$42,000.00
John D. Rockefeller IV (D-AT&T) received this dollar amount in campaign contributions from the very companies to which he is offering immunity for illegally spying on Americans.
From the Washington Post:
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 — Executives at the two biggest phone companies contributed more than $42,000 in political donations to Senator John D. Rockefeller IV this year while seeking his support for legal immunity for businesses participating in National Security Agency eavesdropping.
From the Telcom’s point of view, it’s good business. They receive millions and millions of dollars in federal contract revenue for illegally spying on Americans and, in exchange, they only have to pay John D. Rockefeller IV a tiny fraction of their profits to retroactively make their spying on Americans legal. These behemoths not only make a killing from our tax dollars, but they position themselves as pioneers in the new economy of privatized national security. And they get a pass because, in our Corporatocracy, paying Verizon’s stockholders is paramount to upholding the principles of freedom upon which our nation was founded.
The surge in contributions came from a Who’s Who of executives at the companies, AT&T and Verizon, starting with the chief executives and including at least 50 executives and lawyers at the two utilities, according to campaign finance reports.
The money came primarily from a fund-raiser that Verizon held for Mr. Rockefeller in March in New York and another that AT&T sponsored for him in May in San Antonio.
John D. Rockefeller IV, however, he’s not very good at crunching the numbers. When Chris Dodd promised to hold and, if necessary, filibuster this fire sale of our civil liberties (to which Joe Biden has joined) I’m probably not far off in guessing he secured himself around $42,000 in campaign contributions.
Thomas Jefferson is credited with saying "I believe banking institutions are more dangerous to civil liberties than standing armies." Under the leadership of Senator Rockefeller, it appears Jefferson was under-inclusive.