Turn by turn, the money spigot has slowly stopped flowing to America’s most hateful and divisive politicians in the wake of last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Disney was the latest company to announce that it would no longer provide campaign donations to the politicians who voted to reject the results of the 2020 presidential election. Walmart quickly joined it. And those two mega-donors joined insurance giant Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Marriott Hotels, American Express, Hallmark, Verizon, Comcast, Amazon, Mastercard, Citibank, AT&T and Deloitte — all of which pledged not to donate to the lawmakers who voted to undermine the election.
Hell, Hallmark went so far as to request a refund from Sens. Josh Hawley and Roger Marshall.
In the state of Alabama, there will also be big changes soon.
Several top companies — the Big Mules, as they’re known — are planning reforms of their own, and they’re considering sweeping changes to the manner in which they dole out campaign contributions. According to a source, the changes could alter the face of politics in this state — “they’re that significant.”
I’ll take an “I’ll believe it when I see it” stance on that, but I am 100 percent convinced, after a number of conversations with executives at several companies, that changes are being seriously discussed and that something will happen. How significant those changes are, we’ll see.
But if you’re a business leader in this state, why wouldn’t you take this opportunity to change things, and change them on your terms?
You have the perfect cover to stop supporting the crazy people that we’ve been sending to Montgomery for the last several years and instead bring this state a true two-party system. You can remove many of the people whose ideas and behaviors have thwarted economic expansion and killed off lucrative business projects.
Imagine an Alabama that wasn’t governed by braindead, rightwing nuts who are constantly scheming to get farther to the right than the next guy, and to make big headlines while doing it. No more transgender bathroom bills. No more overtly racist monuments bills. No more attempts to get a Bible or Jesus into a school activity.
Imagine the good we might do if we weren’t worried about all of that nonsense.
I’m sorry, forgive me: Imagine all the money we might make if we weren’t worried about that nonsense.
This is the time to stop supporting lunatics.
And for the good and decent people of Alabama — the real patriots — it is time to make sure they do so.
We get caught up sometimes believing that progressives are a tiny percentage of the Alabama population. That’s probably because progressive candidates win such a tiny percentage of elections.
But the truth is, if you check out the results of statewide elections, the real number is about 40 percent, maybe a little higher. That’s a huge number. And it could make a huge difference.
No business can afford to watch 40 percent of its customers walk away. No company would even risk it.
So, take a stand. Demand that the major companies in this state follow BCBS’ lead and change the way they dole out contributions.
Pay attention to your local businesses and restaurants, and watch where they advertise. If they financially support radio hosts, podcasts or websites that spread misinformation and division, don’t support them. And let them know why.
Don’t apologize for it, either. You’re not asking everyone to believe the same way you are. You’re not telling people they can’t have an opinion. You’re simply saying that you won’t support the hatefulness and divisiveness any longer.
And Lord knows we could use less of those.
