Money and positive messaging

This is how easy it is for left/liberal groups to be bought off:

AT&T is lining up support for its acquisition of T-Mobile from a slew of liberal groups with no obvious interest in telecom deals — except that they’ve received big piles of AT&T’s cash.

In recent weeks, the NAACP, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the National Education Association have each issued public statements in support of the deal.
...

AT&T is working hard to win approval of the deal from the FCC and the Department of Justice. It’s not supposed to be a political process, but with Democrats — inherently skeptical of big corporate mergers — in control of both agencies, the company isn’t taking any chances.

It has assembled a platoon of more than 72 outside lawyers and consultants to work the FCC and Justice Department on the deal. 

And it’s brought on public relations agencies and other consultants to craft a message that the merger is more about spreading wireless broadband to underserved populations across America than about enriching the company’s shareholders.

To build support, AT&T employees and consultants have been making personal visits and calls as well as holding luncheons.

Out of about a dozen supporters interviewed by POLITICO, the vast majority said they decided to issue a statement supporting the AT&T/T-Mobile deal after being approached this way. 

Yep - endorsements are forthcoming, after the nice people from AT&T just happen to drop in for a chat. And we get some groups that might otherwise be skeptical of corporate mergers and that have no obvious expertise in telecoms or mergers giving their blessing to this deal. And then we'll get a new company that will probably continue its record of providing more funds to Republicans - who don't really care for any of these left/liberal groups - than Democrats.

It's that easy.