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Journal Whiney Mac Fanboy's Journal: A dollar for Apple is a vote for the Democrats? 65

Journal by Whiney Mac Fanboy

In the long lead up to the US Presidential Elections, there is something that I'm curious about.

How do slashdotters (and particularly conservative slashdotters) feel about Apple's overt and unequivocal support for the Democrats? If you're not sure what I'm talking about, consider the following:

  • During the last election. John Kerry had Steve Jobs' personal support and friendship, including Jobs' offering himself in the position of technical/PR advisor to the Kerry campaign.
  • Jobs has had the Clintons over to his house for an intimate dinner. The Clinton's returned the favor, inviting Jobs to stay a night in the White House's Lincoln bedroom, a privilege granted to big party donors.
  • Steve Jobs organised a fund raiser for Hilary Clinton at his Palo Alto home.

Has Apple's support for the Democrats changed your purchasing decisions?

Are you more or less likely to buy Apple knowing that a non-trivial percentage of your hard earned dollars are going to make there way into Democrat campaign funds?

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

A dollar for Apple is a vote for the Democrats? More

A dollar for Apple is a vote for the Democrats?

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  • Sort of (Score:3, Informative)

    by frankie ( 91710 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @07:13AM (#18260346) Journal
    Apple itself is not heavily political, at least not compared to corps like Home Depot, which graciously offered its stores as backdrops for Bush campaign stops in 2003-4. Gore on Apple's board isn't unreasonable given that he's a long-time Mac user and (all misstatements and smears aside) he really was a major factor in the buildout of the early internet.

    Lord Steve is a personal sponsor of many Dems, and most of his income is from Apple. Some conservatives claim that he's the reason they don't buy Macs. Most of them are lying, and would be using Windows even if Jobs & Michael Dell had their political beliefs swapped.

    Personally, I wish Steve had taken Rush Limbaugh up on his offer to do a Mac commercial.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Sandbags ( 964742 )
      Although Steve Jobs may give some decent dollars to the Democrats, Apple itself has taken no political stand, at least not directly. As frankie said, "Apple itself is not heavily political, at least not compared to corps like Home Depot, which graciously offered its stores as backdrops for Bush campaign stops in 2003-4." Many companies actually directly back one party or the other, and may even to some extent discriminate upon its employees based on their political backing. A real bad case is Outback Ste

      • Although Steve Jobs may give some decent dollars to the Democrats, Apple itself has taken no political stand, at least not directly. As frankie said, "Apple itself is not heavily political, at least not compared to corps like Home Depot, which graciously offered its stores as backdrops for Bush campaign stops in 2003-4."

        That's good information, thank you. Now, I can continue to buy the hardware from the vendor I like, and can offset any feelings of guilt for doing so by then going to home depot and buying things I'd be buying anyway, to offset it. Kind of like how, when I worked with a rabidly anti-gun coworker, I went on the "gun of the month" buying plan because of him.

        So, if Jobs wants to support the left, fine, but I'll offset that by buying more from someone supporting the right. After all, I buy construction s

  • Answer from a right winger... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by RailGunner ( 554645 ) * on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:45AM (#18261738) Journal
    Are you more or less likely to buy Apple knowing that a non-trivial percentage of your hard earned dollars are going to make there way into Democrat campaign funds?

    Neither. I am less likely to buy Apple because I do not want vendor lock-in, and because I can build far cheaper than I can buy.

    Neither Dell nor Microsoft gets my money these days, because I build my own systems and run Linux, a decision that is just as much technical as it is economical.

    Steve Jobs can support whatever candidate he wants, it doesn't matter so much right now because the GOP is absolutely whooping the Dems in fund raising right now - especially in small, grassroots donations.
    • Neither. I am less likely to buy Apple because I do not want vendor lock-in, and because I can build far cheaper than I can buy.

      Thanks for your answer, but I'm really interested in hearing the opinions of right-wingers (as you put it) who do buy Apple products.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Nutria ( 679911 )
        Thanks for your answer, but I'm really interested in hearing the opinions of right-wingers (as you put it) who do buy Apple products.

        Ask Rush Limbaugh. He's been a big Mac fan since at least the very early 1990s.
        mailto:rush@eibnet.com [mailto]

      • Here's one!

        What does it matter? In my general experience, it's generally left-wingers who make statements like "I would NEVER shop at Walmart" etc.

        I buy Mac because I like them, and they're what I want. The political leanings of the company and Mr Jobs are completely irrelevant to me.

  • It's not surprising that Steve Jobs supports the democratic party. Steve Jobs is a very intelligent man, and obviously votes with his head, not based on trumped up fears about "ooga booga booga! the terr'ists gonna get'cha!"

    It's funny how right wingers are always trying to bash the "liberal elite" for voting the way they do. What if they vote the way they do because they actually think about the issues, are intelligent people and decided to vote for other intelligent people? This isn't rocket science peo

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Overly Critical Guy ( 663429 )

      Steve Jobs is a very intelligent man, and obviously votes with his head, not based on trumped up fears about "ooga booga booga! the terr'ists gonna get'cha!"

