Top Political Givers

[☭proletarian☭]

Today, the Center for Responsive Politics' expanded its list of the top-spending corporations and special interest groups who pepper politicians with overwhelming amounts of money in hope of influencing the political process.
As the 2010 election cycle heats up, six new groups have been added to our "Heavy Hitters" list, which showcases more than 100 organizations that have donated the most money to politicians, political parties and political action committees since 1989. As the campaign season continues, we expect to add additional names to the list of now-106 groups.

The newest additions include:

• Swiss-based financial services company UBS AG (debuting at No. 50 on the all-time list);
• accounting firm KPMG International (No. 72);
• the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (No. 74);
• the long-term-care trade group American Health Care Association (No. 85);
• retail giant Wal-Mart Stores (No. 89) and
• the National Federation of Independent Business, the trade group which has been touted as the "Chamber of Commerce for small business" (No. 99).

Here is a chart showing how much these groups in particular have given since 1989, along with the percentage of which has benefited Democrats and the percentage of which has benefited Republicans.

table.tableizer-table {border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;} .tableizer-table td {padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc;} .tableizer-table th {background-color: #104E8B; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold;} Name All $ Since 1989 % Dem % GOP UBS AG $15,571,924 40% 58% KPMG International $10,698,139 33% 66% National Air Traffic Controllers Association $10,428,938 80% 19% American Health Care Association $9,369,908 53% 45% Wal-Mart Stores $9,256,199 26% 73% National Federation of Independent Business $7,848,576 7% 92%
And here is a chart showing how much the political action committees and individual employees associated with these groups have contributed so far this election cycle, along with the percentage going to Democrats and Republicans.

table.tableizer-table {border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;} .tableizer-table td {padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc;} .tableizer-table th {background-color: #104E8B; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold;} Name $ This Cycle % Dem % GOP UBS AG $410,470 50% 50% KPMG International $673,357 48% 52% National Air Traffic Controllers Association $1,043,000 82% 18% American Health Care Association $669,800 73% 27% Wal-Mart Stores $714,438 51% 49% National Federation of Independent Business $17,675 0% 100%

Source

 

[RodISHI]

It appears that being number one on the list did not give AT&T any leverage on Obamacare....afterall it did pass.

Top 10 Heavy Hitters: AT&T Inc $44,361,209
American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees $42,248,261
National Assn of Realtors $35,733,073
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $31,660,630
American Assn for Justice $31,645,679
Goldman Sachs $31,612,375
National Education Assn $30,194,067
Laborers Union $29,132,400
Service Employees International Union $28,134,482
Teamsters Union $28,029,624