Microsoft, Ashcroft, and Bush
For the past decade the software giant, Microsoft, has been building a small empire. Their operating systems are the standard for 90 % of PC based hardware. They have been observed by the government for many years protecting the competition from crippling monopolistic activity. It is interesting to see the history and the amazing change in total donations over the past decade to political candidates (See Below Chart(1)).
In 1998 a civil lawsuit was brought
forward against Microsoft challenging its business practices regarding the
production of browser software. With
the Clinton Administration leading the charge Microsoft was facing stiff penalties,
possibly company division, to control their domination of the software industry.
Microsoft’s strategy? Give millions of dollars to get their man in
office. To the delight of Microsoft
Bush’s Attorney General Nominee, John Ashcroft, was no stranger to this software
giant. Ashcroft’s personal joint committee
received tens of thousands of dollars from Microsoft. A watchdog organization,
Open Secrets reports, “Microsoft, of course, is
hoping the new attorney general drops the justice department’s antitrust suit
against the company.”(2)
After the
White House became occupied, the first item of business was budget cuts. What
was one of the first cuts to be administered? The prosecution team for
Microsoft. With no money directed to the
lawsuit, Microsoft escaped with a slap on the hand and no federal intervention
into their activities.
|
Election Cycle |
Total Contributions |
Contributions from Individuals |
Contributions from PACs |
Soft Money Contributions (Individuals) |
Soft Money Contributions (Organization) |
|
2004 |
$1,702,481 |
$796,481 |
$906,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
|
2002 |
$4,215,698 |
$709,253 |
$815,201 |
$234,057 |
$2,457,187 |
|
2000 |
$4,624,353 |
$1,446,128 |
$860,999 |
$581,895 |
$1,735,331 |
|
1998 |
$1,364,821 |
$373,005 |
$212,000 |
$15,000 |
$764,816 |
|
1996 |
$251,474 |
$127,979 |
$45,500 |
$995 |
$77,000 |
|
1994 |
$104,702 |
$61,961 |
$32,741 |
$0 |
$10,000 |
|
1992 |
$59,733 |
$38,483 |
$21,250 |
$0 |
$0 |
|
1990 |
$3,800 |
$1,000 |
$2,800 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
TOTAL |
$12,327,062 |
$3,554,290 |
$2,896,491 |
$831,947 |
$5,044,334 |