The boring world of telecom standard bodies is getting a “political makeover” and is likely the new playground of partisan politics. Time Magazine reports that four of the two dozen or so US delegates headed to Guatemala City for Inter-American Telecommunication Commission, have been “bumped by the White House because they supported John Kerry’s 2004 campaign.”

Those barred from the trip include employees of Qualcomm and Nokia, two of the largest telecom firms operating in the U.S., as well as Ibiquity, a digital-radio-technology company in Columbia, Md. One nixed participant, who has been to many of these telecom meetings and who wants to remain anonymous, gave just $250 to the Democratic Party.

Ironically, Nokia and Qualcomm cannot be accused of being good friends, yet they are in the same boat. “We wanted people who would represent the Administration positively, and–call us nutty–it seemed like those who wanted to kick this Administration out of town last November would have some difficulty doing that,” White House spokesman Trent Duffy told Time. (hat tip, joe garland)