(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
No more campaign contributions for Bishop, Budd, Cawthorn, Foxx, Hudson, Murphy or Rouzer
As with so many other things we’ve been witnessing since the U.S. Capitol was assaulted by a right-wing mob last week — the condemnations issued by many conservatives of Donald Trump and the muting of Trump’s lies by social media companies, just to name two — it’s tragic that it took so long for so many people who should have known better to finally wake up and smell the coffee.
That said, it does appear that a growing number of actors who’ve been silent about (or complicit in) Trump’s countless crimes and misdeeds are now rousing themselves to take action.
As a story posted late yesterday by the Washington Post reports, politicians like the seven North Carolina U.S. House members who voted to overturn Joe Biden’s electoral victory last week are about to see some sources of campaign cash dry up:
Let’s hope this is just the beginning of a new, widespread and lasting trend. As Newsweek, business reporter Hank Gilman reports this morning, it could make a real difference if Trump-enabling corporations come to their senses and mend their ways:
CEOs can also drain the swamp. For instance, end corporate support of organizations such as the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, which has backed, for instance state “stand your ground” gun laws. Also: be careful about who you do business with. The law firm Foley & Lardner works with a number of corporate clients such as CVS and Major League Baseball. They were also the law firm that, until recently, employed Cleta Mitchell. She’s the lawyer who was on the phone with Trump when he appeared to shake down Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for votes. The law firm, known for its Republican election law practice, was just shocked that Mitchell was doing such things. Well, corporations might consider doing business with law firms that don’t employ folks like Mitchell. (But they won’t, I know.)
The point is this: if you want to avoid the behavior you just witnessed in Washington, cut off the money—even if it is good for business and your shareholders. Newsweek contributor Sam Hill, who used to live deep in the heart of Big Business, says it best: “Turn off the money spigot…if business wants to stop this madness, they will stop funding extremist politicians.”
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