SEARCH NEWS:

 

Companies Protect Interests After Soft Money Donations Banned

The company gave about $2 million for the 2000 elections. Almost 80 percent came as `soft money,' donations that allow corporations to give as much as they want to political parties.

`You have the chance to impact the broadest number of people, an entire party,' said Alan Feldman, MGM's senior vice president responsible for political programs.

"…Companies such as MGM, Microsoft Corp. and Ford Motor Co. say the latest hurdle -- a soft money ban that Congress passed yesterday -- won't muzzle them.

"Companies that have contributed large amounts of soft money are looking at a menu of alternatives: working more through political action committees, giving to issue-oriented groups and funneling money to state political organizations.

"…Soft money developed in the late 1980s and 1990s as a way to get around post-Watergate restrictions on political giving. It increased five-fold in the last decade to almost $500 million for the 2000 elections, supporting about a sixth of election spending, according to the Center.

"…Limits on individual donations directly to candidates -- $1,000 per election for individuals, $5,000 for political action committees -- came to be known as `hard money.'

"Soft money donations to parties had no limits, and the parties began exploiting the soft-money loophole because they could solicit hundreds of thousands of dollars with a phone call.

"…Executives at MGM -- owner of Bellagio and New York-New York -- realized the need for a presence in Washington in the mid-1990s when the Clinton administration proposed an excise tax on gambling, Feldman said.

"`Part of the problem was that we had no presence, no voice, no one knew us,' he said. The problem, he said, was that MGM, industry leader Park Place Entertainment Corp. and many other casino companies are from Nevada, a state with only four of the 535 members of Congress.

"…Money doesn't convert politicians; it does help gain access to them, Feldman said. The company will continue to give through its PAC, he said, and will consider other options, such as giving to outside interest groups that share its position on nuclear waste. These groups can collect soft money and use it to buy political ads, although not at election time…"

< Gaming News