Here’s a tabloid romantic split-up shocker: The happy marriage we all thought would never end between corporate America and the Republican Party is on the rocks. That seems unbelievable until we find out the conflict is over what matters most to both sides—money.
For as long as anyone can remember, there’s been an unspoken agreement between the Republican Party and U.S. capitalism. Corporate executives and other wealthy Americans would make enormous campaign contributions to Republicans and in return Republicans’ top political priority would be delivering continual tax cuts to their most important constituents, their wealthy political donors.
But something very important is happening to both business and politics in our democracy. The U.S. is becoming increasingly racially and politically diverse. Corporations can no longer survive by appealing only to white consumers in either their product lines or marketing. Neither can political parties, but Republicans aren’t ready to admit that yet. Democrats are way ahead in attracting diverse supporters, having driven the white, racist Southern voters who once were their strong supporters out of the party by supporting civil rights and voting rights in the 1960s.
GOP’s Dirty Secret
The Republicans’ dirty little secret is they’ve welcomed the support of white supremacists ever since. During much of that time, Republicans tried to maintain a more respectable image by using subtle, coded rhetoric that became known as dog whistles. Donald Trump blew that right out of the water. He openly campaigned attacking black and brown immigrants as bloodthirsty murderers and describing African American neighborhoods and African nations using bathroom wall obscenities. It only worked once.
Now it’s becoming even more uncomfortable for American corporations to be publicly associated with the Republican Party. That’s because it has become the anti-democracy party attempting to roll back the fundamental principles of democracy itself to make it harder for people of color and anyone else who might vote Democratic to cast a ballot. Republican legislators in 47 states including Wisconsin have introduced bills to reduce voter turnout that include reducing hours, days and methods of voting and creating new obstacles.
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The first state where Republicans succeeded in passing such voting restrictions was Georgia, which not only voted for Joe Biden over Trump but then elected two Democratic Senators in a special election giving Democrats control of the Senate. That’s where corporate America was pulled into its first showdown with Republicans.
Paying Customers
Most corporations would prefer to publicly remain above the fray of partisan politics, but that’s difficult to do when the victims include your employees and more importantly your paying customers. Pro-democracy activists began pressuring Georgia corporations including Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines to take a stand. It took a while but as public outrage grew over “the new Jim Crow,” the CEO of Coca-Cola finally identified the legislation as “wrong” and “a step backward” and Delta’s CEO called curtailing voting rights “unacceptable” and contrary to the company’s values.
Then another corporate reaction created an even greater impact on Georgia. Major League Baseball announced it was moving July’s All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver. “Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box,” said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. Georgia’s economic loss of revenue from days of public events surrounding the game and cancellation of about 8,000 hotel reservations by tourists is estimated to be $100 million.
The Republican reaction to being jilted by American capitalism on whom it has showered corporations with tax breaks borders on the hilarious. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell called corporations “stupid” for “taking a position on a highly incendiary issue” and issued an ominous threat: “My warning, if you will, to corporate America is to stay out of politics. . . Corporations will invite serious consequences if they become a vehicle for far-left mobs to hijack our country.” It tells you everything you need to know about today’s Republicans that McConnell considers Americans who support voting rights “a far-left mob” engaging in “a highly incendiary issue.”
Then, as if McConnell suddenly realized he was biting the hand that has always fed him telling corporations to stay out of politics, he quickly added: “I’m not talking about political contributions.”
Marketing Democracy
The bad news for McConnell as his party’s fight against voting rights moves across the country, more not fewer of the nation’s largest corporations are getting involved. You can bet many wealthy executives will still contribute to Republicans, often through “dark money” SuperPACs where their donations can be anonymous. But publicly, if only for marketing purposes, American corporations will support democracy.
More than 170 major corporations including name brands like Dow, HP, Target and Estee Lauder have signed a statement calling on “elected leaders in every state capitol and in Congress to work across the aisle and ensure that every eligible American has the freedom to easily cast their ballot and participate fully in our democracy.”
