JimBowie1958
Old Fogey
- Sep 25, 2011
- 63,590
- 16,767
- 2,220
These greedy bastards want to make us all their wage slaves and living like Third World peasants.
Tech's big play in 2016
But public interest advocates are raising concerns about tech's high profile on the campaign trail.
“The more engaged in Washington [a company is], the more difficult it can be to draw clear lines between what you might call corporate social responsibility, and benevolent, well-intentioned programs, and efforts that are designed to influence political outcomes,” said Todd O’Boyle, the director of the Media and Democracy Reform Initiative at Common Cause.
Microsoft’s Freck said his company, which has a significant government contracting business, certainly sees a business upside to its involvement in politics — but it’s far from a quid pro quo.
"This isn’t going to be the next multi-billion dollar business for the company,” he said. “On the other hand, the people who are involved in this process and will see the technology — and use it and touch it and smell it and try it and do something that to them is very important, which is get elected — eventually end up in office as well and do think, ‘Who can help me with tough problems the next time something shows up?’
“So sure, we want to have consideration, but it’s not a direct line of, if we do this for you while you’re getting elected, we expect these contracts at some point once you’re in office.”
Former Rep. Susan Molinari (R-N.Y.), who leads Google’s D.C. office and its lobbying, has attended debates co-sponsored by the company. But the company says the spin rooms are meant to provide journalists access to data, and not be a venue for lobbying.
Sharp said that his team is separated from the company’s policy and sales operations.
Tech's big play in 2016
But public interest advocates are raising concerns about tech's high profile on the campaign trail.
“The more engaged in Washington [a company is], the more difficult it can be to draw clear lines between what you might call corporate social responsibility, and benevolent, well-intentioned programs, and efforts that are designed to influence political outcomes,” said Todd O’Boyle, the director of the Media and Democracy Reform Initiative at Common Cause.
Microsoft’s Freck said his company, which has a significant government contracting business, certainly sees a business upside to its involvement in politics — but it’s far from a quid pro quo.
"This isn’t going to be the next multi-billion dollar business for the company,” he said. “On the other hand, the people who are involved in this process and will see the technology — and use it and touch it and smell it and try it and do something that to them is very important, which is get elected — eventually end up in office as well and do think, ‘Who can help me with tough problems the next time something shows up?’
“So sure, we want to have consideration, but it’s not a direct line of, if we do this for you while you’re getting elected, we expect these contracts at some point once you’re in office.”
Former Rep. Susan Molinari (R-N.Y.), who leads Google’s D.C. office and its lobbying, has attended debates co-sponsored by the company. But the company says the spin rooms are meant to provide journalists access to data, and not be a venue for lobbying.
Sharp said that his team is separated from the company’s policy and sales operations.
