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Today's Must Read
You can understand their exasperation. The administration and Congressional Republicans have done everything in their power to protect the telecoms. They used every legislative tactic at the ready, made every speech or public pronouncement possible, and even engaged in occasional theatrics to drive the point home: Congress will not be passing, and the President will not be signing, any surveillance bill into law that does not give the telecoms retroactive immunity for having helped the administration break the law.
And despite all that, the telecoms still seem not to understand which side their bread is buttered on. "GOP leadership aides are grumbling that their party isn’t getting more political money from the telecommunications industry," Roll Call reports (sub. req.):
“It’s quite discouraging,” said one GOP leadership aide, referring to the disparity in giving from the telecommunications industry in light of the FISA debate, but also the broader lack of support for Republicans from the business community in general.“These companies just won’t do anything,” the aide said. “Even when you have the Democrats working against their bottom line.”...
[A Republican lobbyist said] “There’s no question that from time to time staff, and maybe some Members, say to fellow travelers: ‘Are you giving us some air cover? Are you helping us help you?’”
The news is not all bad. The telecoms still give more money to Republicans than to Democrats, Roll Call reports; "Of the four major phone companies, only Sprint is now favoring Democrats overall." The other three, AT&T, Verizon and Qwest, still know their bread and butter, but are favoring Republicans "by slimmer margins than in years past." The reason is clear: with the Dems in power, of course, the telecoms need to spread the wealth.
But the House Republican campaign committee, Roll Call points out, is $29 million poorer than its Democratic counterpart. How are the Republicans supposed to return to power if they can't even convince companies whom they're working to protect from billions of dollars in lawsuits to pony up?
Perhaps, as one GOP leadership aide puts it, the telecoms will find religion again when they realize “these guys are not good for business.”
Comments (20)
Apparently it's not the telecoms that need the help so much....
Time for Cheney to pony up!
February 28, 2008 10:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
It was this Republican administration that put the telecoms in this position to begin with. Sure, they could've refused to cooperate, but you can't expect them to be overflowing with monetary gratitude.
February 28, 2008 10:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
The telecoms correctly understands that contributions to the GOP are a bad investment. Thanks to GWB, the GOP will the a minority party for the next generation. More importantly, telecoms like most of corporate America, understand the GOPs bigoted policies are bad for corporate America. Corporate America has nothing to gain from anti-persons-of-color, anti-non-fundamentalist-christian, anti-gay, anti-female, or anti-middle-class policies. Just consider how many companies are providing benefits to employee "partners" regardless of gender or marriage license.
February 28, 2008 10:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, but the CEO's, COO's, CFO's, and other highly-paid managers of these corporations also know that their own personal tax breaks depend on the Republicans. The 'telecoms' don't decide anything. It's the wealthy people who manage them that make the decisions, and their interests aren't exactly the same as the corporation's itself.
Their interests aren't entirely separate, of course. The financial health of the corporation is still very important to the managers, but not as important as their own PERSONAL financial health. Just something to keep in mind.
Also note that the ownership of these corporations is different from the management. We all might own part of them through our 401-k and IRA plans, but we don't call the shots. And though board members are technically in charge, the reality is generally quite different. That's why corporate political donations are so inherently undemocratic.
February 28, 2008 11:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
I guess they don't read John Dean's column. He recently wrote 2 columns about which party is good for business and the economy:
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20080125.html
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20080208.html
February 28, 2008 11:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, but the Repugs are bending over backwards to give them immunity!! My goodness that should be worth something. Or maybe the Repugs are just trying to cover their own asses and the Telcos realize this.
February 28, 2008 11:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Interesting analysis.
This changes the story from 'telecoms trying to buy off Bush' to 'Bush trying to buy off the telecoms.
Very telling....
February 28, 2008 11:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
My suggestions for the title of today's must read:
Grieving over the loss of William F. Buckley, stressed DC Tourette syndrome sufferer, involuntarily blurts out civic's lesson.
Bottom lining our safety or I ain't shredding the constitution for chump change, pal. This is D.C. not some third world sweat shop.
February 28, 2008 11:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Now that is insightful.
exactly what I was hoping to glean from this...instead of just a mess of corruption coming from every angle, to see if there is a silver lining to this.
