-Caveat Lector- Vote for the Party of your choice... --J2 ------------------------------------------ Business Groups Giving to Democrats By Jonathan D. Salant Associated Press Writer Wednesday, September 15, 1999; 3:47 p.m. EDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- With control of the House up for grabs, business groups that overwhelmingly favored Republicans during the Gingrich years have begun spreading more political money to Democratic candidates. Eight of the 10 biggest corporate political action committees have anted up a larger than usual share of their donations to Democrats in 1999, an Associated Press analysis of Federal Election Commission records shows. In many cases, Democrats -- needing just five more seats to regain a House majority -- are getting their largest percentage of business PAC contributions since the 1994 election, when they lost control of Congress to the GOP. PACs are the donating arms of special interest groups and can give up to $5,000 per election to each federal candidate. That compares with a $1,000 limit for individual donors. PAC directors say they are not boosting donations to Democrats because they expect a change of control in 2000. But they say some new Democratic members who picked up seats in the last two elections are more moderate than more veteran Democrats and more likely to vote with business. ``We normally give to people who support our positions. That includes people on both sides of the aisle,'' said Gary Lytle, vice president of federal relations for Ameritech, which gave 41 percent of its PAC donations to Democrats during the first six months of 1999, compared with 37 percent during the 1998 elections. Added Dan Danner, vice president of federal public policy for the National Federation of Independent Business: ``At this juncture, there are probably more Democrats, at least in the House, who have voted with us than in the past.'' Danner's group gave 11 percent of its 1999 donations to Democrats compared with 7 percent during the 1998 elections. ``Certainly, there are many more people who campaigned as moderates. I don't think there were a heck of a lot of people out there in '98 who campaigned as extreme liberals,'' he said. Another factor is that Democratic lawmakers have made an effort to reach out to the business community. ``Business' success means jobs for our constituents,'' said Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, the Commerce Committee's top-ranking Democrat who led the outreach effort. The increased giving to Democrats by business PACs is further evidence that ideology aside, the business of political giving is often driven by practicality, experts said. ``As long as control of the House is in doubt, we're going to see PACs giving to both Democrats and Republicans,'' said Candice Nelson, an American University associate professor of political science. Republican officials predict things will turn in their favor closer to the election. ``While the PAC community may be hedging bets early, we believe that as the election draws near, the PACs will come to realize that it's actually the labor unions that control the Democrat agenda, not business,'' said Jill Schroeder, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee that raises money for GOP House candidates. While Republican lawmakers traditionally are viewed as more sympathetic to business concerns, corporate PACs tilted only slightly in the direction of the GOP during the 1994 elections, when the Democrats were still in charge of the House and Senate. In those elections, they gave the Republican's congressional candidates a total of $33 million, compared with $31 million for Democrats. In House races, corporate PACs sided with the majority Democrats, giving them $24 million to $20 million for Republicans. But after the GOP takeover of the House, corporate PACs turned decisively Republican in their giving. In the 1998 elections, corporate PACs gave $48 million to Republican candidates and just $23 million to Democrats. Now the pendulum appears to be swinging back a bit. During the first six months of 1999, United Parcel Service gave 28 percent of its PAC money to Democratic candidates, compared with 21 percent during the 1998 election season. Philip Morris, the tobacco and food conglomerate, gave 42 percent to House Democrats this year, compared with 31 percent in 1997-98. Telecommunications giant SBC Communications, which gave 40 percent of its PAC money to Democrats in 1997-98, increased its Democratic giving to 49 percent between January and June of this year. ``Business PACs are probably the most pragmatic givers there are,'' said Larry Makinson, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group. ``They know that there's a chance the Democrats will take control of the House in 2000 and they're preparing for that eventuality by covering their bets.'' © Copyright 1999 The Associated Press DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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