Corporate Donations are Now favoring the Democrats

[babylonsister]

Corporate Donations are Now favoring the Democrats
by Timothy Gatto | Oct 12 2007


The fix is in. It is now official. The corporate powers-that-be have officially sanctioned the Democrats in the 2008 elections. According to The Center for Responsive Politics and their Campaign Finance website “Open Secrets”, the political gift giving program for the “own your own politician” has turned to the left. Democrats now get more of the corporate “manna” than the Republicans.

So where does that leave the corporations? Have they finally become aware of the evil mechanizations of Darth Cheney? Have they finally decided to follow the good side of “the force”? Hardly, in reality the corporate kingmakers have seen the writing on the wall and are now doing “damage control” on their swiftly sinking ship. The ship seems to be listing so badly, that instead of trying to repair a ship that surely has a date with destiny at the bottom of the political sea, they are climbing aboard another ship that seems a bit more seaworthy.

This will obviously be greeted with shouts of joy from diehard Democrats that can’t see the forest for the trees. They don’t seem to understand that they are just trading one type of dictatorial power for another one. The saddest part of this story is that now they will be controlled by the same forces that control the Republicans (not that they weren’t controlled by the corporate boys before). Now it is official. There is more to this than meets the eyes however, so let us get to the putrid mechanics of this political swicheroo.

Let us gaze at the top ten donors. This might raise a few eyebrows:

1 Act Blue $3,151,038 100% Dem 0% GOP Solidly Democratic

2 Goldman-Sachs $1,656,954 71% DEM 29% GOP Strongly Democratic

3 Citigroup Inc. $1,582,857 63% Dem 37% GOP Leans Democratic

4 JP Morgan Chase & Co. $1,171,720 68% Dem 32% GOP Strongly Democratic

5 AT&T Inc. $1,094,144 45% Dem 55% GOP On the fence

6 UBS AG $1,068,953 62% Dem 38% GOP Leans Democratic

7 Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $947,815 98% Dem 2% GOP Solidly Democratic

8 Laborers Union $924,500 91% Dem 9%GOP Solidly Democratic

9 Morgan Stanley $923,850 62% Dem 38%GOP Leans Democratic

10 Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union $904,000 97% Dem 3%GOP Solidly Democratic

Take out the Unions and the Democratic Organizations and we are left with what else, the bankers. Surprised? Don’t be, they were the largest donors to the Republicans for the last 16 years. As Bob Dylan sang; “You just want to be on the side that’s winning”. The fact is, Goldman Sachs has been the largest political contributor to political races in history. The rankings from 11-20 are; Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, General Electric, Comcast Corp, Akin, Gump et al, American Bankers Assn, Air Line Pilots Assn, Ernst & Young, American Federation of St/County/Municipal Employees, American Assn for Justice. Of these, only The American Bankers Assn, and Ernst & Young give more money to the GOP. Merrill Lynch is hedging their bet with an even number to both.

So what does all of this mean to the average American? Well to begin with, it means that your paltry contribution means squat. If your credit card debt and the spine-numbing late fees and fines are driving you to bankruptcy, don’t expect anyone to be in your corner. In fact every corner that every American owns has no supporters in it, save family and friends.

more...

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/10401

[antigop]

1. Well, take a look at this....

http://opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.asp?CID=N00003572&cycle=2006

[Larkspur]

2. Corporations thoroughly corrupted the Repulican Party

just hope Democrats don't follow suit. I know the DLC Dems will.

[OKNancy]

3. Making a big deal out of nothing IMO

Shoddy writing and research it looks like to me.

For example, look at Goldman Sachs. The "article" makes it look like they are switching.
They have always been pro - Democratic.

http://opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.asp?ID=D000000085
The firm tends to give most of its money to Democrats. Goldman Sachs' former chief executive, Jon Corzine, served in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat from New Jersey. He's now the state's governor.

[babylonsister]

4. That was selective of you: check out the contributions of Citigroup.

Their allegiance is to whomever is in power. I imagine if I researched many of the other companies, I'd find similar results.

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=DC&last=Citigroup