The executives behind the merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable are big financial supporters of President Barack Obama and other Democrats.
Comcast's deal to
buy Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion was announced Thursday, but it
still requires regulatory approval and faces antitrust scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission and either the Justice Department or the Federal Trade Commission.
It may not hurt that, since 2006, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts has given Democrats $76,000 in campaign contributions and only $13,500 to Republicans. He also has worked closely with Obama — serving on the president's Job Council, attending business and technology meetings at the White House, as well as golfing on Martha's Vineyard with the Obama,
The Hill reports.
According to
The New York Times, David Cohen, the chief lobbyist for Comcast, helped raise $1.44 million for Obama in 2011 and 2012, bringing in a total of $2.22 million since 2007 — putting him in the top 25 of Obama fundraisers.
At a fundraising event in Philadelphia in 2011, the president said Cohen and his wife had been "great friends for so many years."
Time Warner Cable CEO Robert Marcus, who has only been at his post for 44 days, also has favored Democrats in his campaign contributions.
Marcus has donated a total of $8,500 to Democrats since 2010, including to New York's Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Reps. Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Steve Israel of New York. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of of New Hampshire is the only Republican to whom he's donated.
Comcast and Time Warner Cable's employees have also heavily favored Democrats in their donations.
CNN Money notes that while the Obama Administration approved the American Airlines and U.S. Airways merger, it blocked the deal between AT&T and T-Mobile in 2011. So it is uncertain how this cable merger will play out.
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