You Lose Your Privacy While Senate Telecom Chair and Huge Whore Ted Stevens Gets BIG Cash Rewards

Ted Stevens would sell God for the right price:

Telecommunications, media and Internet conglomerates seeking regulatory relief from the Senate Commerce Committee are giving generously to the campaign coffers of panel Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.

The largesse is notable because Stevens, who is drafting the most comprehensive overhaul of telecom laws in a decade, is not up for re-election until 2008. “The election cycle never stops for an industry that cares about its business in Congress,” said Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics.

Commerce spokesman Aaron Saunders said it is “ludicrous” to suggest that Stevens shapes policy based on contributions. “Frankly, it’s offensive,” he said.

Stevens received $130,750 from the industry during the period covering 2005 and the first third of 2006 — substantially more than he garnered from any other sector, according to the nonpartisan PoliticalMoneyLine. Top corporate benefactors included AT&T with $10,000 in donations, Time Warner with $8,000 and Sony Pictures with $8,000, according to Federal Election Commission data compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine.

CBS parent Viacom gave Stevens $6,500. The National Association of Broadcasters, ABC parent The Walt Disney Company, DirecTV, Fox parent News Corp., and the Recording Industry Association of America each donated $5,000. The contributions were made through political action committees that can give $5,000 per candidate for a primary and another $5,000 toward the general election.

Stevens is not the biggest money draw. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., up for re-election in 2006 and a potential presidential contender in 2008, attracted $237,032 in industry PAC donations, according to PoliticalMoneyLine.

The National Cable and Telecommunications Association, NAB, Siebel Systems and Verisign each gave Allen $10,000. PACs operated by Cisco Systems and Microsoft separately gave $9,000, followed by MCI with $8,000. MCI merged with Verizon Communications in January. News Corp. gave $8,000, AT&T gave $7,000, Verizon offered $6,000, and Yahoo donated $6,000.