Recent quotes

Boston Globe Editorial Board:

“Corporate Donors, The Lifeblood Of The GOP, Need To Stand Up For Democracy:

…One-hundred and forty-seven GOP members voted to overturn the election, opting to reject democracy simply because their candidate lost….So long as Republican members of Congress are not punished for their assaults on voting rights and democracy, they will continue to promote conspiracy theories with abandon and could very well redo their attempt to overturn a legitimate election come 2022 or 2024. And if, or when, they do, every company that has decided to donate to their campaigns will be just as guilty in destroying the fabric of American democracy.

Though some companies have held their line and have yet to resume donating to election objectors, many of them have looked the other way as their money takes backdoor routes into the pockets of the very members they’re supposedly trying to avoid…The problem with continuing to help these GOP members of Congress fund-raise for their political campaigns is that it emboldens them to continue going down the path to autocracy.”

“Corporate Donors, The Lifeblood Of The GOP, Need To Stand Up For Democracy”, Boston Globe Editorial Board, May 14, 2021

“EXCLUSIVE: How corporate PACs are plotting to "move beyond" January 6”, Judd Legum, Popular Information

"Following the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, dozens of corporations announced they were suspending PAC donations to the 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the election. Many more announced they were suspending all PAC activity. For the National Association of Business PACs (NABPAC), the trade association for corporate PACs, this is a problem.
Emails, video, and other internal documents obtained by Popular Information reveal how NABPAC has been encouraging its membership, which includes more than 250 corporate PACs, to "move beyond" January 6 and resume their political contributions.

On March 2, NABPAC hosted a webinar called "Where Do We Go From Here." The event featured Michael DuHaime, a prominent Republican operative and crisis communications consultant. During the event, DuHaime and others provided strategic and messaging advice about how to restart political donations — including donations to the 147 Republicans who voted not to certify the Electoral College results based on Trump's lies.

The event was attended by about 80 representatives of corporate PACs, including major companies like Delta, Dow, Altria, Northrup Grumman, New York Life, Lincoln Financial, and Boston Scientific. NABPAC board members include representatives from Microsoft, Kraft Heinz, Eli Lilly, Home Depot, and Cigna...

In the webinar, DuHaime encouraged companies not to be pressured to withhold donations from Republicans who voted to overturn the election. Instead, DuHaime said corporations should "do what's right for your organization" and "deal with the fallout." He predicted that resuming contributions to Republican objectors "most likely… would be a one day story and most likely you are not going to lose customer share over it."

DuHaime cautioned that January 6 is "very emotional in a way that other things in politics haven't been." At another point in the webinar, he encouraged corporations to prepare a communications strategy justifying their decision to give money to Republicans who voted to overturn the election. DuHaime provided a hypothetical series of tough questions: "Why did you give to this person? This person voted after a Capitol insurrection where a police officer was killed, and you decided to max out to that person? Why did you do that?" He said that is a "really tough question" but "there is probably a good answer." One suggested response DuHaime offered is that the Republican objector "supported ten other things that are important to your industry."

DuHaime also discouraged corporations from making such commitments. He said that "people move on" and "things will feel differently 16 months from now."...
Ultimately, DuHaime emphasized the need for corporations to change their messaging rather than their behavior. Corporations cannot, according to DuHaime, tell a reporter that it made a donation because "this person has power over us and we need access to that person" even if that is "exactly what you are doing."

DuHaime said contributing to a member of Congress because they have power over legislation impacting your company is a "good reason to give." But he recommends establishing a more palatable public pretext for the donation. DuHaime advises corporations should "figure out ways to justify that [donation] externally that go just beyond the fact that this is someone who is in power today.""

“EXCLUSIVE: How corporate PACs are plotting to "move beyond" January 6”, Judd Legum, Popular Information, May 10, 2021

Comments after report on Apr 9, 2021, that Toyota was giving donations to members of Congress who had voted against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election:

Tweets by members of the public included:

JDS: “SHAME on Toyota. If they will not stand for democracy, we will not buy their products. It’s that simple.”

Guy Masson: “#BoycottToyota - As this corporation does not support Representative Democracy.”

Elizabeth: “So @Toyota decided they're cool with supporting elected officials and a party that actively subverts democracy? I see. Good to know what kind of new car NOT to shop for this summer.”

sunnyoutside: “It looks like my @Toyota sitting in my garage is going to be my last. This is a real hit to the brand. I'm insulted you'd think no one was paying attention.”

