An analysis of donations to CablePAC ? the cable industry's political action committee ? shows that the nation's largest MSO lags far behind its counterparts in giving to the fund, which helps support politicians friendly to the industry's agenda. Although AT&T Broadband is by far the largest cable company in the land ? with 16 million subscribers ? its employees contributed just $10,000, or 1%, of the $994,200 collected by the PAC during the 1999-2000 election cycle, according to records released this month by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). By comparison, employees at Time Warner Cable ? the No. 2 MSO, with nearly 13 million subscribers ? chipped in $144,750, or 15% of the total.
A CableWorld analysis showed that CablePAC uses the money to back mainly Republican congressional candidates friendly to the cable agenda ? a mission distinct from the routine political activities of the National & Telecommunications Association, whose staff lobbyists pressure Congress and the regulatory agencies on routine industry business. NCTA administers CablePAC.
Cable companies are barred by law from making direct contributions to CablePAC ? or any other PAC, for that matter. But individuals are free to contribute up to $5,000 per year, and many corporations encourage their senior executives to give. ?We encourage all of our senior executives to contribute,? says Mike Luftman, a spokesman for Time Warner Cable, who himself gave $500 to the PAC. Another MSO with hearty representation on the donor lists is Cox Communications, whose employees gave over $100,000.
Although the nearly $1 million collected by CablePAC doesn't rank it among the top ten special interests in Washington, ?it certainly makes them a major PAC,? says Steven Weiss, an analyst with the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. By comparison, the National Association of Broadcasters' PAC in the last election cycle raised $700,628.
Accounts differ as to why AT&T Broadband is underrepresented relative to its size. Some industry observers attribute the situation to occasional conflicts between cable's D.C. agenda and that of the AT&T parent company. For example, AT&T has lobbied to kill the pending broadband promotion bill sponsored by Reps. Billy Tauzin (R-La.) and John Dingell (D-Mich.). The cable industry has declined to take a position on that legislation. But a source close to the AT&T Broadband downplayed the importance of lobbying conflicts between the operating units. A better explanation for the company's paltry contributions, says this source, has to do with logistical miscues arising from the company's mergers with TCI and Mediaone over the past two years. ?This is not an institutionalized thing,? says the source. AT&T Broadband spokesman Steve Lang says, ?We support CablePAC and have made an offer to our folks to participate. We told them about it and told them how to do it, but in the end, it's an individual decision.?
Corporate support for PACs is a sticky section of campaign-finance law. Companies may not require employees to contribute to PACs or include PAC activism in performance evaluations. But it is difficult, if not impossible, to police how a company might ?encourage? workers to contribute. Luftman says Time Warner's corporate culture emphasizes political participation and that senior management doesn't have to mount a hard sell to scare up contributions. ?I've been going to executive retreats for more than a decade, and I've never heard [CablePAC] mentioned,? he says.
Michael Wilner, chairman of CablePAC, contends that donations to the group are a myopic way of viewing a company's overall contribution to the industry agenda. ?You can't just look at one PAC in a vacuum,? says Wilner. AT&T Broadband and AOL Time Warner run their own PACs, and their executives may advance cable's interests by launching personal lobbying forays, he adds.
Cable-industry executives attribute the PAC's deep coffers to the activism of Washington-minded CEOs like Wilner, CEO of Insight Communications, the country's eighth-largest MSO. Wilner has captained the PAC for the past two years and agreed to stay on for another year even though he was recently elected chairman of NCTA. ?He's very, very good at getting people to understand why the PAC matters,? says an industry official.
Wilner himself likens PAC activities to a prolonged PR campaign. ?You just have to get the word out,? he says. The ban on corporate contributions, Wilner says, forces PAC leaders to make ?personal? appeals, ?[which] means you have to ask people to participate,? he says. Wilner and other distinguished cablers also pitch the cause at the annual CablePAC breakfast that takes place at the NCTA convention. PAC leaders lavish praise on peers who have upped their donations over the past year.
A cursory look at CablePAC's congressional beneficiaries indicates the group is largely successful in advancing its political ends. Of the 139 races in which CablePAC had a stake, it gave to the winner in all but nine. The PAC, for example, gave $9,999 to Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.), House minority leader and potential presidential candidate, as well as $5,000 to Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). Deregulatory soul mates like Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), former chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, claimed $9,999 and $10,000, respectively. Betting on the favorites translates into access to lawmakers certain to decide on cable legislation in the coming years. Of the 57 members of the critical House Energy and Commerce Committee, CablePAC has registered contributions with 45.
And in keeping with NCTA's drumbeat for deregulation, CablePAC deposited a preponderance of its funds with laissez-faire Republicans in the last campaign. On the Senate side, for example, CablePAC gave $104,996 to Republican candidates, compared to just $22,499 to Democrats. The breakdown for House races ? $379,977 for Republicans and $235,646 Democrats ? was less lopsided but still heavily weighted toward the GOP.
The PAC even boasted a lucky streak in the last election cycle, as it gave $9,999 to the failed Senate campaign of Missouri Republican John Ashcroft. When President George W. Bush assembled his cabinet, the cable industry had traded a friendly senator for a friendly attorney general.
NCTA limits its public statements on CablePAC to the data contained in its disclosures to the FEC. ?It's an open book,? says NCTA spokesman Mark Smith. Wilner declined to comment on how the PAC picks congressional candidates to support.
According to industry sources, however, disbursement decisions fall to a small group of NCTA officials and industry PAC leaders. CablePAC contributors, meanwhile, sit on the sidelines, their checkbooks at the ready. ?Industry needs an effective voice on Capitol Hill, and we're proud to be a strong supporter of it,? says Luftman.
CABLE POWER RANKINGS
Federal campaign-finance rules prevent cable companies from contributing to CablePAC, the NCTA-affiliated group that promotes the industry's agenda in Washington. Employees of those companies, however, are free to give up to $5,000 per year. But not all of the top MSOs share the same sense of urgency on cable's lobbying priorities, as illustrated in CableWorld's own CablePAC index. The rankings measure CablePAC donations from employees of the top ten MSOs as a percentage of each company's total number of subscribers.
| COMPANY |
SIZE RANKING |
SUBSCRIBERS |
CABLEPAC DONATIONS |
POWER RANKING |
| Cox Communications |
5 |
6,193,300 |
$106,450 |
1.70 |
| Time Warner Cable |
2 |
12,751,000 |
$142,250 |
1.10 |
| Insight Communications |
8 |
919,300 |
$9,000 |
0.97 |
| Cablevision Systems |
7 |
2,830,800 |
$26,500 |
0.93 |
| Mediacom LLC |
9 |
779,000 |
$6,000 |
0.77 |
| Cable One |
10 |
734,9000 |
$5,000 |
0.68 |
| Comcast Cable |
3 |
7,606,800 |
$35,000 |
0.46 |
| Adelphia Communications |
6 |
5,292,000 |
$22,000 |
0.41 |
| Charter Communications |
4 |
6,350,900 |
$21,600 |
0.34 |
| AT&T Broadband |
1 |
16,090,000 |
$10,000 |
0.06 |
TOP DONORS TO CABLEPAC 1999-2000
| DONOR |
TOTAL |
| Charles Dolan, chairman, Cablevision Systems |
$10,000 |
| James Dolan, president, CEO, Cablevision Systems |
$10,000 |
| James Kennedy, chairman, CEO, Cox Enterprises |
$8,000 |
| H.F. Lenfest, owner, The Lenfest Group |
$8,000 |
| Robert Sachs, president, NCTA |
$8,000 |
| Charles Lillis, former chairman, MediaOne |
$8,000 |
| source: opensecrets.org |
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