If Cable is in a competitive war, then the “general himself” was on hand to start the second day of the Cable Television Public Affairs Association (CTPAA) conference. That’s how CNN Washington Correspondent Ed Henry introduced NCTA President and CEO Kyle McSlarrow. They proceeded to discuss several of the issues contributing to what Henry called, in an understatement, a “challenging first year on the job” for McSlarrow.

“I take with a grain of salt everything the Bells say,” McSlarrow said to laughter and agreement from the audience of Cable public affairs pros, and he characterized the RBOCs’ history as “replete with broken promises.” He noted that the Telecom Act of 1996 granted the RBOCs four ways to enter the video market and compete against Cable. However, he said, “They spent the next 10 years sitting on their hands” while Cable took full advantage of the Act and began delivering consumers a competitive choice in telecom. Now, as Verizon, AT&T and other RBOCs are finally developing video services, he said, they’re expecting Congress to “rewrite the rules to give them a sweetheart deal.”

McSlarrow emphasized that Cable is not fighting competition—“We accept that we live in a competitive world”—but wants to ensure the “rules of the road” treat all competitors the same.

The a la carte issue dominated much of the discussion, as it did in yesterday’s opening executive panel. “A la carte is a great bumper sticker—‘Why pay for channels you don’t watch?’ But the Cable business model is that the channels you don’t watch pay for the channels you do watch,” McSlarrow said, and he called on the audience to continue educating consumers and lawmakers on the reality that "a la carte means you pay more for less. Even in D.C., I don’t think that’s an ideal public policy outcome.”

McSlarrow corrected Henry’s assertion, which he was only repeating from the FCC’s recent report supporting an a la carte model, that Cable prices have risen 86 percent in less than 10 years. “It doesn’t say that,” McSlarrow shot back before sharing an analogy he said was applicable to the industry. If you bought a cheap, no-frills automobile 10 years ago and today decided to trade it in for a Lexus, you’d certainly pay more, he noted. While you could complain that the price went up, the reality is that you can’t compare that 10-year-old car to a new Lexus. Bringing it back to Cable, he concluded, “You’re getting much more. The value we’re giving the consumer has shot up.”

On the continuing controversy around program indecency, McSlarrow said that with parental controls and other tools, “technology shows us the way” to protect First Amendment free-speech rights while also allowing parents to easily control what programs their children watch.

Addressing the NCTA’s campaign positioning Cable as a “Great American Success Story,” McSlarrrow admitted the industry has not done an effective job educating lawmakers of late. “We should never go dark again in D.C. the way we did the last five years,” he said, telling the audience that they need to be “in the face” of public policy makers touting the innovation and consumer benefits of Cable.

Before concluding the session, Henry asked McSlarrow, a Republican, for his prediction on the outcome of this year’s mid-term elections. “When we sit on this stage next year, do you think the Republicans will still control the House and still control the Senate?” Henry asked. “Yes to both,” said McSlarrow. “Okay, we’ve got it on tape,” Henry replied.