Corporate Donations Shift Left
Companies in the insurance, pharmaceuticals and tobacco industries are boosting their share of contributions to Democrats this year, an indication that the traditionally Republican-friendly donors suspect Dems may soon end up holding the reins of power.Companies in the insurance, pharmaceuticals and tobacco industries are boosting their share of contributions to Democrats this year, an indication that the traditionally Republican-friendly donors suspect Dems may soon end up holding the reins of power.
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WASHINGTON — Some big companies are boosting their share of campaign contributions to Democrats this year, a sign that executives may be starting to hedge their political bets after a decade of supporting congressional Republicans.
The shift includes backers of the Republican Party in the insurance, pharmaceuticals and tobacco industries, such as American International Group Inc., Wyeth, and Reynolds American Inc., according to PoliticalMoneyLine, a nonpartisan tracker of campaign contributions.
Most companies say they give political donations to candidates who support their businesses, regardless of party affiliation. But corporations also tend to channel funds to politicians they think will hold power. So any shift in corporate campaign giving toward Democrats could signal that businesses believe Democrats will have more sway in Washington after the 2006 midterm elections or the 2008 presidential contest.
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Growing unease over inquiries, allegations of misspending and executive shakeup has some rich members pulling back pledges and even suing.
Sanders' presidential campaign announced that it raised an eye-bugging $26 million in the third quarter -- essentially matching the $28 million raised during those three months by Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
In his weekly radio address, President Obama showed his dismay at the Supreme Court's decision to remove corporate campaign finance limits, warning of a pending deluge of special interest money into our democracy -- a subject he knows quite well as he continues to fight for health care reform.
Both the Democratic and Republican parties are experiencing a unique form of financial comeuppance, as the economic recession they were in charge of preventing -- that has now caused a 8.4 percent national unemployment rate -- is causing a dramatic drop in the level of political party donations.
You may have knocked on doors for Barack Obama, but it's possible you gave money to John McCain. GoodGuide has a tool that sorts donations by party, logo and industry. Tech companies seem to prefer Democrats while food companies love Republicans. The banks, of course, throw money at everybody.
It's not particularly surprising that oil executives at the Hess Corp. got a little excited when John McCain changed his position in June and called for offshore drilling, but it is interesting that the Hess brass, according to Talking Points Memo, apparently demonstrated their gratitude (cue cash register sound effect here) by writing some big checks to the McCain campaign.
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