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he telecommunications giant AT&T is “virtually everywhere” at the
Democratic convention this week, “wining and feeding delegates and
members of Congress with a relentless schedule of luncheons and evening
celebrations.” The Texas-based company threw a special party outside
the Mile High Station for its biggest supporters:

On Monday, AT&T threw an exclusive party for the Blue Dogs, More..the
House’s moderate and conservative Democrats, at the historic Mile High
Station in downtown Denver. Among the guests was House Majority Leader
Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who in June led Blue Dogs in crafting a compromise
bill that shielded telecommunications companies from lawsuits arising
from the government’s terrorism-era warrantless eavesdropping.

Leading the Blue Dog Democrats, Hoyer was “the point man” in
negotiations over the new FISA law that Congress passed and Bush signed
last month. He helped secure retroactive immunity for the
telecommunications companies (including AT&T), thereby condoning
their participation in Bush’s illegal spying program.

The president paid “special tribute” to Hoyer for his work in passing
the legislation. While Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) called the legislation
“one of the greatest assaults on the Constitution…in the history of our
country,” Hoyer heralded it as a “significant victory.” And he has
earned the telecommunication companies’ special thanks this week at the
DNC convention.

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