BStrongerTogether: “@Toyota and @JetBlue - You apparently don't understand the power of consumers who want to protect our democracy...Goodbye”

Tracey H: “@Toyota - I’m a Toyota owner and expect better from you. I won’t buy another Toyota if you support sedition and voter suppression candidates.”

Toniann: “@Toyota doesn’t seem to care about free and fair elections, why would anyone purchase vehicle from an anti democratic company.”

G. Walsh: “@Toyota it is not that difficult to go through the list of all those who objected to the certification of the EC and put them on a Do NOT Donate to list. I need a new car, and @Toyota is on my Do NOT Buy From Them list.”

Kim: “Well, I was going to be looking for new car...Currently have 2012 Toyota. Planned to buy another one. Thanks for letting us know about this...will look for diff brand of car. Not giving my $ to a brand that supports ANYONE who voted for big lie.”

Ann Richards: “Come on @Toyota!!!!!! I always buy Toyota’s and need a new car ! Damn, side with Democracy please! It’s good for business!!!”

Selection of tweets from here.

See also:

"JetBlue facing boycott after breaking pledge and donating to Republican who tried to overturn election", Matthew Chapman, Raw Story, Apr 8, 2021

“JetBlue Stands by Political Donation Amid Social Media Furor”, Shaun Courtney, Mary Schlangenstein and Megan R. Wilson, Bloomberg Law, Apr 9, 2021

Kenneth Chenault, former CEO & Chairman of American Express, and Kenneth Frazier, CEO & Chairman of Merck. The two organized a letter signed by 72 black business leaders on Mar 31, 2021, calling on corporations to fight restrictive voting laws with their money, their clout and their lobbyists.

Kenneth Chenault: "There is no middle ground here. You either are for more people voting, or you want to suppress the vote...You had 60 major companies — Amazon, Google, American Airlines — that signed on to the statement that states a very clear opposition to harmful legislation aimed at restricting the access of L.G.B.T.Q. people in society. So, you know, it is bizarre that we don’t have companies standing up to this...People ask, "What can I do?" I’ll tell you what you can do. You can publicly oppose any discriminatory legislation and all measures designed to limit Americans’ ability to vote.”

Kenneth Frazier: "The Georgia legislature was the first one. If corporate America doesn’t stand up, we’ll get these laws passed in many places in this country...As African-American business executives, we don’t have the luxury of being bystanders to injustice. We don’t have the luxury of sitting on the sidelines when these kinds of injustices are happening all around us."

"Black Executives Call on Corporations to Fight Restrictive Voting Laws", Andrew Ross Sorkin and David Gelles, New York Times, Mar 31, 2021 updated Apr 3, 2021

Memo to Corporate America: The Fierce Urgency Is Now: By Erecting Barriers, Georgia is Backtracking on the Hard-Won Right to Vote - full text of open letter signed by 72 black business leaders, about the need for companies to oppose voter suppression legislation:

"Sadly, at this very moment, the fundamental tenets of our democracy are under assault by forces that seek to take this country backwards. Last week, the Georgia legislature passed a sweeping set of changes to the state’s election laws
that will unquestionably make it harder for Black voters, in particular, to exercise their right to vote...

The new law and others like it are both undemocratic and un-American, and they are wrong.

As Black business leaders, we cannot sit silently in the face of this gathering threat to our nation’s democratic values and allow the fundamental right of Americans, to cast their votes for whomever they choose, to be trampled upon yet again.

The stakes for our democracy are too high to remain on the sidelines. Corporate America must support our nation’s fundamental democratic principles and marshal its collective influence to ensure fairness and equity for all...Corporate America should publicly oppose any discriminatory legislation and all measures designed to limit Americans’ ability to vote.
When it comes to protecting the rights of all Americans to vote, there can be no middle ground.

We call upon our colleagues in Corporate America to join us in taking a non-partisan stand for equality and democracy.

“Memo to Corporate America: The Fierce Urgency Is Now”, in New York Times, Mar 31, 2021

Judd Legum and Tesnim Zekeria, Popular Information:

"Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R) have thrown their support behind the proposed legislation to restrict voting. In a press conference with some of the bill sponsors, Abbott admitted that "he was not aware of any fraud that occurred in Texas during the 2020 election."...Yet Abbott, Patrick, and the sponsors of the voter suppression legislation in Texas are backed by millions of dollars from corporations that publicly embrace voting rights.

