High tech fuels politics in
Microsoft's back yard
Dot-commer, incumbent face off for Senate seat
BY KRISTI HEIM
Mercury News Seattle Bureau
SEATTLE -- In this state that Microsoft calls home, the tech feuds
have turned political and the political feuds have gone high-tech.
A Republican incumbent backed by Microsoft and a Democratic
high-tech millionaire from rival RealNetworks are facing off in one of the most hotly contested U.S.
Senate races in the country. President Clinton arrived here Saturday to lend his support to the
Democratic candidate. The race has captured national attention as a crucial battleground that could
change the balance of the Senate.
It's also one of the first political matches of the Internet age, complete with high-tech titans, dot-com
wealth and virtual mudslinging. Republican Sen. Slade Gorton and his Democratic challenger, Maria
Cantwell, haven't debated in person yet. But they're taking shots at each other in cyberspace, slinging
accusations of meddling in each other's Web sites, posting online diaries from the campaign road
show and using the Web as a tool for political advertising. Recent polls show the candidates running
neck and neck.
Fueled in part by high-tech money, the race also promises to be the most expensive in Washington
state history. Gorton has received $103,300 from Microsoft employees or owners, their families and
the company's political action committee, while Cantwell has received a $47,050 boost from
RealNetworks employees and their families, according to the independent Center for Responsive
Politics.
But Cantwell, who refuses to accept PAC money, is mainly using her own dot-com millions to finance
her campaign, cashing in $5.1 million in stock from RealNetworks, where she was a vice president.
She has already spent more than $5 million and figures she'll go through at least $3 million more
before the race is over.
Gorton raised more than $4.6 million and spent $2.6 million as of Aug. 30, according to the Federal
Election Commission. Besides Microsoft, his other major donors include Weyerhaeuser Co., Verizon
Communications and Boeing Co.
Cantwell, a former congresswoman and state lawmaker who grew up in a Midwestern blue-collar
family, made her foray into high-tech business after losing her seat in Congress in 1994. As one of the
first 10 employees of RealNetworks, Cantwell helped build the Seattle start-up into the leading
maker of audio and video software for the Web, earning a small fortune in the process. She took the
job at RealNetworks over an offer at Microsoft to work in government affairs.
Now she's trying to turn high-tech savvy into political cachet. With five years of Internet industry
experience under her belt, Cantwell claims to represent a new generation and a better grasp of New
Economy issues than her opponent. If she wins, she would be the first high-tech millionaire in the U.S.
Senate.
``I think 41 years in elective office is too long,'' Cantwell said of her opponent. ``He's got the
19th-century view, and I've got the 21st-century view.''
Gorton, who has been called ``the senator from Microsoft'' for his dogged defense of the software
giant, counters that Cantwell is merely disguising conventional ``big government'' views with a youthful
face.
``Whatever the age, hers is old-fashioned government-issued politics,'' he said. ``Mine is still the new
way of trusting the people I represent in making decisions.''
The two candidates differ in their views on such issues as environmental policy and abortion rights.
Cantwell, who is pro-choice, favors stricter environmental-protection policies, while Gorton is
opposed to abortion. Cantwell has criticized Gorton's environmental record, including a rider he
added to a bill on Kosovo allowing an open-pit gold mine that leaches cyanide in eastern
Washington. Gorton says he supports giving more control to local communities to determine
environmental policies.
Gorton, 72, began his career in political office the year Cantwell was born. Trained as a lawyer, he
served as state attorney general for 12 years, as a state representative for a decade and as a U.S.
senator for 18 years.
The irony of his current challenge isn't lost on his opponents. Gorton won the Senate seat from
75-year-old Warren Magnuson in 1980 with a message of youth and change -- he even jogged 60
miles from Seattle to Olympia to file his candidacy.
He has been a powerful lawmaker for local interests, using seats on the Budget and Appropriations
committees to direct more federal funds to the Northwest. In a blunt display of disapproval for the
government's lawsuit against Microsoft, he used his Appropriations seat last year to seek a $10
million cut in proposed funding for the Justice Department's antitrust office.
Microsoft's influence When asked about high-tech issues in the Northwest, Gorton said the case
against Microsoft ranks as No. 1.
``Microsoft has changed the way most people live more than any corporation in the last decade,'' he
said. ``It's not the only part of our economy, but it's the driving force for the state's economy.
``This case is destructive of innovation and our international trade position and is entirely wrong.''
His loyalty has been rewarded by Microsoft's PAC as well as by Chairman Bill Gates and Chief
Executive Steve Ballmer, who each contributed the maximum $2,000 to Gorton's current campaign
cycle. More important than the money is Microsoft's endorsement.
``Senator Gorton has earned Microsoft's strong support,'' said Microsoft spokesman Vivek Varma.
``He has clearly been a champion for Microsoft on a wide variety of issues.''
Cantwell has her own record of support for high-tech causes. One of her biggest political successes
was in support of Internet privacy, a victory praised by Microsoft. She supports electronic-privacy
laws and expanded immigration visas for foreign workers. As a junior member of Congress, Cantwell
blocked a Clinton administration proposal to build surveillance capabilities, the so-called Clipper
Chip, into computers, allowing government to access personal information.
But Cantwell's position on the government's antitrust case against Microsoft is not entirely clear. She
is against Justice Department plans to divide the company. If the government's lawsuit were dismissed
or if Microsoft escaped any significant penalty, ``I think that could be good news,'' she said.
But, Cantwell added vaguely, the ``issues'' raised by the case ``have to be addressed.'' She declined
to be more specific.
Nevertheless, some executives at Microsoft are parting with the company line and supporting
Cantwell. Cantwell has received more than $10,000 in donations from Microsoft employees.
Microsoft's online political magazine, Slate, described Cantwell's Web site as ``the best campaign on
the Web.''
A new generation ``I can relate to her better,'' said one executive of the Microsoft Network Internet
portal who declined to be named. Gorton is ``very senior and nearing the end of his effective political
life. She's young and aggressive and understands this sector.''
John Beezer, a Microsoft program manager on leave from the company to run Cantwell's Internet
campaign efforts, got to know her in 1995 while his company did consulting work for RealNetworks.
He said he was impressed by her dedication and competence.
``She's never dealt with anything trivial,'' he said, adding that the experience helped Cantwell
understand the demands of the new generation.
``I don't think she sleeps or eats,'' he joked. ``She knows great things don't happen if you're only
partially committed. You want someone like her to point at a big problem because she'll take care of
it.'' |
