Big Business transfers its loyalty, money to the Democrats

(By Peter Canellos, Boston Globe) - The crush of economic developments surrounding Barack Obama last week - from the promise of a large government stimulus package, to the possibility of a bailout for automakers, to the creation of a new presidential advisory panel of economists - may or may not turn the economy around. And with a credit crisis of vast proportions, the economy may be bad enough that it will be hard to judge the impact of all the government activity.

But the Obama administration's promise of swift government action to protect companies and workers is likely to achieve one result that has been unthinkable for 75 years: It will make the Democrats the party of Big Business.

The two major political parties have been shifting their coalitions for a while now, as higher-income Americans move closer to the Democrats, despite the prospect of tax increases on high-wage earners. The Iraq war, which unsettled global markets, and the conservative social agenda combined to alienate many Wall Street executives from the Republican Party even before the recent financial meltdown.

In the recent presidential campaign, the financial sector, long the biggest backer of the Republicans, actually gave more money to the Democrats, by roughly $65 million to $59 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.