Over the past month, Popular Information’s investigations have revealed similar trends in Georgia, Arizona, and Florida. In these states, the legislators attempting to restrict voting are backed by prominent corporations who have mostly remained silent.

Below is a full list of the companies contacted by Popular Information, along with the amounts donated to Abbott, Patrick, and the sponsors of the bills since 2018..."

“Texas' voter suppression bills are fueled by millions in corporate cash”, Judd Legum and Tesnim Zekeria, Popular Information, Mar 31, 2021

TRACKING CORPORATE POLITICAL DONATIONS:

"The following report raises concerns about U.S. banks spending (through their American Bankers Association - ABA) $1 million on television ads to try to help Republican U.S. Senator David Perdue get re-elected in the January 2021 runoff in Georgia. The banks often publicize their commitment to protecting the environment, combating climate change, and respecting democracy and human rights. As the report documents, Perdue had a terrible environmental record, failed to accept that humans contribute to climate change, refused to accept and attacked the outcome of the November 2020 presidential election, and failed to adequately respect internationally-recognized human rights.

Companies mentioned in this report:

U.S. banks including Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, Capital One, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Bank USA, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, PNC Financial Services, TD Bank Group, Truist Financial (BB&T/SunTrust merger), U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo"

"The gap between corporate declarations and reality: U.S. banking industry spent $1 million on television ads for Senator David Perdue", TRACKING CORPORATE POLITICAL DONATIONS, Mar 9, 2021

Tom Friedman (Pulitzer-Prize-winning New York Times columnist), speaking on CNBC the day after pro-Trump rioters stormed the halls of Congress, referring to those members of the Senate and House who tried to block certification of the election:

“I certainly hope shareholders, if you’re listening to this show, tell every one of these companies with political PACs that you will sue them if they give donations to the people who supported this insurrection in the Congress…These people were engaged in an effort to undermine the Constitution, to supplant the will and votes of the people by an act of Congress, based on a gigantic lie.”

“New York Times’ Tom Friedman calls for Republicans to demand Trump’s resignation [video]”, CNBC, Jan 7, 2021

Judd Legum and Tesnim Zekeria, Popular Information:

“Scott [Senator Rick Scott] is not just a Senator pushing false claims about voter fraud. He is also the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is responsible for electing more Republicans to the Senate. Scott was counting on corporate money to support this effort.

Merck's words versus Merck's actions:…according to a filing the company's PAC filed on Tuesday, Merck donated $15,000 to the NRSC on March 23…The money will benefit…Senate Republicans [including Scott] who voted against the certification of the Electoral College and support state-level efforts to restrict voting, including Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). Merck has also donated $15,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), an organization that supports the re-election of over 130 Republicans who voted against Biden’s victory and uniformly oppose federal efforts to protect voting rights.

Six corporations [PNC, Intel, Sanofi, Pfizer, Home Depot, Oracle] pledged to pause donations to lawmakers who voted against the certification of Biden but are donating to the NRSC, chaired by Scott, according to documents filed Tuesday with the FEC.”

“Mob tactics”, Judd Legum and Tesnim Zekeria, Popular Information, Apr 21, 2021

David Sirota, Andrew Perez, Walker Bragman, and Julia Rock, referring to the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol:

"Name-brand companies have issued press releases about halting or reviewing the relatively small PAC donations to the lawmakers who egged on the mayhem. However, The Daily Poster contacted scores of companies...and virtually none committed to taking steps to restrict top corporate officials from continuing to make far larger donations to the super PACs that bankroll congressional Republicans.

Halting PAC donations while doing nothing to stop corporate titans’ bigger super PAC donations is a head fake: The maneuver lets companies clean their reputations by pretending they are taking decisive actions to punish insurrectionist Republicans, even though they will not stop corporate officials from recapitalizing the slush fund that those lawmakers will rely on for reelection. And the vast majority of these companies do not publicly disclose if and when they make donations to dark money groups that also spend on elections."

