Is it the fiery orange of AT&T’s corporate logo, or the hot pink preferred by the object of his desire, T-Mobile? 

It can’t be blue, because that would reflect connection to the reality-based world… the one where public comment on the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile is overwhelmingly opposed. That world of verifiable fact and confirmed figures holds no sway over Cicconi, AT&T’s top lobbyist.

That comes clear in Cicconi’s latest self-congratulation, in which he applauds the “clearly growing” movement in favor of the merger. He cites support from other corporations, which have an obvious motive to favor reducing restrictions on monopoly, and also from politicians like North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue, who recently allowed private internet service providers to impede rural communities that want to make high-speed internet available to North Carolinians who the corporations can’t be bothered to serve.

He also cites several non-profit organizations, many of which are recipients of AT&T’s “charitable” largesse, as noted by Washington Post tech reporter Cecilia Kang.  (You can ask the Seattle non-profit group Reel Grrls what happens when you don’t give your corporate benefactor’s agenda your full-throated support.)

If corporations that stand to benefit from destroying anti-monopoly laws, politicians that do tech corporations’ bidding and non-profits that rely on him—in his convenient role as chairman of the AT&T Foundation—to keep their efforts alive is Cicconi’s idea of a groundswell, what does he have to say about the 27,000 Free Press members who told the FCC they want no part of bringing back the bad old days of Ma Bell’s unresponsive monopoly?

Cicconi and AT&T’s spin machine are trying to make us believe that everything we know about basic economics is wrong.  We’ve already debunked that fairy tale. In their fantasy land, all that is good for AT&T’s profits is good for us. We’ve debunked that myth, too.  They’re trying to tell us that only this merger will ensure an effective, nationwide mobile network.  We’ve exposed that sham, as well.

Nevertheless, we can expect Jim Cicconi to keep trying to convince us that he’s building a movement that will bring home a victory for AT&T.  That must look pretty good in a world where corporate lobbyists with virtually unlimited funds can buy a field of Astroturf and call it “grassroots.”   

But in our world, where the sky is blue and grassroots can’t be bought, killing jobs, eliminating market competition and stifling innovation are bad things.