With the Democratic-led House leading a shaky blockade against the Bush administration's plan (well, Bush and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-AT&T)) for telecommunications companies to receive retroactive immunity against lawsuits for their participation in any illegal warrantless wiretapping, many Republican lawmakers and candidates are wondering why there isn't more campaign cash flowing in from those same companies.
Roll Call elaborates:
Like most corporate interests with a heavy stake in Congressional action, the major phone companies significantly boosted their contributions to Democrats last year after the party surged back into the majority.
But giving by that sector is getting special attention from Republicans now that the debate over the surveillance program is front and center -- and focused on the phone companies' role in aiding the Bush administration after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"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."
I love stories like this, especially since my Congressman, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD-8) is one of the leaders of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has beat their GOP counterparts by $32 million dollars this cycle, and it's only March.
On the other hand, is it really true that Big Telecom has gone soft on the Republicans? It might be safe to say they're now acting like any smart business and hedging their bets.
Of the four major phone companies, only Sprint is now favoring Democrats overall, giving the majority party about 57 percent of their PAC contributions, according to CQ MoneyLine.
The other three companies, AT&T, Verizon and Qwest, still give a majority to Republicans but by slimmer margins than in years past.
AT&T gave Democrats 38 percent of their PAC dollars last year, up 8 percentage points from the 2006 cycle; Verizon gave them 47 percent, up 10 percentage points from the last cycle; and Qwest gave them 49 percent, a 22 percentage-point boost over 2006, according to records from the FEC and CQ MoneyLine.
So, really the problem isn't that they're not donating, it's that they're donating more equally than they were before the 2006 elections, when there was a GOP lockdown on both chambers.
Also, there is another issue in play here. Remember, Qwest never participated in the program, and doesn't care about retroactive immunity. What the three companies that still give majority GOP have in common is that they own the fiber backbones that make up the telephone network. Sprint, on the other hand, is not a backbone owner and instead relies on the other 3 to carry its' long distance wireline traffic, and pays a rate set by the FCC for the privilege. Remember, Sprint was always a long-distance reseller, never a Local Exchange Carrier. See
the map:
While it's sexy to talk about wiretapping and immunity, the real battle is, as always, over "open access" and fees. Ed Markey (D-MA), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, held a hearing on this subject last fall, and after the conclusion of the 700mhz auction, I would bet on more hearings being held over the question of wireless "open access" fees.
Insider tip: the key person to watch on these issues isn't actually Rep. Markey, or even the E&C Chairman, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI). On open access and net neutrality issues, there is not expected to be much progress before this year's election. There is also a persistent buzz that when the 111th Congress convenes in 2009, the Energy and Commerce Committee may be chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) instead of Dingell. The current E&C Chairman, who at 53 years of service and counting, is the longest-serving member of the House, looks a bit long in the tooth to some Hill watchers. While Waxman is no spring chicken, he has a reputation as an "attack dog" and would be a worthy adversary for Big Telecom.