"The Slush Fund Bankrolling The Insurrectionist GOP: Corporations are being lauded for halting PAC donations after the insurrection — but they are not shutting down the real pool of cash supporting authoritarian extremists", David Sirota, Andrew Perez, Walker Bragman, and Julia Rock, in The Daily Poster, Jan 14, 2021

Todd C. Frankel, Washington Post:

"More than 100 chief executives and corporate leaders gathered online Saturday [Apr 10] to discuss taking new action to combat the controversial state voting bills being considered across the country, including the one recently signed into law in Georgia.

Executives from major airlines, retailers and manufacturers — plus at least one NFL owner — talked about potential ways to show they opposed the legislation, including by halting donations to politicians who support the bills and even delaying investments in states that pass the restrictive measures, according to four people who were on the call, including one of the organizers, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale management professor.

While no final steps were agreed upon, the meeting represents an aggressive dialing up of corporate America’s stand against controversial voting measures nationwide, a sign that their opposition to the laws didn’t end with the fight against the Georgia legislation passed in March."

“More than 100 corporate executives hold call to discuss halting donations and investments to fight controversial voting bills”, Todd C. Frankel, Washington Post, Apr 11, 2021

Michele L. Norris, Washington Post:

"But after a brief period of experimenting with big-tent politics during the first and second Bush presidencies, the Republican Party has lurched dramatically rightward since the election of Barack Obama. The GOP narrowed its goals to serve a largely White, largely evangelical and largely nonurban base that is hostile to immigration, science, foreign engagement and anything associated with the Black Lives Matter movement.

At the same time, many big corporate firms have come to see themselves as allies of immigration, science and foreign engagement and have worked to signal their virtues through ads and statements of solidarity following the protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd.

Any company interested in cultivating the multihued, multiethnic, cross-marrying, immigrant consumer of the future would have to think hard about continuing to move in lockstep with a Republican Party that is determined to time-travel back to the 1950s, when white supremacy was thought to be permanent.

This much is clear: The demographic reshuffling already underway will alter our culture, our politics and who has the reins of power. Much of the Republican agenda is fueled by a fear of this future. Corporations that want to embrace that future — and the wave of consumers it will bring — cannot continue to partner with a party that is only interested in representing the part of America it finds acceptable."

“Opinion: Why corporate America is declaring independence from the GOP”, Michele L. Norris, Washington Post, Apr 11, 2021

Lauren Fedor, Christine Zhang and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, Financial Times:

"Several large US companies, including Cigna, Intel and T-Mobile, made the maximum legal contributions to vehicles supporting Republican candidates in February, in an early sign that corporate America is restarting donations to the party after halting them in the wake of the US Capitol attacks.

The latest filings show Cigna and T-Mobile each gave $15,000 to both the National Republican Senate Committee [NRSC] and the National Republican Congressional Committee. Intel gave $15,000 just to the NRCC. All three companies donated equal amounts to Democratic party committees.

The NRSC and NRCC funnel money to Republican Senate and House candidates, including the 147 lawmakers who voted against certification. The NRSC is run by Rick Scott, the Florida senator, who opposed certification."

“Corporate money trickles back to Republicans after Capitol riots: Donations to fundraising vehicles increase despite pledge to pause in wake of attack”, Lauren Fedor, Christine Zhang and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, Financial Times, Mar 25, 2021

Mike Tanglis and Taylor Lincoln, Public Citizen:

“Many in corporate America have signaled their disgust over the insurrection that occurred at the U.S. Capitol last week, as well as with President Trump and the congressional ringleaders who incited the rioters.

But many of these same corporate scolds have acted as reliable funders of the members of Congress who sought last week to void the results of the 2020 presidential election. By Public Citizen’s count, political action committees have contributed a staggering $170 million since the 2016 election cycle to the 147 members of Congress who voted last week to challenge the electoral college slates of at least one state.”

"Bankrolling the Disenfranchisers: Since 2016, Corporate and Trade Association PACs Have Given $170 Million to Lawmakers Who Voted to Challenge the Presidential Election” [PDF], Mike Tanglis and Taylor Lincoln, Public Citizen, Jan 13, 2021

Brian Slodysko, Associated Press:

"State legislators across the country who have pushed for new voting restrictions, and also seized on former President Donald Trump's baseless claims of election fraud, have reaped more than $50 million in corporate donations in recent years, according to a new report by Public Citizen, a Washington-based government watchdog group.

Telecom giant AT&T was the most prolific, donating over $800,000 since 2015 to authors of proposed restrictions, cosponsors of such measures, or those who voted in favor of the bills, the report found. Other top donors during the same period include Comcast, Philip Morris, United Health, Walmart, Verizon, General Motors and Pfizer.

