Praise continued to flow Wednesday for exiting House Communications Subcommittee chairman Rick Boucher (D-Va.).
Boucher was defeated in his reelection run by Republican Morgan Griffith.
"Rep. Rick Boucher was at the center of American telecommunications policy for nearly three decades," said American Cable Association president Matt Polka Wednesday following his loss in Tuesday night's election after 14 terms in Congress. "Rep. Boucher understood that good policy is made when concept confronts opportunity, and he went about the business of lawmaking with erudition, calm civility and intellectual rigor in an effort to locate the most desirable outcome for the nation and his rural Virginia district. His door always remained open to ACA members for an exchange of ideas and a search for common ground to improve conditions in unserved and underserved communities."
That sentiment was echoed by Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, in a blog posting. "Though I am a mere public interest advocate," said Sohn, "Rick Boucher's door was always open, and he was extremely generous with his time, even after he became subcommittee chair.
"There is no one in Washington more steeped in telecom knowledge than Rick Boucher," said National Association of Broadcasters spokesman Dennis Wharton. "We will miss his intellect and his Southern graciousness."
"Boucher long served as a substantive thought leader and a policy guy actually ready to get in under the hood to understand issues," said Bruce Mehlman, co-chairman of the Internet Innovation Alliance. "He will be missed by a lot of folks.
