PLEASE STOP SENDING ME NEWS OF CORPORATIONS SHIFTING THEIR POLITICAL DONATIONS TO THE DEMS-- IT IS NOT GOOD NEWS. GO READ SIROTA'S BOOK

At least half a dozen of my online buds have sent me the WALL STREET JOURNAL story entitled "Corporate Contributions Shift to the Left". Even if it were true-- it really isn't-- this is hardly good tidings. If you think it us, you must, must, must read David Sirota's new book, HOSTILE TAKEOVER: HOW BIG MONEY & CORRUPTION CONQUERED OUR GOVERNMENT-- AND HOW WE TAKE IT BACK.

Sirota's premise is that big corporate bribes-- legal and otherwise-- have entirely corrupted our government, which is now utterly dysfunctional in terms of providing a balance between the power of Big Business and the interests of unorganizaed and unprotected citizens. There is no question that the Republican Party is 100% owned by these corporate forces. And the Democratic Party?

The Democratic brand has been thoroughly muddied by Democrats like Joe Lieberman, Jane Harman, Bill and Ben Nelson, Rahm Emanuel, Al Wynn and dozens and dozens of others who have utterly sold their souls to the company store. Yes, they're not as bad as the Republicans but that says more about how iredeemably corrupted the GOP has become than about Democrats being willing to stand up and fight for workers and consumers and oppressed minorities.

"Some big companies," the JOURNAL story tells us, "are boosting their share of campaign contributions to Democrats this year, a sign that executives may be starting to hedge their political bets after a decade of supporting congressional Republicans. The shift includes backers of the Republican Party in the insurance, pharmaceuticals and tobacco industries, such as American International Group Inc., Wyeth, and Reynolds American Inc., according to PoliticalMoneyLine, a nonpartisan tracker of campaign contributions."

Why? Well, of course they sense the winds of change blowing-- but just a little: corrupt corporate whores called Republicans giving way to corrupt corporate whores called Democrats. Last February I talked about a ROLLING STONE essay by Mark Taibbi about the unprecedented degree of corruption among Inside The Beltway Republicans. It ended, however, with a warning about Democrats. "The Democrats, whose innocence in the crimes of the last five years to date corresponds exactly to their lack of opportunities for corruption, may now get a chance at the helm. But it won't take much exposure to cheap stunts like a beaming Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi signing a 'Declaration of Honest Leadership' before people begin to remember how much the other guys can suck, too. Bush haters are celebrating this week as old villains descend to the death chamber, but they should be careful what they wish for. Trusting Washington to fix itself is a whole new kind of torture."

Companies don't give political donations for civic nor, usually, for ideological reasons, They give money so they can have access and influence. In the case of the Republicans they got to actually write the exact legislation that effected their businesses' bottom lines. The bribery and kick-backs were unlike anything ever seen in Washington before. Democrats like Rahm Emanuel can't wait to get their share of the action. And many of them haven't, of course. Al Wynn is always there for the highest bidder. Doing away with estate taxes or or rigging the bankruptcy laws to target the middle class and protect the wealthy? There are always "pro-business Democrats" with their clammy hands out selling their votes-- just as though they were members of the Republican Party. Rahm Emanuel was only one of several dozen anti-consumer Democrats who joined the GOP for a day in voting down consumer protective labeling. How many Democrats are voting to allow the Big Telecoms to abolish the free internet ("free" being the key word there)? And how many Democrats joined the Republicans in a bid to run the FAA "like a business," endangering everyone who flies on an airplane?

"The shift in donation patterns for some big businesses mirrors early signs that companies and corporate trade groups may now be increasing their hiring of lobbyists with Democratic ties, after a decade of largely shunning them. The Federalist Group is a corporate lobbying shop founded by Republicans soon after the party took over Congress in 1994. In its first eight years, the firm only hired Republicans, including former aides to onetime House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, and President Bush. Four lobbyists recently hired by the firm, beginning earlier this year, are Democrats, including a former House member from Louisiana and a health-care aide to liberal icon Edward Kennedy, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts. Other firms and trade groups that hired Democrats recently include the Information Technology Industry Association and the National Beer Wholesalers Association. In April, a new trade group representing the food industry tapped former California Democratic Rep. Cal Dooley as its president. At least part of the Democrats' new gains can be attributed to the decline of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas and a Justice Department investigation into Republican lobbyists." Yes, the decline of DeLay and the rise of Emanuel. For lobbyists and corporate power brokers who just want someone to do business with, it's all the same.