So how much does it cost to buy off your fair use rights? According to my analysis, somewhere around $305,740. That is the amount that the National Association of Broadcasters and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association have spent in the last two years to buy the twenty reps who support the Broadcast Flag. This was prompted by my previous look at who is buying off Mike Doyle. I swear, stuff like this has me almost angry enough to run for congress.
| Name | State/Party | NAB 2004 | NAB 2006 | NCTA 2004 | NCTA 2006 | Total |
| Fred Upton | R-Mich | $11,250 | $4,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $35,250.00 |
| John Shimkus | R-Ill. | $5,520 | $1,740 | $9,621 | $0 | $16,881.00 |
| George Radanovich | R-Calif. | $1,000 | $0 | $5,000 | $0 | $6,000.00 |
| Mike Ferguson | R-N.J. | $2,000 | $1,000 | $5,000 | $0 | $8,000.00 |
| Marsha Blackburn | R-Tenn. | $2,000 | $6,100 | $5,000 | $10,000 | $23,100.00 |
| Bart Gordon | D-Tenn. | $1,200 | $1,500 | $10,000 | $0 | $12,700.00 |
| Mary Bono | R-Calif. | $1,000 | $0 | $10,000 | $0 | $11,000.00 |
| Lee Terry | R-Neb. | $8,172 | $1,000 | $9,044 | $0 | $18,216.00 |
| Ed Whitfield | R-Ky. | $2,500 | $2,500 | $9,426 | $5,000 | $19,426.00 |
| Bobby Rush | D-N.J. | $2,000 | $0 | $10,000 | $0 | $12,000.00 |
| Vito Fossella | R-N.Y. | $4,141 | $1,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $20,141.00 |
| John Shadegg | R-Ariz. | $1,000 | $1,000 | $9,999 | $10,000 | $21,999.00 |
| Eliot Engel | D-N.Y. | $0 | $0 | $10,000 | $4,999 | $14,999.00 |
| Albert Wynn | D-Md. | $2,000 | $1,000 | $10,000 | $0 | $13,000.00 |
| Michael Doyle | D-Penn. | $4,740 | $7,131 | $5,000 | $0 | $16,871.00 |
| Charles Gonzalez | D-Tex. | $1,000 | $1,750 | $4,999 | $0 | $7,749.00 |
| Charles Bass | R-N.H. | $1,000 | $0 | $9,999 | $0 | $10,999.00 |
| John Sullivan | R-Okla. | $3,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $0 | $13,000.00 |
| Frank Pallone | D-N.J. | $7,910 | $4,000 | $9,999 | $2,500 | $24,409.00 |
| Total | $61,433.00 | $38,721.00 | $158,087.00 | $47,499.00 | $305,740.00 |
All this great stuff was mined out of Open Secrets. How I wish they exposed some sort of XML-RPC or SOAP based interface to query information. This stuff was not hidden in the most obvious of places. I left out many other probable supporters/bribers of the broadcast flag such as Comcast, Cablevision, and of course Clear Channel.
It should come as no surprise that I have yet to hear anything from Mike Doyle’s office about this situation. Please, take time to call them and let them that bad boys do not get re-elected. His washington number is 202-225-2135. It’s important that we show him that the people of Pittsburgh are more important than Beltway interests, which is where he gets most of his money. This guy does not represent Pittsburgh. Let’s boot him out. I also called the democratic party here in Pittsburgh to ask about this issue, no response there yet either.