The chairman is the rare former lobbyist who is using his industry expertise to aggressively promote the broader public interest…. Neither the cable nor wireless companies can fool him since he knows exactly how they operate.
— Michael Calabrese of New America’s Open Technology Institute, sizing up Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler. Wheeler once lobbied on behalf of cable companies, but now they’re angry with him because he has vigorously championed — and implemented — progressive policies they oppose.