Re: [Nolug] CNN: Microsoft promised political access

From: Ron Johnson <ron.l.johnson_at_cox.net>
Date: 09 Dec 2002 09:14:11 -0600
Message-Id: <1039446850.27242.19.camel@haggis>

It's too bad that the TV networks and stations see the political parties
as income sources...

All that television time sure does jack up the cost of running a
campaign. Imagine how much it costs to run nation-wide ads , and also
ads in all the major markets of all 50 states.

Definitely not chicken feed...

On Mon, 2002-12-09 at 00:29, usserylaw@bellsouth.net wrote:
> Hello everyone; I'm new to Linux and this group. So far, I'm very happy
> with Linux and a firm believer in the Open-Source and Free Software
> movements. Here is an eye-opening article -- especially as it pertains
> to Microsoft. Enjoy.
>
> Source: CNN.COM
>
> Documents: Donors promised political access
> Memos released by supporters of new campaign law
>
> WASHINGTON (AP) --Political party officials and the donors they solicit
> have routinely linked big contributions to government business, from
> merger approvals to meetings with top officials, according to previously
> sealed court documents that offer a window into the business of fund
> raising in Washington.
>
> "As you recall in our conversation some weeks ago, you agreed to upgrade
> your Team 100 membership to the Regent program ($250,000) when the
> merger was approved," Republican Party fund-raiser Mel Sembler wrote in
> 2000 to the chief of the now-bankrupt Global Crossing telecommunications
> company, which had already given $100,000.
>
> "Thankfully this has now been approved, so I am taking the liberty of
> enclosing an invoice for the additional upgrade," Sembler added in one
> of dozens of fund-raising memos the political parties turned over to a
> court hearing the first legal challenge of the nation's new campaign
> finance law.
>
> The memos were submitted to the court under seal, but they were provided
> to The Associated Press and other news organizations Friday under an
> agreement between the national political parties and the lawmakers who
> sponsored the law.
>
> The documents span from the Clinton years of the 1990s to the beginning
> of the Bush administration and detail how party officials often cater to
> donors and lace their pitches for money with promises of meetings with
> top officials.
>
> "These documents show how the game is played in Washington, and you have
> to be able to pay to play," said Kent Cooper, co-founder of
> PoliticalMoneyLine, a nonpartisan Web site that tracks campaign finance,
> and a former Federal Election Commission official. "We expect these
> documents will trigger further investigations."
>
> AP left messages Friday at the office of several of the people named in
> the documents seeking comment.
>
> "Gave 100K last year and 20K this year. Ask her to give 80K more this
> year for lunch with Potus on Oct. 27th," said a 1995 memo for
> then-Democratic Party chairman Don Fowler, urging that prominent donor
> Denise Rich be solicited for money before attending a lunch with
> President Clinton. Rich's name later surfaced in both the Clinton
> fund-raising and pardon controversies.
>
> Drug companies, some of the country's more active political donors, were
> a frequent subject of memos.
>
> In a 1999 letter, then-RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson wrote Charles
> Heimbold, then chief executive of Bristol-Myers Squibb, to discuss the
> company's plans to form an industry coalition to lobby for issues
> important to drug companies.
>
> "A coalition will be the perfect vehicle for the Republican Party to
> reach out to the health care community and discuss their legislative
> needs," Nicholson wrote. Republicans then controlled both chambers of
> Congress.
>
> "We must keep the lines of communication open if we want to continue
> passing legislation that will benefit your industry."
>
> Nicholson enclosed a copy of the RNC's health care proposals and asked
> Heimbold for his suggestions to improve it. He also included an outline
> of GOP lawmakers were doing involving health care legislation.
>
> In the next paragraph, Nicholson encouraged Bristol-Myers -- already a
> GOP donor -- to give $250,000 to join the Republican committee's new
> "Season Pass" program, which offered donors "premier seating" at the
> RNC's fund-raising gala and "VIP benefits" at the Republican
> presidential nominating convention in Philadelphia in 2000.
>
> In all, Bristol-Myers gave $291,200 to the RNC in the 1999-2000 election
> cycle, according to figures compiled by the nonpartisan Center for
> Responsive Politics, which tracks political contributions.
>
> Heimbold donated $50,000 to the RNC in October 2000. He was named
> ambassador to Sweden by President Bush last year.
>
> When Microsoft Corp., a $100,000-plus donor to Republicans, planned to
> attend the party's major fund-raising gala in 2000, it asked to be
> seated next to "Sen. (Paul) Coverdell or leadership, Commerce Committee
> or Judiciary Committee," according to a GOP memo. At the time, the
> company was battling a major antitrust case that threatened to break the
> company into two. The memo added Microsoft did not want to sit with Sen.
> Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a major critic.
>
> In a note to a Dow Chemical official, the director of the RNC's "Team
> 100" donor club, Henry Barbour, sent thanks for a contribution and
> offered to arrange a meeting for Dow executives with House Speaker Newt
> Gingrich, R-Georgia; Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kansas; and GOP chairman Haley
> Barbour.
>
> A 1995 Democratic National Committee fund-raising call sheet for Fowler
> and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Connecticut, scheduled a call to Texaco
> lobbyist Jim Groninger.
>
> "Reason for call: Please ask Jim to become a Trustee and contribute
> $35,000. Additional notes: The President helped out the Oil Industry by
> supporting them on drilling issues in the Gulf of Mexico. The bill
> passed the House on Tuesday," the call sheet said.
>
> The DNC sought $85,000 from British Petroleum in a November 1995 call:
> "BP has given $66,000 to Republican committees this year. The
> Administration helped them out on two major issues this year," the call
> sheet said.
>
> Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
> may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

-- 
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Ron Johnson, Jr.     mailto:ron.l.johnson@cox.net          |
| Jefferson, LA  USA   http://members.cox.net/ron.l.johnson  |
|                                                            |
| "they love our milk and honey, but preach about another    |
|  way of living"                                            |
|    Merle Haggard, "The Fighting Side Of Me"                |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
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