The New York Times is reporting that Facebook, in an effort to \”protect\” itself, may hire former press secretary Robert Gibbs to provide the company with a footing in Washington.

The man who famously dubbed smart people in the media, some of who put his employer in the White House, could be working for a corporation that has a huge stake in the net neutrality fight. Facebook clearly needs some bureaucrats to wear its colors in Washington to fight for its interests. Who better than Mr. Future Democratic Nation Committee Chairman, Bob Gibbs?

But the systemic apologists over at the New York Times say hey, that\’s the just the system. Even my favorite online media crew, The Young Turks, did a show today completely apologizing for Zuckerberg\’s operation; Uygur claiming, \”that\’s the system, I can\’t blame them.\”

If the term \’left\’ has any meaning, it should be defined as prioritizing the needs of the vast majority of the population. This also means representing the public\’s political interests and voicing the interests of the voiceless. Therefore, if we had a functioning leftist press, or even a functioning labor movement, it would be bitterly condemning this move by Facebook for taking more power away from its stakeholders.

This also happens to be a dramatic case of Facebook, as unaccountable as any other huge international institution, operating under what\’s falsely called \’capitalism\’. The corporate world is no more willing to face market discipline than it ever has, except now it holds more power than ever to control the one institution the public can use to protect itself: government.

How can we allow authoritarian, private institutions to control the government like this?

From the Times\’ article:

Facebook has already stepped up its lobbying efforts in Washington, which have included discussions with the Federal Trade Commission, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

A Times\’ commenter, who is apparently much less cowardly and subordinated to power, described the hire rumor quite accurately:

All the negative impressions of Gibbs is why Facebook wants him. He can apply the same shallow veneer of cover for the behind the scenes rumor mill that haunts every company or gov. It is that same easy going delivery that drives people nuts, that reassures the fearful investor. He can talk endlessly without content, just the diversion the big Z needs to push his stock, without too much information being revealed. All negatives are positives in the world of financial deceit