Google Campaign Donations Reach Out to GOP

By Frank Davies

WASHINGTON – Google, a global economic force but a latecomer to Washington politics, is trying to boost its influence in Congress with the first campaign contributions from its new political action committee.

The initial round of $1,000 donations is modest by big-league PAC standards, but the recipients are noteworthy. Google NetPAC, launched last month, is contributing to three Republicans, including two of the most endangered GOP House members. In the past, Google executives have given overwhelmingly to Democrats and liberal groups.

The Republican recipients include Reps. Heather Wilson of New Mexico and Deborah Pryce of Ohio, whose districts are now rated as a toss-up in the Nov. 7 election, and Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin. He chairs the Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over some Internet commerce laws.

Alan Davidson, a Google lobbyist, said the PAC is "a logical step toward building long-term relationships with policymakers, and we’ll support them across party lines."

Google hosted a fundraiser for Wilson, along with eBay and Tech Net, a network of tech CEOs with a Washington office. Davidson said Wilson was "one of the strongest Republican supporters of a free and open Internet."

Google’s Washington office is also reaching out to Republicans in other ways. Jamie Brown, a former legislative liaison in the Bush White House, joined Davidson as a lobbyist earlier this year.

Google also recently signed up two lobbyists, Connie Mack and Dan Coats, who are former GOP senators with valuable contacts on Capitol Hill.

The new Google PAC also gave $1,000 each to two Democrats: Rep. Anna Eshoo of California, whose district includes Google’s headquarters, and Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, who is running for re-election.

The even-handed PAC contributions contrast with the Democratic tilt of Google employees.

Out of 145 contributions from Google executives and employees in the past two years, all but four went to Democrats and liberal groups including MoveOn.org, according to data from Political Money Line, which tracks money in politics.

During this year’s debate over net neutrality – a complex battle between Internet companies and telecommunications giants over future regulations and pricing – telecom lobbyists worked to marginalize Google as a "liberal" company.

"We think that perception is wrong, because issues of economic opportunity and innovation are not partisan," Davidson said. "They involve Republican and Democratic values."

Google’s PAC, along with a beefed-up lobbying presence in Washington, shows it is making "a balanced and methodical, thoughtful effort" to deal with leaders of both parties, said Jim Hock, a spokesman for Tech Net.

In some ways, Google is playing catch-up. This year, for example, Yahoo’s PAC made 80 contributions totaling $93,500 and the eBay PAC gave $66,000.

Cable and phone companies are huge political contributors, with a massive lobbying presence in Washington. AT&T’s PAC gave $1.7 million to candidates, parties and other PACs in the past two years – the 10th highest total of any PAC, according to Political Money Line.

Google’s expanding lobbying team, with solid GOP credentials, may improve its access and effectiveness in Washington. Brown helped shepherd Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito through the Senate confirmation process.

The two former senators – Mack of Florida and Coats of Indiana – are popular with conservatives in Congress, and "will help us on net neutrality issues," Davidson said. Google has also retained Ben Ginsberg as a legal adviser. Ginsberg, a top lawyer at the Patton Boggs firm, was legal counsel to the Bush-Cheney campaigns in 2000 and 2004.

The Google PAC was launched with $5,000 donations each from six executives: Larry Page, one of the Internet giant’s co-founders; Eric Schmidt, its CEO; William Coughran, vice president of engineering; Urs Hoelzle, senior vice president; Jeffrey Huber, vice president of engineering; and Jonathan Rosenberg, vice president of product management.

Davidson, who contributed $1,000, said Google planned "to get our employees very involved" in the PAC.