The difference is, we expect this sort of Evil behavior from AT&T, Palantir, Oracle, VeriSign and definitely Microsoft. But when a company with the supposed motto of "Don't be evil" backs it, it's news. Yahoo, though, I'm only a little surprised. I'm also not surprised Apple is a member, nor that you (and the headline) didn't mention them.
Sure, sure, you can't keep track of the political positions of every group you're a member of. But if a group holds opinions that are evil, that might just be a good reason to not maintain membership. I could easily Godwin this thread by mentioning certain groups I am not a member of for exactly that reason. The company you keep and all that.
Trade associations tend to remain silent when a good portion of their members oppose legislation. But Google/Facebook/Microsoft aren't opposing CISPA, last I checked. It's more like they're just remaining neutral.
Sure, sure, you can't keep track of the political positions of every group you're a member of. But if a group holds opinions that are evil, that might just be a good reason to not maintain membership. I could easily Godwin this thread by mentioning certain groups I am not a member of for exactly that reason. The company you keep and all that.