Somewhere in this orgy of giving money for cover and trying to seal up immunity for the telcos, we find the real desperation and energy coming from the white house, is what I suspected all along, really an attempt for the WH to get coverage for their own butts. We have known all along what was going on behind the scenes, but if the PEOPLE could be made to see what is becoming obvious in the goat-entrails....that even the telcos are not pushing so hard and feverishly for this as Booosch is.
February 28, 2008 11:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
So what this makes clear (as if it weren't already) is that Bush and his GOP ilk came up with this telecom immunity idea, and not the telecoms. If the telecoms had thought of this, then why wouldn't they be kissing the GOP derriere for promoting it. But it seems they're not. So it is about politics. Never has been about protecting the American people, it's about protecting some big business donors to the GOP. Obama and the DNC should create some ads pointing this out and run them this fall during the general election. The GOP has proven they don't care about the American people. Unless it's American people working for the telecoms.
February 28, 2008 12:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Big business sees the writing on the wall.
Yesterday, the House Dems voted to roll back $18 billion in tax breaks for the oil industry.
Other industries understand that they very quickly have to make themselves too valuable to the Dems to receive similar treatment.
It will work too. Populist reformer rage against "corporations" and industry will evaporate (in D.C.) right after the election, no matter which side wins.
February 28, 2008 12:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
“these guys are not good for business.”
What a telling quote.
If I remember my history right, Parliament in Mussolini's Italy was made up not of representatives of the people, but of representatives of the various guilds or industries. What did Calvin Coolidge say? Something like "the business of America is business." Of course in our system, the industries have lobbyists to bribe (no other word here for it) the people's representatives into betraying their constituents in the industry's interest, which is a little different from fascist Italy where the lobbyists WERE the members of parliament, but it seems to me that the line is getting thin indeed...
February 28, 2008 12:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Money follows power. This is how corporations vote, so a shift to giving Dems money means Dems will win in November. They're hedging, of course, but the transition is what's meaningful. The telcos still need the Repubs for another year though, so they're not going to cut them off totally.
February 28, 2008 1:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm telling you... I just saw a Pentagon clip with the wily Osama chattering away into a Sprint Razr.
And the reception was great! Five bars!
Sprint has definitely slithered to the Dark Side.
Note: Or was that Obama? I get my turban-wearing Democrats confused.
February 28, 2008 1:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just saw a Pentagon clip in which the wily Osama is chattering into a SPRINT RAZR!
And the reception was perfect! Five bars!
Note: Wait... I meant Obama... Dang, I gotta get my turban-wearing, Birkenstock-clad Democrats straight.
February 28, 2008 1:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
“These companies just won’t do anything,” the aide said. “Even when you have the Democrats working against their bottom line.”
Refreshing, but ugly, to see it put so bluntly. The quid pro quo attitude. The businesses reading November tea leaves and hedging their bets.
And then the standard business attitude: billion dollar lawsuits? It's not coming out of the pockets of the executive board. The stock prices may decline a bit, but they'll still get their Christmas bonuses and the stock prices will ultimately rebound.
I just wish the whole lobbying game will end and all those businesses will just put Congress on their payroll, at least those members who'll perform like a well-trained monkey.
Public financing of all Congressional campaigns remains the only way to end this unsavory and costly arrangement.
February 28, 2008 2:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
The House is going to debate FISA next week. There has been no word about the conference committee except that the Republicans were boycotting it. It's all but certain that this is a done deal. We have a one party system.
February 28, 2008 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
C'mon Paul, are you folks going to let people post off-topic comments about Obama being a Muslim terrorist?
February 28, 2008 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think the telecoms realize that it's not really them the Dems are after. In law enforcement, you go after the little guys and you cut them deals until you make it all the way to the big players who are really calling all the shots. The dems need to make sure the telecoms do not have immunity so they can have some leverage to use when finding out what exactly the repugs made them do. Realizing this, the repugs are desperately trying to keep them immune so that the investigations hit a dead end. And let's be honest here: 97% of Americans are cell phone junkies. The telecoms are in no real danger; they're merely a step closer to the real criminals.
And Lovelynina...gotta say that the Somalian jumpsuit almost cost him the campaign, mostly on style. I think we should photoshop a turban on Clinton and McCain and post it on youtube with a catchy song to even out the playing field!
February 28, 2008 2:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
you don't need to photoshop anything, there's already a picture of Hillary in a headscarf with Yasir Arafat!
what about the picture of Bush kissing and holding hands with the House of Saud?
February 28, 2008 2:45 PM | Reply | Permalink