WSJ: Business Lobby Hedges Its Bets By Supporting More Democrats

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

Subtle Shift

Business Lobby Hedges Its Bets By Supporting More Democrats

Chamber of Commerce Buys TV Ads for Candidates In Republicans' Crosshairs
Rewards for Free-Trade Votes
By JEANNE CUMMINGS
September 22, 2006; Page A1

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Ms. Bean (of Illinois) is among more than a dozen Democrats in key races across the country that the chamber is backing this year. Half of them also have benefited from the chamber's first-ever television ads for Democrats. Partly, the organization is rewarding these Democrats for votes in favor of free trade and other issues it holds dear. It also is sensing possible Republican defeats in congressional elections on Nov. 7, and is hedging its bets by spreading some of the organization's wealth to the other side of the aisle.

The chamber's move mirrors a subtle but significant shift across the business community, which has begun anticipating that the Republican majorities in Congress could shrink, if not collapse. Washington lobbying firms are balancing their Republican rosters with Democratic hires, and some companies are injecting more bipartisanship in their campaign giving.

According to campaign disclosure reports through June, half of the 10 biggest Republican givers in 2004 are sending a bigger portion of their dollars to Democrats than in past campaigns. In that period, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., of Bentonville, Ark., gave 68% of its donations to Republicans this year, down from 78% over the entire 2004 election cycle. Republican candidates received 64% of the donations from Memphis, Tenn., delivery concern FedEx Corp., compared with 70% over the whole election period two years ago. The changes also point to an emerging rift between the Republican Party's business and social-conservative constituencies, as their interests clash over some hot-button issues. In Missouri, for example, some Republican businessmen are donating to Democrat Claire McCaskill in her challenge to incumbent Republican Sen. Jim Talent, largely because Mr. Talent opposes embryonic stem-cell research.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the strongest single business voice in Washington, representing thousands of trade associations and three million large and small businesses... The chamber has backed Democrats before. But this year it is endorsing 14, up from nine in 2002, and is aiding several Democrats especially targeted by Republicans. Besides running TV ads for Democrats for the first time, the chamber chose not to attack Democrats in its ads for Republicans. That is in stark contrast to some slash-and-burn chamber-produced spots in 2004, which helped defeat Tom Daschle, then the Democratic Senate Majority Leader, in South Dakota and restore the Senate to Republican control.

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URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115861713605966719.html (subscription)

[KingFlorez]

There preparing for anything

[AX10]

1. Someone is afraid of losing their influence.

[question everything]

2. And, I have to admit, they have more confidence than I

when I remember that, as much as the majority of voters would like to see Democrats taking control of Congress, when it comes down to their own representatives, they are satisfied with them. And then, there are the districts that favor the incumbents..