To help them, they've hired as lobbyists two ex-Republican Senators, Dan Coats of Indiana and Connie Mack of Florida. And on Wednesday, Google will take part in their first political fundraiser, for Republican Congresswoman Heather Wilson.
This is why getting involved in anything political is so problematic. Google is helping raise money for Wilson because she's in a tough campaign and she's a supporter of the Net Neutrality Act. That is a huge thing with the tech types. For what it's worth too, Wilson gained a measure of fame for being one of the few Republicans to stand up against Bush's eavesdropping thing. But on the other hand, she sat on the House Intelligence Committee and did nothing during the run up to the war. She's gotten a lot of heat lately for admitting that she knew some of the intelligence was cooked up but not saying anything about it. For this, she's being targeted by the Kos Gang. So while Wilson might be good for Google's business, she's not exactly someone who most of Google's employees would vote for. Yes, the Net Neutrality Act is good for them, but is it worth supporting somebody just on that basis when they've also supported things that have harmed the country?