To offer a tiny bit of an excuse for these companies, they are likely paying protection money. The banks, especially, have been targets of these groups for decades.
I’m not buying the “protection money” theory here. Just how powerful is a left-wing wacko website that they have that much power over AT&T, Microsoft, and all the others?
I’m sorry to see my company, T-Mobile, in the list, but Verizon isn’t. Is Verizon or Koch going to be in trouble for not donating?
I think it’s more a case of companies making charitable donations just for PR purposes, and not paying that much attention to whom they’re donating.