I would imagine this has something to do with the White House's inquiries into porn searches and such. It's disappointing that Google would go this route, but it's also somewhat smart. Get a few key Republicans on your side, and they make things "go away".
Google has hired politically connected lobbying firms and consultants with ties to Republican leaders like the party chairman, Ken Mehlman; Speaker J. Dennis Hastert; and Senator John McCain; and advisers say the company may set up a fund-raising arm for political donations to candidates. And in a town where Republicans hold the levers of power, Google has begun stockpiling pieces of the party's machine.
In doing so, Google provides another example of how Internet companies, no matter how unconventional their roots or nonconformist their corporate cultures, increasingly find themselves wrestling with the same forces in Washington that more traditional industries have long faced. Google's executives consider the moves necessary as they achieve a prominence that allows them to elbow their own interests onto the political stage.
Even as they emphasize policy over politics to raise their profile, Google executives and advisers are also fully aware that they are embracing the lobbying world at a time when it has been rocked by the Jack Abramoff scandal of influence peddling. Some advisers say the company may wait until after Congress decides whether or how to overhaul lobbying laws before it wades more deeply into fund-raising and politics.
With its stock price closing on Monday near $370 a share and its vaulting onto the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index this week, the company also cannot afford to be caught flat-footed by regulatory agencies or its competitors.
Google's political awakening was nowhere more evident than on Capitol Hill last month, when it, Microsoft, Cisco Systems and Yahoo were slammed by Republicans and Democrats alike over business dealings in China. Elliot Schrage, vice president for global communications and public affairs at Google, was lashed repeatedly with the company's motto, "Don't Be Evil," as House members accused the corporations of abetting China's government in censoring Internet communications and imperiling the safety of Chinese Internet surfers.
It is an issue that Google and others know will not go away soon. Representative Christopher H. Smith, Republican of New Jersey, and other legislators are demanding that Internet companies be more sensitive when dealing with foreign countries.
Yeah, there's that mess, too. Another reason to enter the world of lobbying.
And here is a major "wtf??" moment:
"I think they are just going to lobby to spread this yarn that by being there, they're going to spread democracy," said Mr. Smith, who presided at the hearing. "This dictatorship can go on for generations if it's not unchecked."
Cute. Welcome to the world of politics
Tag: [Google], [Google enters the political battleground], [Google hires lobbyists to cultivate partnerships with key Republicans], [Google's political awakening], [Google grows up]
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