      As opposed to Democrats who would simultaneously tell people we're less safe today than before 9/11 and that Republicans aren't doing enough to protect them while accusing the Republicans of using safety to scare people into voting for them?
      • Well, I'm guessing you're a GOP supporter?

        How does it make you feel knowing a portion of your hard earned pay packet is going directly into the Hilary-Clinton-For-President campaign every time you buy Apple products?

        Do you feel conflicted knowing you don't want Hilary in, but are indirectly contibuting (and encouraging others' contributions) to her campaign?

        If Hilary is elected by a small margin, will you feel upset because it was probably your Apple purchase that provided the funds to swing that state?

        • Well, I'm guessing you're a GOP supporter?

          No, I just notice hypocrisy and cloaked attempts to troll Mac users.

          • Well, I'm guessing you're a GOP supporter?
            No,

            Aaah, not a GOP supporter - I'm guessing that makes you a Democrat. You'll love your money going directly into the reelect hilary fund!

            I just notice hypocrisy and cloaked attempts to troll Mac users.

            Where's the hypocrisy & cloaked attempts?
            • I'm not officially a supporter of either party. As for attempts to troll Mac users, that would be found in your posting history.
              • I'm not officially a supporter of either party.

                Oh right! In that case you wouldn't officially support what I'd call the hilary-for-president-ipod-tax?

                As for attempts to troll Mac users, that would be found in your posting history.

                I asked you what you meant by "cloaked attempts" and hypocrisy. I didn't mention trolling mac users at all.

  • I am happy with it (Score:4, Insightful)

    by cyclop ( 780354 ) on Thursday March 08, 2007 @04:25AM (#18273594) Homepage Journal

    From my (European) perspective, Democrats and Republicans look much like Kodos and Kang. However, in choosing the lesser evil, I'm happy that Apple chooses to fund Democrats. Not that I've ever bought Apple or that I will do -too much vendor lock-in and other issues.

    Anyway I respect your opinion to be unhappy with this, but you must thank your lobbying system for this. In many parts of Europe (even here in Italy, despite its corruption record) having a big corporation directly funding a political party is illegal and it would be considered a scandal. Independency of politics from financial interests is considered a value of paramount importance here.

    • Anyway I respect your opinion to be unhappy with this,

      Unhappy? I don't particularly have an opinion one way or the other (also not american, also think it's a Kodos/Kang situation).

      I'm purely interested in Apple consumer's opinions on this.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cyclop ( 780354 )

        Unhappy? I don't particularly have an opinion one way or the other (also not american, also think it's a Kodos/Kang situation).

        Oh, I see. At first I didn't understand why you would be interested in this, if you are not American and you do not have at heart a party of American politics. But I understand that it may be an interesting statistic. However I guess Macs appeal more to people likely to be Democrats... but we will see.

    • The only thing particularly damning from that was the personal donation from Jobs. But has Apple itself contributed, as a company?

      I don't really like any of it, though I would prefer Apple/Democrats vs Halliburton/Diebold/Microsoft/Republicans at this point. (Not sure about Microsoft or spelling of Halliburton -- pretty sure, but this is a disclaimer so I don't look like an ass if I'm wrong.)
    • In Germany you have to pay a percentage of your earnings to a party in order to vote in that party's primary. Yup, "Independency of politics from financial interests is... of paramount importance..." indeed. I guess rich party members don't have more influence than poor ones, even though they are bankrolling the party. Of course what I'm implying would be hard to prove since lots of party votes occur behind closed doors, and party votes are the only votes that actually matter in a system in which represe
    • Well has Obama expressed an opinion on DRM yet? Will Steve Jobs be cozying up to him or will he keep his eggs in the Clinton Basket? Do the Democrats even have a precise stance on the current issues of intellectual property and if so what is it?
  • I'm a (fiscal) conservative. While I wouldn't want any of those people listed to be elected, I am not about to boycott a company based on who their employees might be giving money to. While I disagree strongly with much of the Democrat's platform, I certainly don't consider it unethical. If I was going to boycott a company every time someone in it gave money to a non fiscal conservative candidate, well, I'd have a lot more money in the bank I guess (as fiscal conservative politicians seem to have gone ex

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mqduck ( 232646 )

      While I wouldn't want any of those people listed to be elected, I am not about to boycott a company based on who their employees might be giving money to.


      Wow, that's... Such a Republican answer.

      • Wow, that's... Such a Republican answer.
        Oh? How so?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by mqduck ( 232646 )
          To fail to make a distinction between a CEO and an employee is a fine instance of denying the existence of class in capitalism. To quote some guy (Ambrose Bierce) quoted in Civilization 4: "CORPORATION, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility."

          I suppose I should have said something like "right-wing" rather than "Republican" but I thought that might have been misinterpreted seeing as how it's the mainstream ideology. I was assuming a distinction between the li
  • This is an interesting question for me. Until this year, I had voted for the GOP, and used PC's running Windows. This year I voted Dem, and bought my first MacBook.

    However, until I read this journal entry, I hadn't really thought of the connection.

    In either case, I think any argument over which side has the smarter politicians is comparable to a discussion over which pile of dog droppings smells worse.

