Re: Microsoft Increased Lobbying in '98

[Mitch Stone <mstone@vc.net>]

--- From a message sent by Steve Cohen on 12/29/98 8:00 PM ---

>I basically agree with you.  Donations to the political process may not pass
>the smell test, but they are part of business/politics as usual and this
>applies to Microsoft's competitors as well.  As I said before, the person who
>may face some consequences is the SC Atty Gen. who might some day be called
>upon to explain to the voters why he changed the state's legal position in a
>lawsuit after receiving a campaing contribution from a party to that lawsuit.

Sure. We trod over this same ground a few months ago, and I believe the 
question at the time was, "can the prosecution of Microsoft be 
characterized as anything but a political act?" If you answer "no" to 
this question, then following the money becomes of singular importance -- 
and perhaps all justice can be said to be bought and paid for on the open 
market (Simon's thinking?). 

But others present argued that the DoJ's Antitrust Division had been 
thoroughly defanged during the Reagan administration, and was only now 
beginning to recover its wits and make some effort to enforce the laws. 
While it's certainly no accident that this occurred after a Democrat was 
elected to the White House, I think it would be a mistake to presume that 
law enforcement is little more than a political act, even though _how_ 
the law is enforced can have definite political consequences.

Mitch Stone
mstone@vc.net