87% Of Congressional Reps Supporting Comcast/NBC Merger Got Money From Comcast

[Joanne98]

from the how-government-work-gets-done dept

Let me start out by pointing out that I'm on the record thinking that people are severely overreacting to the Comcast/NBC merger. I think that it's likely to be a bad business decision, but I see no reason why the government should block it. If anything, it seems like it'll just be a modern updating of the AOL/Time Warner catastrophe, as management won't really know what to do and will just make things worse off. That said, the companies have been fighting hard against opposition to the merger, and one way to fight is with money. So it comes as little surprise to find out that 84 of the 97 Congressional Reps, who signed a letter urging that the FCC approve the merger without conditions, received campaign contributions from Comcast.

Now, this is not to say that those 84 are corrupt. But, as Larry Lessig has pointed out, whether or not there is actual corruption here obscures the point that it certainly looks corrupt, and certainly decreases citizens' willingness to trust that their government is acting in the interests of the people they're supposed to represent.

If anything, this brings more support to the idea that if our elected officials are going to accept large donations from companies and then legislate in their interests, it would make sense to require those elected officials to wear patches indicating who's funding them, a la Nascar uniforms.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110113/14141312658/what-corruption-looks-like-87-congressional-reps-supporting-comcastnbc-merger-got-money-comcast.shtml

[NightWatcher]

1. Welcome to the New Normal. Corporate dollars replacing the antiquated idea of votes.

The sooner we all realize this and drop the "call your congresscrittet" nonsense, the sooner we can plan what's next.

It's all about the money. So what do we do, withhold our money from them? That won't work, a million other idiots are standing in line to buy their shit. Hell, many here even have Comcast and indirectly funded the bribe. So, what to do? It's all about money. They've got it, we don't, and we're silenced as a result.

[Tippy]

3. K&R....What comes around goes around......

We just keep putting one foot in front of the other...

[handmade34]

2. "...healthy market slim without...government intervention..."

fox guarding the henhouse

http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/connected/story/comcast-nbc-merger/

"...Comcast, which counts 78 former government employees as lobbyists, has spent heavily to convince members of Congress to support the deal. In the second quarter of 2010, the company spent $3.82 million on lobbying, the most it has spent in single quarter. Comcast has convinced a large number of lawmakers to support the deal. Bloomberg News reported that 91 House members and three senators who received Comcast campaign contributions have written letters to the FCC supporting the merger..."

[felix_numinous]

4. K&R

[Octafish]

5. Hey, John Roberts! Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Thank you, Joanne98, for the heads-up.

We use the bastards for cable, internet, etc. My neighbor dumped Comcacast for ATT Multiverse or whatever it is. Now, my phone calls and those from all his chums with Comcast can't get through to his house.

Amazing, ATT must know what kind of turds run Comcast.