Apple Hires Former Senate Staffer as New Lobbyist in Washington

"important experience for Apple's needs on Capitol Hill" - Knows how to help keep the cronies out of the way better than most.

#YouDidn'tBuildThat

How come this isn't in with the political threads?

Tim cook hired a Democrat? That's some real news.

IbisDoc said:

Tim cook hired a Democrat? That's some real news.

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Here we go…

Z400Racer37 said:

"important experience for Apple's needs on Capitol Hill" - Knows how to help keep the cronies out of the way better than most.

#YouDidn'tBuildThat

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That's as true as it gets in this land of the free. Good move by Apple, since Al Gore isn't cutting it any more.

Sharks in the big pool are ready to circle juicy bait where they find it.

Am I the only one who feels the world would be a better place if we just went scorched earth on DC? So many leaches on society would just go up in smoke.

Just another corporation buying another lobbyist to buy another politician.... Nothing else to see here... move along please.

boo lobbyists.....

edit: if there's anything that house of cards has taught me it's that lobbyists are corrupt.... and politicians are corrupt, but everyone already knew that

Why is it that every time Apple hires someone or some blogger notices someone's profile changed on LinkedIn its newsworthy? On any given day Apple has 600+ job openings on its site. Unless they hire a new SVP or someone reporting directly to Tim Cook I don't see what's newsworthy about it.

Mad Mac Maniac said:

boo lobbyists.....

edit: if there's anything that house of cards has taught me it's that lobbyists are corrupt.... and politicians are corrupt, but everyone already knew that

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I have to disagree with you on this point. Lobbyists themselves are not necessarily or inherently corrupt but can be corrupted depending on the circumstances.

And yes, a cynical look would be to consider this buying a politician or buying a degree of preferential treatment with upcoming legislation.

A more realistic look however involves considering every angle. True Apple does what it can to minimize the amount of taxes that they pay (as does the majority of people within a given tax system with examples from not only the U.S but other countries as well), but the reason for having a lobbyist is to argue for special interests and to influence legislation legally (ideally). This is happening with Special portions of the population, other special interest groups, government organizations, companies that wish to do business with the government, religious organizations...etc.

Lobbyists are a necessary part of this system because it provides the representatives of this government with a better understanding of the constituency and also provides for a better form of legislation.

That is just my opinion though.

Sweet Gig

My buddy knew one the lobbyists to the michigan Legislature. he said they have all the Apple gadgets you can think of.

Yay! Another corrupt piece of a larger corrupt, ineffective machine! Cronies for everyone!

Perhaps I'm just being a downer today, but the current political climate -- on both sides of the lot -- rankles me. Our elected officials only care about special interest groups and back door deals to ensure incumbency. Sadly, thus is the current political climate -- the only way you get your voice heard is through money exchange or palm greasing with those in power, ala direct interactions with lobbyists like the person hired here.

Sad.

brinary001 said:

How come this isn't in with the political threads?

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It's not even a story, really. At least it's not another thread about bird games. Hey ARN, macbirdrumors.com is still available!

IbisDoc said:

Tim cook hired a Democrat? That's some real news.

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While I enjoy your stereotype and roll my eyes at you...It's actually a smart move to hire a well networked Dem. She's well connected with the few Dems left who actually care about jobs, regulations and tax revenue on-shore. Who better to try to convince them Apple's way isn't quite like those other corporations ways.

I'm not trying to make a political statement per se. I see it as a smart (maybe, possibly, backhanded move)

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Fresh Pie said:

She looks very angry to be ing this article.

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I know! When women are successful and smile in a picture...I get jealous too!

Come on...................

darkplanets said:

Yay! Another corrupt piece of a larger corrupt, ineffective machine! Cronies for everyone!

Perhaps I'm just being a downer today, but the current political climate -- on both sides of the lot -- rankles me. Our elected officials only care about special interest groups and back door deals to ensure incumbency. Sadly, thus is the current political climate -- the only way you get your voice heard is through money exchange or palm greasing with those in power, ala direct interactions with lobbyists like the person hired here.

Sad.

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You've killed the idealist in me, and awakened the cynic…..

RedCroissant said:

I have to disagree with you on this point.
Lobbyists are a necessary part of this system because it provides the representatives of this government with a better understanding of the constituency and also provides for a better form of legislation.

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Or, more realistically, lobbyists provide the representatives a misleading understanding of the constituency to provide a biased form of legislation.

Take a trip to your state capitol and attend some of the committee meetings on bills that impact things that you understand. Then listen to the lobbyists giving testimony. If you really understand the issue or actually research the claims, you will be amazed at a) how blatantly misleading they are, either by omission or outright falsehoods, and b) the gullibility of the legislators who swallow it hook, line, and sinker.

I just did this last week. It is ridiculous, and exceptionally disheartening.

Oh, but just so I'm not completely down on democracy, let me urge you to click on the political links that allow you to sign a petition or send a message to your lawmaker. Crowd actions like this can actually make a difference, really acting as a balance to the lobbyists. I've seen them work firsthand.

mrothroc said:

Or, more realistically, lobbyists provide the representatives a misleading understanding of the constituency to provide a biased form of legislation.

Take a trip to your state capitol and attend some of the committee meetings on bills that impact things that you understand. Then listen to the lobbyists giving testimony. If you really understand the issue or actually research the claims, you will be amazed at a) how blatantly misleading they are, either by omission or outright falsehoods, and b) the gullibility of the legislators who swallow it hook, line, and sinker.

I just did this last week. It is ridiculous, and exceptionally disheartening.

Oh, but just so I'm not completely down on democracy, let me urge you to click on the political links that allow you to sign a petition or send a message to your lawmaker. Crowd actions like this can actually make a difference, really acting as a balance to the lobbyists. I've seen them work firsthand.

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I've done that, and yes it is very disheartening when you see things like that. I have also been lucky to see lobbyists do things the right way and I am personal friends with a D.C. lobbyists that gave lobbyists a good name.

I'm not saying that lobbyists are always acting ethically. I am simply saying that lobbyists are a necessary part of our government system. They will also become more and more necessary as the population continues to grow and the economic situation for large corporations and smaller ones become more and more diverse that require enacting of new legislation.

And I am a fairly active petition signer as well. I am a big fan of public action.

Hiring a lobbyist never sounds good.

I'd there were ever a thing that needed to be banned lobbyist are it.

"The company has repeatedly asked Congress for a discount on taxes for repatriating cash earned overseas to the United States."


That's an extremely misleading statement and really is not supported by the link. You appear to be saying that AAPL is asking for a special deal for AAPL. AAPL is part of a group of multinationals seeking a change in tax policy for repatriating overseas funds. AAPL was invited to testify regarding its proposals. Why not clean it up and present an accurate picture?

ArtOfWarfare said:

Am I the only one who feels the world would be a better place if we just went scorched earth on DC? So many leaches on society would just go up in smoke.

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Couldn't agree more. I talk about this with a coworker all the time.

This is a practical move to ensure Apple can continue its mission while addressing the potential for political interference in driving forward its strategies for innovation and disrupting markets. Bottom line is I think this is good news for all Apple consumers and should be celebrated as such.

Should have hired: