The Comcast-Obama Alliance

The media is still showing the love for Obama. Not only does the fawning coverage continue but media executives are putting their money where their collective mouths are, by showering the Obama campaign with money. Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator and the new owner of NBC (and MSNBC) is the company that tops out the list of executives giving money to the Obama Victory Fund. Abby Phillip writes in Politico:

President Obama raised eyebrows this weekend when he visited Comcast CEO Brian Roberts' Martha's Vineyard home on Sunday. Comcast, beyond being a telecommunications giant, is also the parent company of NBC and MSNBC.

It turns out that Comcast employees are also the most generous organizational donors to the Obama Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee between the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

Comcast employees have donated nearly $200,000 to the fund, according to an Open Secrets analysis. They top out a list that includes Goldman Sachs employees (No. 4), law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom (No. 2), and Dreamworks (No. 8).

Of course, the 2 networks have always been in Obama's corner. During the 2008 campaign my favorite cover article was National Review's showing Obama petting his pet peacock -- the symbol of NBC and what might as well been Obama's campaign mascot. The network was long home to Keith Olbermann, who has never had a nice word about a Republican and never less than glowing words for Obama and other Democrats. His legacy carries on with Chris Matthews.

There may be crony capitalism at work.  Barack Obama's administration approved the mega-purchase of NBC by Comcast last year. This was a key strategic move by Comcast that will make it far easier for them to compete with other companies; it gives them a stable of media properties that it can choose to share (or not) with other cable and satellite companies.

One would think that a man who rails against big business and a man who prides himself on being a constitutional scholar would realize such a concentration of media power chills free speech.  But Barack Obama -- in his own words -- has said that politics is all about punishing "enemies" and rewarding friends.  He has given Comcast a reward and now they are friends.

Thomas Lifson adds:

When companies like GE (which still maintains a significant minority stake in NBC Universal as Comcast's partner) and Comcast ally themselves with a political faction, they put their shareholdrs at risk in the event of a swing of the electoral pendulum.  I do not regard this a prudent management.