Facebook showers its likes dollars on both sides of the aisle, starting with House Speaker John Boehner.
Just months after Facebook announced it was forming its own political action committee, paperwork filed by the social giant’s political arm shows they’re already attracting plenty of donors and are starting to water the garden.
When it comes to politics, Facebook spreads its likes dollars around on both sides of the aisle.
In the last two months, the Facebook PAC helped fund the campaigns of both parties’ Capitol Hill leadership. In its latest filing with the Federal Election Commission, the PAC lists donations to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
The contribution to Speaker Boehner was made first, in February, with the others following in March.
Donations to more candidates were likely, but the FEC form filed by the Facebook PAC only requires five contributions be listed. Dollar amounts are unknown until a quarterly release of campaign finance data this Sunday.
Listed contributors to the PAC include Facebook President and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, directors Peter Thiel and Mark Andreesen, and 32 others who coughed up the legal limit of $5,000.
More than $170,000 was raised before then end of 2011, and it’s a good bet even more contributors have kicked in even more cash so far in 2012.
In an e-mail to the Washington Post last fall, Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes explained the goal of the Facebook PAC:
“… will give our employees a way to make their voice heard in the political process by supporting candidates who share our goals of promoting the value of innovation to our economy while giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.”
In other words, fund ’em all and let the voters sort ’em out.
Jesse Garnier is the editor and founder of SFBay. A Mission District native, he also teaches journalism as associate professor at San Francisco State University.
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