The money may not have been given with voting laws in mind, but it nonetheless helped cement Republican control in statehouses where many of the prohibitive measures are now moving forward.
Whether companies continue to give to these lawmakers will test how far risk-adverse corporate leaders are willing to go in their increasingly forceful criticism of the restrictive efforts, which voting rights groups have excoriated as an attack on democracy.

"It really is corporate America, as a whole, that is funding these politicians,” said Mike Tanglis, one of the authors of the report. “It seems many are trying to hide under a rock and hope that this issue passes.”"

“Corporations gave over $50M to voting restriction backers: Corporations have given more than $50 million in recent years to state lawmakers who have seized on Donald Trump’s lies about a stolen 2020 election to push for new restrictions on the right to vote”, Brian Slodysko, Associated Press, Apr 5, 2021

Michael Posner, Professor of Ethics and Finance at NYU Stern School of Business and Director of the NYU Center for Business and Human Rights:

"The campaign to suppress voting appears to be picking up steam, fueled by politicians who have traditionally received significant contributions from corporations and business associations like the [U.S.] Chamber of Commerce. For many, continued corporate support is essential to their political future.
Thus, how companies respond to fundraising appeals from these candidates will help determine the success of their voter-suppression schemes. And yet, to date, few companies or business associations are publicly bringing pressure to bear on the politicians who are pushing these anti-democratic measures.

This is a moment of reckoning for business leaders and organizations like the US Chamber of Commerce...Leading business associations like the Chamber should not reward candidates who are limiting the right to vote. Nothing less than the integrity and vitality of our democracy is at stake."

"How The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Should Combat Voter Suppression", Michael Posner, in Forbes, Mar 15, 2021

Jim Cramer, CNBC commentator and former hedge fund manager, speaking about the effort by 72 black executives, led by outgoing Merck CEO Ken Frazier and former American Express CEO Ken Chenault, to push corporate America to be more vocal in favor of voting rights. This followed a new law in Georgia that will disproportionately hurt voters of color, and efforts by Republicans in other states to make voting more difficult.

"I think that Ken Frazier and Ken Chenault are just great Americans, and the idea that there are not 500 CEOs of the S&P 500 standing with them is really absurd...I just find this to be shameful and disgraceful. These are not Democrat-Republican issues, they're just not....When they're fighting for the disenfranchisement of black people -- what is this, the 1870s, Reconstruction?" "Jim Cramer on effort from Black business leaders to protect voting rights [video]", CNBC, March 31, 2021

Terry F. Yosie, Former President and CEO, World Environment Center:

"Supporting democracy becomes the measure of leadership

he aftershocks of the Jan. 6 insurrection to block Congressional certification of the U.S. Presidential election will reverberate for many years...The Jan. 6 insurrection has transformed the nation’s political conversation and moved the support for democratic values to the top tier of advocacy.

Political donations that undermine democracy: Companies that make political donations, and institutions and individuals that receive them, are presently engaged in a frantic scramble to identify whether these funds are connected to groups associated with white nationalism, violence and sedition, or disruption of the election process.

In the midst of this political firestorm, a growing number of organizations, chiefly corporations, are examining whether their donations support anti-democratic politicians. Their practices include:

Suspending immediately all corporate and employee contributions to any member of Congress who voted in objection to the certification of the Presidential election.
Reviewing the bylaws and governing policies of political action committees (the unit within a company that is legally authorized to collect and distribute political donations) to evaluate their consistency with a firm’s values and determine the criteria under which currently suspended political contributions can be reinstated or permanently revoked."

"Supporting democracy becomes the measure of leadership", Terry F. Yosie (Former President and CEO, World Environment Center), in Greenbiz, Jan 18, 2021

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW):

"Since the insurrection, 717 corporations and industry groups have funneled over $18 million to the re-election of members of Congress who objected to the 2020 presidential election results [includes donations to National Republican Senatorial Committee & National Republican Congressional Committee]. As calls for insurrection accountability reach the one year mark, one thing is for certain: our democracy cannot recover from the insurrection while Corporate America continues to spend millions of dollars bankrolling seditionist members of Congress."

“The Corporate Insurrection: How companies have broken promises and funded seditionists”, Angela Li & Areeba Shah, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Jan 3, 2022