Revolt Of The Fat Cats

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to decide an issue of money and politics.

The case involves whether some federal limits on money spent by political parties to help candidates are unconstitutional.

CBS News Correspondent Anthony Mason reports the case before the High Court comes at a time when the unlimited shoveling of cash into political parties by the special interests is a growing concern.

But even some corporate givers are now tired of paying the bill. Steve Palko, who heads the Cross Timbers Oil Company in Fort Worth, Texas, said he gets lots of requests for political contributions.

"For a paltry million dollars," said Palko, "you can have some quality time with somebody like Al Gore or you can do a cruise with Newt Gingrich … - with the tab anywhere up to $1 million.

That makes a $5,000 fishing trip with House Speaker Dennis Hastert look like a bargain. Critics say this is how business buys influence. But if you think CEO's like this system, you're wrong.

"Industry is tired of the shakedown," said Palko.

Major corporations including Time Warner, General Motors, and Allied Signal have sworn off giving so-called "soft money". And a group of executives called "The Committee for Economic Development" (CED) has called for radical campaign finance reform, signing up nearly 300 corporate leaders. Among them: high tech executive Patrick Gross of American Management Systems.

"The reforms that are proposed would eliminate what appears to be almost blackmail in some cases," said Gross.

But Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, a top Republican fundraiser, responded with a blistering letter to some of those executives, calling their effort "an all-out campaign to eviscerate private sector participation in politics." In a handwritten postscript, McConnell added, "I hope you will resign from the CED."

The group's president Charles Kolb said of the meaning of that personal touch: "The subtext is very simple - 'You keep playing with them and I won't play with you.'"

Few CEOs will openly discuss it, but many say the parties' message to them is: "you have to pay to play." When the phone call comes, they say, the threat is never overt, but it is implied.

"You don't have to be very interpretive to figure out what's being said or asked," said Palko, whose oil company does business in 14 states - and therefore, he said he can't afford the risk of refusing.

"It ends up being like a toll that one pays for safe passage," Palko added.

But that toll, as the lavish spending at the political conventions this year showed, just keeps rising.

"Eventually the million dollar donation will barely be noticed itself. We'll be at $3 million, $5 million, $10 million, or more. It's easy to imagine," said Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia.

And that's why more and more executives whare asked to write the checks say it's time to spoil the party.