If you work at Amazon, Google, Twitter, Facebook, or Microsoft, know that your labor is being used to fund large donations to Republicans like Poliquin, Cruz, Nunes, Scalise and worse. Have a look at https://donationsfrom.tech for some good examples. Make a ruckus to your CEO!
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I can't overstate how full of interest recent tech industry political giving is for any reporter willing to spend a few hours with FEC filings. The flow of money is mostly obfuscated through intermediary PACs (similar to how shell companies work) but it rewards patient study!
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The real hero in all this is the excellent FEC website. Go to http://fec.gov -> campaign finance data -> filings and reports -> PAC and party committee reports and use the filter box to search for your employer, to find out what your backbreaking office labor is funding.
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What has two thumbs, once gave a speech at a white supremacist convention run by an organization founded by David Duke, and got a huge donation from Salesforce PAC? This guy!pic.twitter.com/hLhHR3mPhC
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Here's Google giving Republican Blake Farenthold the maximum legal donation, $10,000, last year. Farenthold resigned in disgrace in April.pic.twitter.com/74bWKBcYjG
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And here's Google maxing out last year to Steve Scalise, who like I said upthread once gave a speech at a white supremacist convention run by an organization founded by David Duke. I know I beat up on Google, but I can't imagine this accurately represents their values.pic.twitter.com/On6cxs7D3h
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If you're wondering why I don't pick on Apple's political donations, it's because they don't have a PAC. The other tech companies could (and should!) shut theirs down tomorrow with zero impact on their business interests. There is no defense for this legal form of bribery.pic.twitter.com/Jp6m5pQPQT
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Wikipedia: "In December 2017 [...] Gregg Harper supported a review of overhauling the Congressional Accountability Act which makes it harder for victims of sexual harassment to come forward with allegations than victims in the private sector." Facebook gave his campaign $1000.pic.twitter.com/Mpx58y5NGT
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That same month, Facebook gave $5000 to Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, who has repeatedly introduced legislation to overturn Roe vs. Wade, was the only senator of 99 to vote against an amendment saying "climate change is real and not a hoax", and has an A+ rating from the NRApic.twitter.com/A5Xflwo1qM
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And of course, Facebook has donated to Steve Scalise, who once famously spoke at a white power rally.pic.twitter.com/PkqC1EeSJ3
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Here's Facebook donating to Tim Murphy, the pro-life congressman who famously pressured his lover to get an abortion, and in whose office harrassment was rampant. Murphy would resign just a few months after this March 2017 donation.pic.twitter.com/8ZMbvR3ZJR
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On February 7, 2017, Senator Steve Daines blocked Elizabeth Warren from reading a letter from Coretta Scott King on the Senate floor, as its factual content was offensive to Jeff Sessions. Six weeks later, Facebook gave Daines's campaign $2500.pic.twitter.com/c3aiYSowH1
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So who is making these political decisions? It's not the donors—typically high-level executives pay into a company PAC automatically, and if you look at personal political donations from people like Sheryl Sandberg or
@boztank, none of them go to people like Scalise or Nunes.Show this thread -
Employees at Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and others deserve an explanation for why money is being given in their name to help re-elect some of the worst people in government.
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Here's Salesforce (which only very recently started political giving) donating to re-elect climate science denialist and self-proclaimed "friend of coal" Larry Bucshon in April.pic.twitter.com/7ckTz3sWt5
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Here's Facebook donating to Patrick McHenry, a blockchain-obsessed Republican who has moved aggressively to dismantle consumer protections on the financial industry. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedknutson/2018/07/18/regulators-need-to-use-big-data-artificial-intelligence-to-meet-fintech-challenge-says-key-us-rep/ …pic.twitter.com/FPyhDpPJLX
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McHenry was also rude to Elizabeth Warren in a hearing to such an extent that his hometown paper felt compelled to apologize. The pattern seems to be, if you're an asshole to Elizabeth Warren (Daines, McHenry), Facebook PAC will give you thousands
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Here's Google donating $5K (the maximum permissible) to an entity called ICE PAC on June 30. ICE PAC is backing a raft of Republican candidates for the House and Senate. See "Itemized Disbursements" for the full list. http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/368/201807219119262368/201807219119262368.pdf …pic.twitter.com/uuqDweYkZC
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Here's Silicon Valley Bank PAC maxing out to Kevin McCarthy on June 1, the only donation it made in this filing. McCarthy is a climate change denialist and a leader in the fight to repeal Obamacare. http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/593/201807209119247593/201807209119247593.pdf …pic.twitter.com/1dLZfEEM5J
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If you're wondering who at Google is donating all this money to Republicans, you can find a full donor list here. These look like payroll deductions, and I suspect a number of these employees aren't aware that they're bankrolling the far right. http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/946/201807209115824946/201807209115824946.pdf …
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Here's Salesforce on June 28 making a $1500 donation to Promoting Our Republican Team PAC. The money is funnelled directly to a half-dozen Republican Senate candidates in competitive races. http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/152/201807249119313152/201807249119313152.pdf …pic.twitter.com/QZWOuto3Lv
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