For a long time, I couldn't imagine how business leaders could support Democratic candidates, given that the Democrats have shown themselves consistently (in both rhetoric and policy) to be hostile to business. I eventually came to understand how it might happen. I see three classes of business leaders that might find themselves sufficiently motivated to support Democrats:
- Ideologically leftist business owners. These are the True Believers, those who might have preferred to vote for Nader, or Kucinich, or Dean, but in general are willing to vote Democrat in spite of the damage the party does to business. Perhaps they see their business chiefly as a means of generating revenue that can be plowed into their favorite causes. Probably account for the smallest percentage of Kerry big-business contributors.
- Darwinian business owners. These folks recognize the fiercely competitive nature of business, and noticed that the government can be used as a weapon against one's competitors (e.g. through antitrust allegations). Their money goes to the party most willing to use the coercive power of the government in this way. The GOP is not blameless in this, but the advantage goes to the Democrats here.
- Pragmatic business owners. These folks for the most part might wish that the government would just leave them alone, but recognize that this will never happen, so they tend to give money to both parties... so their bases are covered no matter who wins. Kind of a protection racket.
FWIW, a few of the Bush campaign's big-business supporters can be found here.
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