Gateway gives big bucks to politicians

A new analysis finds the Iowa-grown “Gateway 2000” computer company among industry leaders when it comes to writing checks to politicians. The “Center for Responsive Politics” did an analysis of federal reports and found Gateway and its executives made just under 100-thousand dollars in political contributions during the first nine months of this year. The split was about 60 percent for Republicans, nearly 40 percent for Democrats. Only five other computer companies gave more to politicians and political parties than Gateway did in that reporting period. So far this year, Congress has passed a law which grants computer companies liability from lawsuits over Y-2-K problems and Congress enacted a moratorium on charging sales tax on Internet purchases. Gateway, which formed in northwest Iowa, moved across the border to South Dakota — and some of its managers operate out of La Jolla, California.