Hey, Capitol Hill: who's your daddy? AT&T

Mid-term elections are coming to a neighborhood voting center near you. All 435 House of Representatives seats are up for grabs, as are over a third of Senate seats. Plus there are boatloads of governorships and state legislative races at play. Meanwhile, everybody's favorite telecom is spending cash like there's no tomorrow. According to the Open Secrets database, AT&T easily qualifies as the top all-time donor in political campaigns. From 1990 through 2010, the carrier in its various ownership forms has forked over $45,461,879 to politicians, outspending the next two corporate contenders, the National Association of Realtors ($36,749,493) and Goldman Sachs ($32,660,452).