Microsoft halts donations through 2022 to lawmakers who opposed Biden certification
David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Friday it will suspend all donations by its political action committee (PAC) through 2022 to all U.S. lawmakers who voted to object to the certification of Joe Biden’s election as president.
FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California U.S. November 7, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
The software maker will also suspend contributions through the same period for state officials and organizations who supported objections or suggested the election should be overturned.
Microsoft said it “will promote and join a conversation with other businesses and organizations that want to strengthen democracy. Recent events have raised issues of importance to PACs across the business community.”
Microsoft President Brad Smith told employees on Jan. 21 that over the last four years 20% of its PAC donations “had gone to members who voted against the Electoral College.”
Smith said PACs were important “not because the checks are big, but because of the way the political process works. Politicians in the United States have events, they have weekend retreats. You have to write a check, and then you’re invited, and you participate,” according to a transcript released by the company. “Out of that ongoing effort, a relationship evolves and emerges and solidifies.”
Smith added there are times “I call people who I don’t personally know. And somebody will say, ‘Well, you know, your folks have always shown up for me at my events, and we have a good relationship, let me see what I can do to help you.’”
PACs for dozens of major U.S. companies have halted donations to the 147 House and Senate members who voted against Biden’s certification, including Walmart Inc, Marriott Inc, AT&T Inc,, Amazon.com Inc, Comcast and American Express.
Alphabet Inc’s Google and General Electric Co PACs have also suspended donations through 2022, while Dow Inc said it would extend its suspension to senators voting against certification for up to six years.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Franklin Paul and David Gregorio
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Here's one criticism, but it's strained in my opinion. It's basically that he "sold out". Okay, the guy is in his 70s and as wealthy as he needs to be. I doubt he sells out. Maybe he truly believes the message.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
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mickeyrat
up my ass, like Chadwick was up his Posts: 35,797
Here's one criticism, but it's strained in my opinion. It's basically that he "sold out". Okay, the guy is in his 70s and as wealthy as he needs to be. I doubt he sells out. Maybe he truly believes the message.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
heard complaints about that ad. local radio , here. I dont get the disapproval myself.
I feel it was one of the best of the night.
There wasn’t anything wrong with the message in that ad. I’m not usually a fan of using celebrity, but I thought he was a good choice. Very few under 30s outside of NJ and NY probably even knew who it was.
Here's one criticism, but it's strained in my opinion. It's basically that he "sold out". Okay, the guy is in his 70s and as wealthy as he needs to be. I doubt he sells out. Maybe he truly believes the message.
One thing I definitely picked up on right away and so did the writer:
he begins a spiel in the introspective cadence honed during his recent Broadway-to-Netflix thing: “There’s a chapel in Kansas standing on the exact center of the Lower 48. It never closes. All are more than welcome to come meet here — in the middle.”
heard complaints about that ad. local radio , here. I dont get the disapproval myself.
I feel it was one of the best of the night.
What was the problem? Unless you hate middle ground, there's not much else to complain about.
preachy is the complaint what I heard. which I dont get.
It's the only complaint people have, and it's no different than complaining about virtue signaling.
I can understand how people resent being lectured by a Jeep ad, but on the other hand if American's weren't so generally shitty to each other and maybe put more thought into who we elected to represent us, we probably wouldn't need a fucking car commercial to be our moral compass.
Here's one criticism, but it's strained in my opinion. It's basically that he "sold out". Okay, the guy is in his 70s and as wealthy as he needs to be. I doubt he sells out. Maybe he truly believes the message.
One thing I definitely picked up on right away and so did the writer:
he begins a spiel in the introspective cadence honed during his recent Broadway-to-Netflix thing: “There’s a chapel in Kansas standing on the exact center of the Lower 48. It never closes. All are more than welcome to come meet here — in the middle.”
Is that bad? I guess one could criticize that the chapel is Christian.
Here's one criticism, but it's strained in my opinion. It's basically that he "sold out". Okay, the guy is in his 70s and as wealthy as he needs to be. I doubt he sells out. Maybe he truly believes the message.
One thing I definitely picked up on right away and so did the writer:
he begins a spiel in the introspective cadence honed during his recent Broadway-to-Netflix thing: “There’s a chapel in Kansas standing on the exact center of the Lower 48. It never closes. All are more than welcome to come meet here — in the middle.”
Is that bad? I guess one could criticize that the chapel is Christian.
No. It seemed very authentic to me. Typical Bruce. It seemed like an intro and a song should have followed.
Here's one criticism, but it's strained in my opinion. It's basically that he "sold out". Okay, the guy is in his 70s and as wealthy as he needs to be. I doubt he sells out. Maybe he truly believes the message.
One thing I definitely picked up on right away and so did the writer:
he begins a spiel in the introspective cadence honed during his recent Broadway-to-Netflix thing: “There’s a chapel in Kansas standing on the exact center of the Lower 48. It never closes. All are more than welcome to come meet here — in the middle.”
Is that bad? I guess one could criticize that the chapel is Christian.
There's nothing wrong with it, people just need things to be outraged about.
I saw another comment criticizing that the soil he was touching was Native American soil, not American. I guess the same could be said about the turf at the New Sombrero last night.
I love Bruce but I get pretty annoyed with his monologues, he always sounds like he is the most important person in the world and that every word coming out of his mouth is wisdom. Very cool for song intros at concerts, but pretty distracting anywhere else. As far as the commercial. Who cares. Another rich guy selling cars. It’s the 20’s we all have to sell out in some way.
