INFO - CONCERNS ABOUT COMPANY DONATIONS

Boston Globe Editorial Board, 14 May 2021:  

 The Boston Globe Editorial Board wrote, in an editorial entitled “Corporate Donors, The Lifeblood Of The GOP, Need To Stand Up For Democracy", that 147 Congress members had voted to overturn the election, “opting to reject democracy simply because their candidate lost.”  The editorial said that as long as 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.”
- “Corporate donors, the lifeblood of the GOP, need to stand up for democracy," Editorial Board, Boston Globe, 14 May 2021.

The Lincoln Project, July 2021 (The Lincoln Project is a U.S. organization "dedicated to the preservation, protection, and defense of democracy", described by Wikipedia as "a centrist American political action committee (PAC) founded in December 2019 by moderate conservatives and former Republican Party members who oppose Trumpism"):

The Lincoln Project in July 2021 reportedly announced a new strategy to confront “the Sedition Caucus and its enablers” by calling attention to corporations that donate to the campaigns of lawmakers who voted against certifying the presidential election results. As reported by The Hill, Lincoln Project co-founder Reed Galen said that the Lincoln Project would be informing employees, shareholders and customers about those companies’ “egregious anti-American behavior.” He continued: “The Lincoln Project will not sit by and watch as companies like Toyota — companies that have benefited from America’s economic strength and freedom — give money to politicians who are working to overthrow that same system. This is no longer a fight between two political parties or entrenched interests. It is no less than a fight to preserve American democracy.”

- "Lincoln Project shifting focus to corporations that have donated to ‘Sedition Caucus’," Joseph Choi, The Hill, 8 July 2021.

Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Yale School of Management - audio podcast, referring to crisis conferences of company CEOs convened by Sonnenfeld in January 2021 after many congressional Republicans were opposing certification of the presidential election:

Moderator: "One attendee told me afterwards that the amount of anger directed at the Senators who opposed certification was 'more intense than any I can recall, directed with so much universality'." 

Professor Sonnenfeld: "We had a crisis conference call...It was the insurrectionist vote, the objectionist vote, that had CEOs so mad -- even then, this was on January 5th, 100% of them -- we've never had a unanimous vote on anything -- said that they were going to pull ads from the objectionist congressional leaders, which was half of the GOP in the House ... and 6 or 7 in the Senate .... That was astounding, and 87% said they would consider curtailing investments in the states of those objectionists."

Moderator: "Do you believe the CEOs, or some of them, those who decided that they weren't going to make donations, have started to change their minds?"

Professor Sonnenfeld: "No. ... Trade associations and others have lost a little bit here, as CEOs are thinking they need to speak for themselves and not rely on just blind donations to political parties .... When you have companies like Home Depot, Comcast, AT&T, American Express, Walmart, Walgreens, Allstate, Intel, Kraft, Cisco, Marsh & McLennan, Marriott, Nike -- these are the kinds of companies that have pulled from objectionist, seditionist GOP congressional leaders. That's pretty profound, and they've held to it, and it's roughly 1/4 of major companies have said that this could be permanent."  

- "Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld [Yale School of Management] says corporate bans on political donations will stick [audio]," Dan Primack talks with Professor Sonnenfeld, Axios podcast, 23 February 2021.

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

"Supporting democracy becomes the measure of leadership
The 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."

In this article Yosie noted that:

•  A number of companies are immediately suspending all corporate and employee contributions to any Congress member who voted against certifying the results of the presidential election.   
• Companies are reviewing the bylaws and governing policies of their PACs (political action committees) to evaluate "their consistency with a firm’s values ...."

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

Comments after report on 9 April 2021, that Toyota (a company headquartered in Japan) began giving new donations to U.S. Congress members who had voted against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election:

Tweets by members of the public included:

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

- "I won’t do any business with any company to donates any money to any sitting member of Congress who objected to the certification."

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

- “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.”

- “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.”

- "I’m going to suggest that @Toyota reassess their future PAC criteria. They should understand clearly that democracy-loving Americans take a very dim view of their support of anti-democracy candidates."

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

- “@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.”

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

- “@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.”

- “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.”

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

The above comments are a selection of tweets and replies from the following X/Twitter page:

X/Twitter, https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/1380617323468500993

See also:
- “Toyota Donated To A Seditious House Republican And Now They’re Facing A Boycott," Jason Easley, PoliticusUSA, 10 April 2021.

- “Toyota donates to Republican objectors [scroll down on the webpage to see this sub-article]," Judd Legum, Popular Information, 13 April 2021.

NOTE: 

- In July 2021 Toyota announced it would stop donating to politicians who voted against certifying the election results; see "Toyota to stop donating to lawmakers who contested 2020 election results", Kate Gibson, CBS News, 8 July 2021.  

- But six months later Toyota resumed such donations; in the following article Toyota commented on its resumption of these donations: "Toyota resumes political donations to 2020 presidential election objectors," Kate Gibson, CBS News, 25 April 2022. 

- When Toyota resumed its donations, The Lincoln Project wrote: "Last summer, after a pressure campaign from The Lincoln Project, Toyota was forced to stop its contributions and claimed at the time it was 'committed to supporting and promoting actions that further our democracy.' ... [W}e now know Toyota had no intention of permanently stopping its donations, and did nothing more than pay lip service to get the Lincoln Project ads off the air and the public off its back. ...' Toyota’s customers, suppliers, workers and communities need to know that the company is turning its back on America’s most fundamental principles.'" "Toyota attacks America: Carmaker breaks promise to cut off money to Republicans who tried to steal the 2020 election," The Lincoln Project, 25 April 25 2022.

Comments after report on 8 April 2021 that JetBlue Airways (a company headquartered in USA) gave new donation to Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, who had voted against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election:

Tweets by members of the public included:

- "Gross. Stopping donations for a whopping 3 months and then hoping no one notices when you quietly support the same people who helped subvert a free and fair election. This is how you lose a customer for life."

- “#boycottJetBlue and the rest of you watch out cause we see you!!!”

- "I think this moves them past boycott and into “dead to me” territory."

- "I’ll never fly JetBlue again."

- “Bad move @JetBlue. Did you really think that we wouldn't notice you going behind our back? We now see who's more important to you ... and it's not the people.”

- "I think @JetBlue just earned a spot on my "List"! I don't do business with companies who support those who try to overthrow democracy in our country."

- "Bye JetBlue."

The above comments are a selection of tweets and replies from the following X/Twitter pages, and from the Raw Story article cited below:

- X/Twitter, https://twitter.com/MrJonCryer/status/1380185930867171331

- X/Twitter, https://twitter.com/laureniscooking/status/1380192381941673987

- X/Twitter, https://twitter.com/briantylercohen/status/1380188729898201088

- "JetBlue facing boycott after breaking pledge and donating to Republican who tried to overturn election," Matthew Chapman, Raw Story, 8 April 2021.
- JetBlue commented on its donation in the following article: "JetBlue Stands by Political Donation Amid Social Media Furor," Shaun Courtney, Bloomberg Government, 9 April 2021.