dealt only with counterfeits and not with digital piracy, both technically and because the content people may be alienating more supporters than they bring in.
So on all counts, the choice of Dodd is odd. Why bring in someone renowned for a total tin ear in hearing arguments for the other side? And on an issue that requires a high level of reassurance about thoughtfulness, honesty, and fair dealing, why a spokesman regarded as silly, corrupt, and (worse) unpunished? Why make your allies question your value?
Perhaps there is some realpolitik here that escapes easy view, but it seems unlikely. Hollywood may love illusion, but a grounding in reality has its points.
A very clever and insightful piece. Chris Dodd Is A Corrupt Scoundrel and should be exposed, indicted, prosecuted, tried and convicted and sent to prison for the rest of his sorry life along with other Ponzi Scheme artists such as Bernie Madoff. If Madoff is in prison for his Minor Ponzi Scheme, Chris Dodd and numerous other U.S. Congressmen and Women such as Nancy Pelosi, ought to be In Prison For Life for their Much Larger Ponzi Schemes that they have been getting by with for decades using The U.S. Treasury as their Piggy Bank. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Come To Mind as do all The Green Intitiatives and the Deals Big Government Has Made with GE, Google, IBM and others.
Film producer Jonathan Glickman is Dan Glickman’s son, so there was a connection to the latter’s appointment to the post.
Mr. DeLong:
You forgot to mention Dodd’s hair. He may be a first-class scoundrel and corrupt enough to make an Egyptian Customs officer blush, but admit what is the plain truth…between him and Virginia’s John Warner, they had the best heads of hair in the Senate, probably the best in the entire ranks of Federal elected officials.
(And yes, I DO think that that had something to do with his appointment).
Are you serious?
Do you really think the moneymakers in Hollywood are that shallow and empty?????
You’re probably right.
You gotta admit…it IS the kind of hair one thinks of when one hears the word “Senator”, ain’t it?
It’s the CASTING, man.
Hollywood IS the place that gave us Kevin Costner as Robin Hood, Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, and John Wayne as…Genghis Khan, (“The Conqueror”).
Don’t tell ME that Dodd’s hair couldn’t be a factor.
“He may be a first-class scoundrel and corrupt”
IOW, the perfect lobbyist.
Why is everyone shocked, shocked! a lobbyist might be selected for those qualities, not despite them?
Well, Hollywood is filled with phony people, so Dodd will fit right in. Hey, a guy has got to make a living, so why not take advantage of the people living in the land a fruits and nuts? My only question is, will Dodd be forced to actually live in California, with its sky-high taxes, or will he be allowed to continue living in Connecticut? Well, if he does to the Motion Picture Association of America what he’s done to this country, at least they won’t be around much longer.
BRAVO!, Mr. DeLong. The Hollyweird philosophy defined.
Although, I disagree with your final conclusion of “Why make your allies question your value?”
Because their values are already unquestioned. See: hollyweird philosophy.
Because people, especially politicians, have a short memory.
Because lots n lots of campaign money makes those memories even shorter.
Because power – whether Dem or Repub – loves attention & prestige. Hollyweird can provide both.
And Dodd had already proved to be a useful idiot for Hollyweird with the onerous Frank-Dodd financial regulation law. In that federal law, there was a special interest provision to kill the Hollywood Stock Exchange.
Quid pro quo.
A former congressman is always good to have on your payroll.
Yep. It’s the next best thing to a current congressman!
Because they couldn’t find a Nigerian crooked enough to take the job?
Dodd and Kennedy the two corrupt amoral Irish drunks of the American State. Dodd has a million dollar castle in Ireland purchased with kickbacks and corrupt money. He has no morals and for him to designate what kind of film one should see is a bigger joke. He and his buddy Teddy were known as the whoremongers of captial hill. Can the US government ever be a bigger joke than it is right now
Chris Dodd. Gag. Teddy. Gag. Why ever in the world would his constituents keep returning him to Washington. Money, Money, Money.
Dodd, a known criminal should fit right in.
This is simple it is because he is a communist!
I have written a very in depth article about this from a Conservative perspective on my web site “A Hollywood Republican.” You can find it at: http://www.hollywoodrepublican.net/?p=3744