Liberal Talk Radio

Robert L. Jaimeson is arguing unpersuasively that Microsoft buckled in its support for Washington-state non-discrimination laws out of fear of “the red Republican tide rolling across the country.” He continues:

“There are a lot of computers and software customers out in those Republican-leaning states. In the inner sanctum of Bill Gates’ Redmond campus, I picture number crunchers trying to figure out whether all of that money is worth losing over a gay rights bill in a state divided on the issue.”

Uh… really? Do you really think that Conservative Radicals would boycott Microsoft? Who would they turn to? Apple???!!! The fruity tech company run by California hippies??? I think not. Rush Limbaugh may be a rabid Apple fan, but it’s still a tough sell. Especially when Apple’s CEO has publicly admitted that Microsoft’s products would be a lot better if Bill Gates “had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger.”

That said, Microsoft does need the GOP’s support now more than ever. The GOP is, at its core, anti-free market, and they live to protect entrenched corporate power at every turn. Witness the Bankrupcy Bill. So it’s no surprise that they’ve made close friends with anti-anti-trust Microsoft. This is the point Jaimeson should be making. Remind people that, in the end, for all the talk about demonizing gays, it’s all about protecting corporate power.