How Microsoft Conquered Washington
from the lobby-lobby-lobby dept
Fortune has an article all about how Microsoft turned around their lobbying efforts in Washington DC. They used to be absolutely terrible – but now have one of the “best” lobbying organizations, according to folks in the article. Microsoft says they’re just trying to make sure that legislators better “understand” the issues that will affect them. Microsoft foes, however, suggest that they’re “undermining” the proper course of legal action.
Comments on “How Microsoft Conquered Washington”
Yeah, like...
…when I want a traffic cop to ‘better understand’ the issues that compel me to do 85 in a 55 zone!
The Distinguished Gentleman
I always laugh when I go back and watch this movie, because it reflects the common belief that whoever has the most money wins the vote. I’m sure there are quite a few people in the government who are really there to make a difference, but good people don’t make good news, do they? It’s too bad those who fit the stereotype are the ones who are remembered.
Re: MSMoney.exe
Problem is, while there may be a few people in the government who actually want to make a difference, none of them – whether or not they want to make a difference – know anything about computers. But one thing they all know is money – and God knows, MS has plenty of that.
Two things we can thank Microsoft for defining, or redefining: what a monopoly is, and what an 800 pound gorilla is. From the company that thought the Internet “wouldn’t amount to anything” comes the dominant browser – only because they could afford to give it away in order to kill the preferred browser of the time. (Not to mention making it the only browser OEMs could offer, or else.) And from the company that didn’t want anything to do with politics, a company that discovered real fast just how far a greased palm goes, when suddenly their interests are “special.”