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Telcos Heart Rockefeller
Over at Wired's Threat Level blog, Ryan Singel takes a look at how generous the telecommunication companies have been to Senate intelligence committee Chair Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). As Singel notes, Rockefeller had received very little in contributions from the telecoms through last year. But that "changed around the same time that the companies began lobbying Congress to grant them retroactive immunity from lawsuits seeking billions for their alleged participation in secret, warrantless surveillance programs that targeted Americans."
He provides a vivid illustration:
Last month, Newsweek reported on the power lobbyists who've been working hard for the telcos to get an immunity provision.
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Josh
Zachary
In fairness, we're talking $20,000 here, which given the cost of a Senate campaign is not exactly major dough.
The ACLU should have their funders donate to Rockefeller to counter the telco donations.
October 19, 2007 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
So why is he caving in on an important issue as this if $20,000 doesn't make him a whore to the donor?
Someone ought to clue Sir the Fourth in that he won't be able to take his $100 million with him when he kicks the bucket in the next few years. Rather than spending his moments on the planet trashing the Constitution he took an oath to defend, he might want to consider doing something worthwhile to his constituents for a change.
October 19, 2007 1:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Anonymous:
True, but also In fairness:
this graph is just for AT&T and just reflects contributions made through 2006. Check out the Verizon graph at the link as well.
We can more or less guess what Sprint, T-Mobile, Qualcomm, Earthlink, Comcast, Google, Yahoo, Cox, MSN, AOL, and all the others have been doing as well.
And then multiply whatever number you have by X number of Senators and Congressmen who are in the decision (er, ratification) loop for telcom legislation.
$20,000 here. $20,000 there. Pretty soon it adds up to real influence-purchasing.
October 19, 2007 2:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Apparently weak Reid got lots of love from the telecoms also. The corp-rats know who the biggest suckers are, and make sure they get well cared for.
October 19, 2007 2:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mr. Rockefeller should be ashamed...they all should..but they act as though its "owed" to them as compensation for doing good deeds that benefit themselves and corporations..while the rest us can just "go fish"...many say Mr. Rockefellers Grandfather (?) helped create the 1929 depression..read about the FED reserve banking system
http://www.fdrs.org/banking_history.html
October 19, 2007 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just sent Mr. R an email:
How much would it cost for you to pass a law to cover some of my past illegal activity? I see that ATT paid about $20k for their amnesty.
Do you have a sliding scale for individuals?
Looking forward to doing business with you.
October 19, 2007 5:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe they should look into some of these donations the way they did into those of Feiger's office.
On a guess the politics of the Feiger's hires were a lot closer to where they donated than these folks are.
October 19, 2007 5:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Another hockey stick graph that points to a rather damning conclusion.
Oh, but I'm sure it's all just a coincidence, and that no one - NO ONE - at these telcos ever expected any type of quid pro quo from the good Senator. They just really really believe in the good things he stands for, and have long done so - over 12 months now! And heck, they probably don't even know that he heads the Intelligence Committee!
October 19, 2007 6:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bad Move. Bad 'Karma.'
Letter to Senators Rockefeller and Feinstien:
"We the people" are saddened and angered by your 'compromise' to give retroactive immunity to telecoms who illegally pandered to the WH's desultory fear mongering. You've opened the door to more vigilante lawlessness by the executive branch despite any promised new oversight of domestic spying and subversion of our civil rights whenever the WH says, "Boo!"
Your committee's work may makes sense to you as some sort of compromise but to we voters it is not bipartisan but instead clear capitulation to the process that initiated an continues torture, unlawful detainment, rendition, and the trillion dollar unjust, preemptive, invasion, destabilization and occupation of Iraq.
Dem voters might vote more effectively by choosing the 'lessor of evils' in Republican Congressional and Presidential candidates because Democratic principals and representatives have been rendered impotent and meaningless by continued dem capitulation to the RNC/GOP.
As WH spokesmodel Perino said yesterday. "We won again."
October 19, 2007 8:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
$20,000 in bribes to quash hundreds of millions of dollars in potential liabilities? Rockefeller's not only a whore, he's an astoundingly cheap one. Even Don Young charged $40,000 to steer $10,000,000 of our tax dollars to the Coconut Road boondoggle. Rockefeller needs a better pimp.
October 19, 2007 9:45 PM | Reply | Permalink