[CCWG-ACCT] Cruz / NTIA: Time to Get Expert Advice

[Greg Shatan]

One should point out that before entering government, Larry was a partner
at a very large and highly-regarded corporate law firm after having gone to
one of the top law schools. So, the comparison may not be apt.

Using paychecks as a measure of power, authority and wisdom, especially
when comparing the public and private sector, is an "apples and oranges"
game.  Obama's salary is less than Fadi's.  For that matter, Strickling's
salary and Obama's are also less than that of the chief stagehand at
Carnegie Hall.

On Tue, Sep 29, 2015 at 11:23 AM, Roelof Meijer <Roelof.Meijer at sidn.nl>
wrote:

> How is this relevant? Is there any correlation between one’s (published)
> salary and closeness to (being the) almighty?
>
> >"His published salary, though, is less than that of a first year
> associate from a decent law school at a mid sized corporate law firm. He is
> >not the all mighty."
>
> Cheers,
>
> Roelof
>
> From: <accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org> on behalf of
> Steve DelBianco <sdelbianco at netchoice.org>
> Date: dinsdag 29 september 2015 04:35
> To: "egmorris1 at toast.net" <egmorris1 at toast.net>, Accountability Cross
> Community <accountability-cross-community at icann.org>
> Subject: Re: [CCWG-ACCT] Cruz / NTIA: Time to Get Expert Advice
>
> Ed — An excellent idea.  In fact, Cam Kerry and Rick Boucher could advise
> CCWG via email right away.  Their insights could help us plan what we do in
> the days leading to Dublin.
>
> From: <accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org> on behalf of
> Edward Morris
> Reply-To: "egmorris1 at toast.net"
> Date: Monday, September 28, 2015 at 9:46 PM
> To: Accountability Cross Community
> Subject: [CCWG-ACCT] Cruz / NTIA: Time to Get Expert Advice
>
> Hello everybody,
>
>
> Some of the unknowns facing this group going forward are as much political
> in nature as they are substantive or procedural. Do we take the opinion and
> perspective of Senator Ted Cruz seriously? Is it a threat to the
> transition? Is there something that we can do to be responsive to the
> genuine concerns of Senator Cruz? Are his concerns genuine?
>
> What about the NTIA? The deference shown to Secretary Strickling among
> some of us here is almost Papal in nature. What did Larry say, how did
> Larry say it, what did he really mean when he said it but really didn't say
> it. It's a bit ridiculous. I admire Secretary Strickling. He's a fine civil
> servant. His published salary, though, is less than that of a first year
> associate from a decent law school at a mid sized corporate law firm. He is
> not the all mighty. Commerce and the NTIA are complex places. Larry has
> absolute control of neither.
>
> I've read here today a legal analysis of the Senator's Constitutional
> challenge by someone I know to be neither an American nor a lawyer. I can
> click both boxes and I have my views but am I sure I'm right? No. It seems
> everyone here has an opinion as to what the NTIA will or will not accept
> from us. Do any of us really know? No.
>
> Prior to the Los Angeles meeting it was suggested that we might want to
> hear from ICANN's lobbyists, that they could explain to us their version of
> political reality. We properly rejected that offer. I think we've reached
> the point, though, where we do need to call upon the expertise of
> some Washington political professionals to help guide us through this part
> of the process. No more guesswork by amateurs or  implied threats by those
> with some self-interest in the matter. We're talking about who is going to
> run a vital part of the most powerful communications technology in human
> history. We need to do this right. Fortunately, we've already retained two
> such individuals who, if we wish, have the expertise and ability to assist
> us in this area.
>
> Back in the early days of this project when we were all young, innocent
> and hopeful :)  we retained not one but two law firms to help guide us. In
> retrospect that decision and two firms we chose to hire were amongst the
> best decisions we've made in this CCWG. I have complete faith in our
> lawyers and that is a rarity for me. I note  that one of the specific
> reasons we hired Sidley was for their Washington ties and expertise. During
> our interviews with the firm we were able to meet two of their
> professionals with the greatest knowledge of DC and government operations :
> Cam Kerry ( http://www.sidley.com/people/cameron-f-kerry)  and Rick
> Boucher ( http://www.sidley.com/people/rick-boucher ). Both men were
> extremely impressive.  It is time to tap their talents. We need serious
> advice in these areas from serious professionals.
>
> I would respectfully ask our Chairs and the full CCWG to consider inviting
> either Rick or Cam to Dublin to meet with the CCWG early in the week,
> preferably during the initial F2F. I think it's important that everyone has
> a chance to question them. We need this type of policy expertise from
> a politically  astute professional who owes a duty of care  to us, no one
> else, and whose rolodex allows him or her to reach out to those whose
> decisions will most impact our work. We need to know what political reality
> is if we are to maximise our potential as a very special and unique group
> dedicated to helping create a truly open and accountable governance
> mechanism for this small part of the networked world.
>
> Thanks for considering.
>
> Best,
>
> Ed Morris
>
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