<i>"Why must this political-economic golem be given the right to free speech?"</i><p>Why must this political-economic golem be subject to specific laws, regulations, and taxes beyond the ones all the people in a corporation are already subject to?<p>The answer to your question is <i>because</i> it's subject to special government attention, the people involved with such a device have a right to use it in the political process to protect their interests and involvement with it.<p>As for selling out, people make decisions all the time.  If you don't like the politics of your company, try to do something about it or find another you like better.  (Realistically, this isn't much of a concern.  Corporate donations tend to be remarkably even-handed so as to not give the winner of an election the impression they preferred the other guy.)