    The bigger issue, and the scam that I myself fell victim to, is aligning personal values and
  • I'm not intending to be a SJ apologist, but frankly the guy has every right to spend _his_ money any way he feels politically. Many of the points you make show that these candidates are his friends--why wouldn't he support them?

    If you are going to second-guess your Apple purchases, shouldn't you also extend the list to Pixar and Disney products as well? Take your kids to see Cars and feed Hillary's PAC!

    If you are going to worry about Apple channelling funds into the Democratic party, well then rest comforta
    • If you are going to worry about Apple channelling funds into the Democratic party,

      Of course I'm not worried! I won't be voting in these elections. I was wondering what others opinions were.

  • non-trivial (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Profound ( 50789 ) on Friday March 09, 2007 @02:05AM (#18286126) Homepage
    1/4 mill over 10 years averages out to be $25,000/year or $6250 a quarter. Apple revenues are something like $6 billion a quarter.

    So a "non-trivial percentage of your hard earned dollars" is true, if you define 0.00000104% to be "non-trivial"
    • The $250,000 is not the entire figure. That was why it was one of several points.

      1/4 mill over 10 years averages out to be $25,000/year or $6250 a quarter. Apple revenues are something like $6 billion a quarter.

      Apple's revenues have exceeded $6 billion a quarter for the last 10 years? You're kidding!

  • And if anything, it makes me more likely to buy an Apple. Of course, I could just give my own money to the Dems.

  • There's this website called BuyBlue.org [buyblue.org] which collects all sort of information on companies, such as financial support for democratic or republican parties. Generally a good resource, but mind you the information is not always accurate. You already seem to have collected the information yourself, but I thought I'd bring it up anyways.

    Here are the financial statistics for Apple Inc. [buyblue.org]

    $78,250 to Democrats
    $0 to Republicans
    $500 to Others
    $78,750 in Total Contributions
  • I have a feeling that if you decide to boycott all corporations with liberal executives, you'd be boycotting 1/4 to a 1/3 of all corporations.

    Why does it matter at all? So what if a few of Apple's leaders are liberal? The company isn't going around promoting him, and I'm sure there are a fair few Republicans on the Democratic payroll as well.
  • Are you more or less likely to buy Apple knowing that a non-trivial percentage of your hard earned dollars are going to make there way into Democrat campaign funds?

    In all but one example, it is about Steve Jobs supporting Democrats, not necessarily Apple. Without knowing how many politicians sit on boards of directors, I'm not sure if Gore's seat is significant or not. It seems that politicians of all stripes can and do come from and go to high profile positions in private industry.

    Let's get to some numbe

  • Are you more or less likely to buy Apple knowing that a non-trivial percentage of your hard earned dollars are going to make there[sic] way into Democrat campaign funds?

    Neither. I simply buy my machines from them and then I turn around and vote Republican. Anyone who would suffer Windows or waste time with Linux because Apple appears to kow-tow to meaningless political correctness and "left-wing" candidates (a common gesture from many American businesses) needs his head examined. Additionally, a quart

  • Seems to me that this is an extraneous question. The right question is, "does apple make the best environment for me to get my work done?" If the answer is yes, buy their stuff. If no, then ... don't. As something of an outsider (a Christian who takes all that "Our citizenship is in heaven" and "*my* kingdom is not of this world" stuff seriously), I think that the democratic process ultimately depends on some forbearance on the part of all concerned. There needs to be some respect for legitimate disagre
  • Buy the computer equipment that you believe gives you best value for money. Support with contributions and advocacy the candidates that you believe will implement the best policies.

    Use the market system to determine that which is best decided by price information, and the political system to determine that which is best decided by plebecite.

  • As a longtime Apple fan and liberal Democrat, I quite like it. It makes me that much happier about my forthcoming purchase of a Mac Pro.

    Dan Aris

  • putting a big ol' blue COLLEGE DEMOCRATS sticker on my macbook wont' be so bad of an idea.
  • Although I'm sure that I disagree with Steve Jobs on most political issues, I find the technology that he promotes very agreeable. It's just not worth my time to worry about the politics of Apple. I still rent movies and buy music even though the entertainment business is overwhelmingly liberal. I love my PowerBook and my iPod. Jobs can spend the money I give his company in any way that he pleases.
  • This question unnerves me. Maybe this will be flamebait, in fact I hope so. Truth is the combination of politics and tech people disgust me. Where were we when Bush/Chenney/Rove were getting elected? Back in 2000, I was finishing my degree and working. I didn't have time to think much about politics, but I did see an article in EE times, where they asked the candidates' opinions on 5 technology topics. I decided Gore's answers were ok on most questions, a couple others I wasn't sure. Then I looked for
    • Just saw this on another Slashdot article: hurts to hear what Robert Bussard says [google.com]regarding his cold fusion project the government had been sponsoring for decades:

      "Now you ask about financing, we have no plans for financing... I've given up, as I say, on the government...Why did we run out of money? Because the fiscal year 06 budget, and the Department of Defense has cut the R&D. Navy R&D was cut 26% in fiscal year 06 because we have to fight roadside bombs in Iraq. Navy budget cut of 26% cut

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