A funny thing happened to Calmaquip, a Florida based engineering firm, as they wandered through the Commerce Department’s Advocacy Center.

The company’s biggest financial support had previously been to staunch Republican senator Jesse Helms. But lo and behold, suddenly Calmaquip, and quite a few other companies seeking help from the Commerce Department, suddenly became very interested in supporting the Democratic Party.

In fact, the Commerce Department’s Advocacy Center actually became a rarity in government circles. With a budget of only $1.4 million, this program raised $2 million in donations for the ruling party. And, by coincidence, the companies that made the donations ended up with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of foreign contracts, many from governments that depend heavily on US federal government spending.

(Source: MSNBC.)