Who Does Microsoft Pick for the 2012 Election: Obama or Romney?

OpenSecrets.org).  The President received $761,343 from Microsoft employees, while Mitt Romney received a relatively paltry $194,368. Is the money invested by Microsoft’s employees smart money?

Total contributions to PACs, parties and outside spending groups: $1,576,261 Total contributions to candidates: $2,295,932 OpenSecrets states:

It (Microsoft) is also one of the biggest campaign contributors in Washington—an astounding fact when you consider that Microsoft is a relatively new player on the political scene. Prior to 1998, the company and its employees gave virtually nothing in terms of political contributions. But when the Justice Department launched an antitrust investigation into the company’s marketing of its popular Windows software, things changed. The company opened a Washington lobbying office, founded a political action committee and soon became one of the most generous political givers in the country. The move eventually galvanized an entire industry, as computer and Internet companies quickly moved to emulate Microsoft’s political savvy. Between 2000 and 2010, Microsoft spent at least $6 million each year on federal lobbying efforts.

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