I love Bruce but I get pretty annoyed with his monologues, he always sounds like he is the most important person in the world and that every word coming out of his mouth is wisdom. Very cool for song intros at concerts, but pretty distracting anywhere else. As far as the commercial. Who cares. Another rich guy selling cars. It’s the 20’s we all have to sell out in some way.
Hah, well you've got 25 more years of that coming, but under the name of EV. It's pretty interesting how Ed continues to shape himself in the image of Bruce, certainly from a societal part, but the concerts as well. Clearly in the moralizing but also the way he constructs set lists. They are very similar to Bruce.
I love Bruce but I get pretty annoyed with his monologues, he always sounds like he is the most important person in the world and that every word coming out of his mouth is wisdom. Very cool for song intros at concerts, but pretty distracting anywhere else. As far as the commercial. Who cares. Another rich guy selling cars. It’s the 20’s we all have to sell out in some way.
Hah, well you've got 25 more years of that coming, but under the name of EV. It's pretty interesting how Ed continues to shape himself in the image of Bruce, certainly from a societal part, but the concerts as well. Clearly in the moralizing but also the way he constructs set lists. They are very similar to Bruce.
Definitely. You could easily replace Bruce in that commercial with Ed. The deep baritone and serious old guy look. I don't see it as selling out though. Neither of them need the money. They like what they do and they care about the world.
I love Bruce but I get pretty annoyed with his monologues, he always sounds like he is the most important person in the world and that every word coming out of his mouth is wisdom. Very cool for song intros at concerts, but pretty distracting anywhere else. As far as the commercial. Who cares. Another rich guy selling cars. It’s the 20’s we all have to sell out in some way.
Hah, well you've got 25 more years of that coming, but under the name of EV. It's pretty interesting how Ed continues to shape himself in the image of Bruce, certainly from a societal part, but the concerts as well. Clearly in the moralizing but also the way he constructs set lists. They are very similar to Bruce.
Definitely. You could easily replace Bruce in that commercial with Ed. The deep baritone and serious old guy look. I don't see it as selling out though. Neither of them need the money. They like what they do and they care about the world.
I guess this should go under GOP, but has anyone else been reading about the "Romney Plan"? It's basically an incentive program to pay families monthly for children. It's meant to offset the cost of rearing a child. It is highly ambitious and seems to cover both sides of the political spectrum. First, it provides financial support monthly for parents and second, it incentivizes having children. And I think the latter is a worthy goal because the birth rate in this country continues to plummet, and not in a good way. There are plenty of studies that show that many parents would like more children, but can't afford them. Now before you get cynical, it does phase out quickly with the number of kids you have, so it's not some LDS giveaway. It also is aimed at low and middle income families. Really interesting. Thoughts?
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Comments
Microsoft halts donations through 2022 to lawmakers who opposed Biden certification
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Friday it will suspend all donations by its political action committee (PAC) through 2022 to all U.S. lawmakers who voted to object to the certification of Joe Biden’s election as president.
The software maker will also suspend contributions through the same period for state officials and organizations who supported objections or suggested the election should be overturned.
Microsoft said it “will promote and join a conversation with other businesses and organizations that want to strengthen democracy. Recent events have raised issues of importance to PACs across the business community.”
Microsoft President Brad Smith told employees on Jan. 21 that over the last four years 20% of its PAC donations “had gone to members who voted against the Electoral College.”
Smith said PACs were important “not because the checks are big, but because of the way the political process works. Politicians in the United States have events, they have weekend retreats. You have to write a check, and then you’re invited, and you participate,” according to a transcript released by the company. “Out of that ongoing effort, a relationship evolves and emerges and solidifies.”
Smith added there are times “I call people who I don’t personally know. And somebody will say, ‘Well, you know, your folks have always shown up for me at my events, and we have a good relationship, let me see what I can do to help you.’”
PACs for dozens of major U.S. companies have halted donations to the 147 House and Senate members who voted against Biden’s certification, including Walmart Inc, Marriott Inc, AT&T Inc,, Amazon.com Inc, Comcast and American Express.
Alphabet Inc’s Google and General Electric Co PACs have also suspended donations through 2022, while Dow Inc said it would extend its suspension to senators voting against certification for up to six years.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Franklin Paul and David Gregorio
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
What?
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/springsteen-sells-out-jeep-ad-superbowl/2021/02/07/b9bd1fa0-6986-11eb-9ead-673168d5b874_story.html
preachy is the complaint what I heard. which I dont get.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
pop music critic. enough said.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
he begins a spiel in the introspective cadence honed during his recent Broadway-to-Netflix thing: “There’s a chapel in Kansas standing on the exact center of the Lower 48. It never closes. All are more than welcome to come meet here — in the middle.”
It's the only complaint people have, and it's no different than complaining about virtue signaling.
I can understand how people resent being lectured by a Jeep ad, but on the other hand if American's weren't so generally shitty to each other and maybe put more thought into who we elected to represent us, we probably wouldn't need a fucking car commercial to be our moral compass.
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
How Bruce Springsteen Agreed To Do a Super Bowl Commercial for Jeep.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-02-05/romney-s-child-allowance-would-upend-welfare
Opinion by Adam Kinzinger
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/08/adam-kinzinger-trump-impeachment-senate-republicans/
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14