What a difference three years makes. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Google and its employees vaulted into the top five donors to Barack Obama. The president even chose Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt as an unpaid adviser.
But now Google is making nice with the other side,
Politico reports. The search engine giant has hired several Republicans and is even co-sponsoring a GOP presidential debate with Fox News Thursday night. Siding 100 percent with Democrats wasn’t going to advance the company’s interests in Washington.
Google recently hired a lobbying firm led by Kyle Simmons, former chief of staff to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Rob Saliterman, a former spokesman for President George W. Bush.
The company also has joined Republican organizations in Washington such as the Ripon Institute, said Ralph Hellmann, a lobbyist with the Information Technology Industry Council.
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