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Tech execs split on Bush vs. Gore
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October 30, 2000: 2:51 p.m. ET
Both presidential candidates garner support from tech companies
By Staff Writer David Kleinbard
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Technology industry executives are split right down the middle between Al Gore and George W. Bush in the upcoming presidential election, even though Gore has more of an established track record in dealing with technology issues than the Texas governor does.
Both candidates have virtually identical views on the issues that are important to computer hardware and software companies and both have drawn similar amounts of money and endorsements from prominent members of Silicon Valley.
On controversial social issues, such as abortion, there are clear differences between Bush and Gore. By contrast, the issues that concern tech companies tend to revolve around economics and scientific advances, rather than emotion or ideology. For that reason, most tech industry issues are non-partisan and involve power struggles between various industry segments, such as small Internet service providers facing off against large cable companies.
"IT issues don't necessarily break down ideologically," said Connie Correll, a spokeswoman for the Information Technology Industry Council, a Washington-based trade group. "The middle of each party comes together and works together to get each issue done."
"The industry wasn't built around the government and historically hasn't been regulated by the government," Correll added. "It prides itself for not being beholden to Washington."
 While most tech executives try to stay out of Washington, two issues have caused tech companies to pay more attention to what goes on inside the beltway. One is the massive federal and state antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. (MSFT: Research, Estimates), which is now on appeal. The other is the issue of Internet privacy, which has come under increasing scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission and Congress.
Tech companies also want the United States to have normalized trade relations with China so that they can sell their equipment to a market of one billion people. Both candidates support extending permanent normal trade relations to China and the "one-China policy."
Because tech companies face a shortage of skilled programmers and engineers, they want to increase the current limit on H-1B visas that allow skilled workers from other countries to live in the United States for up to three years. Both candidates are in favor of increasing the limits on these visas as needed.
More money flows to Washington
As the revenues and profits of tech companies have boomed, so have their contributions to federal political campaigns. The computer and computer services industries donated almost $24 million to federal campaigns in the 2000 election cycle, up from about $9 million in the 1996 cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks donations made to political candidates.
"Lobbying for the tech industry has become a growth industry," said Ken Wasch, president of the Software Information Industry Association, which represents almost all of the significant software companies in the nation except for Microsoft. Microsoft resigned from the group after the trade association filed a court brief advocating that the software giant be split into three separate companies.
"The FTC's concerns about Internet privacy and the Microsoft case have made Washington more visible," ITIC's Correll said. "The Microsoft case was a real awakening for people that the government does have an impact on your company."
Even money
The evenness of the division between Bush and Gore supporters in the technology industry is shown by campaign contribution patterns. Of the $24 million that the computer hardware and services industry gave to federal campaigns in this election, 51 percent went to Democratic candidates and 48 percent went to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Residents of San Jose, Calif., the tech capital of the United States, gave about $9 million to federal candidates in the 2000 election cycle, 49 percent of which went to Democrats and 50 percent to Republicans.
 In mid-September, the Bush campaign placed an advertisement in the San Jose Mercury News listing 200 technology industry executives who endorsed the Texas governor. Bush has an Information Technology Steering Council that includes 400 tech executives.
The Gore campaign responded a month later by issuing a press release saying that more than 440 technology and Internet business leaders have personally endorsed Gore and Joe Lieberman. In the same release, Gore and Lieberman said that they set a goal to create 10 million new, high-tech, high-skilled jobs over the next decade.
The two lists of backers show just how divided the tech industry is about which candidate to support. For example, there are some partners at the venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers who have given their money and support to Gore, while other partners at the same firm have backed Bush. One of Netscape's co-founders is a Bush supporter, while the other backs Gore. Microsoft's chief operating officer supports Bush, but several other Microsoft executives have publicly backed Gore.
Gore's association with tech
While technology executives are evenly divided between Bush and Gore, the vice president's name is much more clearly associated with technology. Gore didn't invent the Internet, but he recognized its potential much earlier than most federal policy makers, and he has had an interest in computer networks for more than a decade.
"Al Gore actually deserves a lot of credit. In about 1986, he started asking questions like, 'Why don't we take these supercomputers and these optical fiber networks and put them together. Would that do anything?' Well, guess what? That eventually turned into the National Science Foundation Network, which became a core element of the Internet," said Vinton Cerf, the man generally credited as being the father of the Internet, in a printed endorsement for Gore.
Gore's supporters note that he sponsored the Supercomputer Network Act of 1986, called for the establishment of a national computing plan in 1988, authored the Information Infrastructure and Technology Act of 1992, fought to pass the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and has led the Clinton administration's effort to get funding for a Next Generation Internet, which could move at speeds 1,000 times faster than today's Internet.
In addition, Gore has led the Clinton administration's effort to get every classroom connected to the Internet -- today, 95 percent of schools are connected -- advocated the V-chip to control what children can watch on television, and called for an "electronic bill of rights" to protect personal privacy online. To enhance his techno-geek image, Gore recently gave interviews to Red Herring and Yahoo! Internet Life magazines. He appeared on the cover of the former.
"Al Gore has a record on technology issues; with Bush, you are dealing in speculation," said the SIIA's Wasch. "While Al Gore may not have invented the Internet, he has been active in issues ranging from encryption to copyright protection, to open access to cable lines, to the wiring of America's schools. He has been at the center of the Clinton administration's technology policy."
The Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents a broad array of hardware, software, and telecom companies, hasn't endorsed either candidate. However, the association's president, Ed Black, is a clear Gore supporter.
"The reality is that we have a history with Gore and have worked with him on many issues," Black said. "There are people in the Bush camp who don't seem to grasp tech issues, and they have sent out some signals I'm not comfortable with. Gore really understands the essence of the industry, and I think his appointees to key places would reflect that understanding."
Bush supporters note that during Bush's term of office, Texas has led the nation in high-tech job growth. Between 1995 and 1997, more than 62,000 high-tech jobs were created, making Texas second in the nation for high-tech employment, with more than half a million workers employed in that area. In addition, he created the second-largest government-operated telecommunications network in the nation, which provides discounted service to schools, libraries, and hospitals.
The Microsoft factor
Microsoft donated $3.5 million to federal candidates in the 2000 election cycle, by far the most of any tech company, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In fact, Microsoft donated more money than the investment bank Goldman Sachs or Philip Morris Companies. The software giant gave 44 percent of that money to Democrats and 53 percent to Republicans.
Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan said that the company hasn't endorsed either candidate.
"We have become more involved in the political process because we want our views heard on public policy issues that are important to the company and the entire high tech industry," Cullinan said. "Individuals at Microsoft support candidates, but the company does not endorse anyone."
While the company hasn't made a choice, its executive vice president and chief operating officer, Bob Herbold, is a prominent Bush supporter, suggesting that Microsoft is looking to the Bush administration to drop the federal antitrust case against the company.
"Microsoft has clearly decided that a Republican administration would be to their benefit and is doing everything in its power to elect George Bush," said the SIIA's Wasch.
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