Popular Information - Corporate lobbyists bite back
Throughout 2021, Popular Information not only broke news; it created change. The reporting in this newsletter prompted an unprecedented corporate backlash against the members of Congress who voted to overturn the election, dramatically increased access to paid sick leave for 170,000 restaurant workers, and spurred several major corporations to speak out against voter suppression. You can support this work by becoming a paid subscriber. It's just $6 per month or $50 for an entire year. You can read more about our impact over the last year HERE. One year ago today a mob staged a violent riot at the U.S. Capitol, inspired by the lie that Joe Biden stole the 2020 presidential election. 147 Republicans played a key role in the day's events, voting against the certification of the Electoral College results. That vote promoted dozen of corporations to take the unprecedented step of freezing PAC donations to Republican objectors. Since then, some companies have abandoned their commitments. But many other corporations have stuck to their word. As Popular Information documented, corporate PAC contributions to Republican objectors are down by about 60% compared to the last election cycle. As a matter of principle, this makes sense. Nothing has changed since January 6, 2021, that would justify corporations changing their policies. Of the 147 Republican objectors, only one, Representative Tom Rice (R-SC), has publicly expressed any regret for their vote. With a few exceptions, Republican objectors are still unwilling to acknowledge that Biden won the presidency legitimately. There is one group of people who are displeased about the current state of affairs: corporate lobbyists. The job of a corporate lobbyist at the federal level is to influence members of Congress. Although there are many ways to gain influence, one important tool is to direct corporate PAC donations to members of Congress as a way of purchasing goodwill and access. In February, shortly after the freezes went into effect, the Wall Street Journal reported that aides to Republican objectors were "considering punishing the companies that halted PAC donations by banning their lobbyists from coming to their offices to advocate on legislation." Now, a year later, corporate lobbyists on both sides of the aisle are talking to the media, arguing that companies would be foolish not to donate to Republicans who voted to overturn the election. Lobbyist Cristina Antelo is telling her clients that Americans have already forgotten about what happened on January 6 and should resume donations to Republican objectors:
Antelo's lobbying firm, Ferox Strategies, represents Reynolds (parent company of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco), Intuit, Disney, The Gap, and other major corporations. One of Ferox's clients, Eli Lilly, is among four that cut off donations to Republican objectors in January but directly broke the pledge. Another Ferox client, Walmart, has not directly donated to Republican objectors but contributed to the NRCC and the NRSC, the multi-candidate PACs that support all Republicans in the House and Senate. Microsoft is also a Ferox client but has pledged to maintain its freeze on Republican objectors through the 2022 cycle. The Hill anonymously quoted "a lobbyist at a Fortune 500 company that is currently pausing PAC donations to GOP objectors" who warned that corporate strategy needs "to align with the current political reality that Republicans are almost certainly taking the House in November." In the same article, two Republican lobbyists also stressed the importance of backing Republican objectors. Stewart Verdery, a Republican lobbyist who runs the firm Monument Advocacy, is advising his clients that it is "not really a sustainable position to say you won’t give to two-thirds of the Republican House caucus, including the leadership and the likely next speaker." But while the status quo is clearly not sustainable for corporate lobbyists who are used to doing business in a certain way, it is doubtful that corporations themselves would benefit from resuming donations to Republican objectors. Supporting members of Congress who tried to overturn an election could cause significant damage to corporate brands. And while restarting donations would make their lobbyists happy, there is scant evidence that these donations meaningfully benefit corporations. Do corporations actually benefit from political spending?Corporations justify political spending, even when it contradicts their stated values, as necessary to enhance their bottom line. But in the latest issue of Harvard Business Review, Dorothy Lund and Leo Strine argue that "political donations greatly heighten corporate risk" and "destroy value by suppressing innovation and distracting managers from more-pressing tasks." Lund and Strine contend that corporations should "reduce their involvement in time-wasting and costly political spending, and better align their lobbying and donations with their stated values." Lund and Strine note that after the Supreme Court greatly expanded the ability of corporations to spend money in politics in Citizens United, "[c]orporate leaders have not chosen to seek [shareholder] approval for political donations… despite the fact that shareholders are paying for them with their entrusted capital." Meanwhile, corporate managers in charge of political spending decisions "are more likely to identify as Republican than are members of the general public." And corporate political spending skews strongly toward Republican candidates and committees. But isn't political spending making corporations more profitable? Research suggests the opposite is true. Lund and Strine cite "a study of corporate political activity in the form of lobbying and PAC spending by S&P 500 companies from 1998 to 2004 (conducted by John Coates, a Harvard professor who recently served as general counsel of the SEC)." That study found that corporate political spending "was strongly and negatively related to company value." Lund and Strine postulate that "when companies feel they have to compete on regulatory shortcuts rather than on productivity and innovation, they may be poorly positioned to produce sustainable profits by selling quality goods and services and evolving to meet new consumer demands." The authors argue there is "no sound business justification for corporate political giving as it is practiced today." It's worth considering as corporations decide whether to maintain the commitments they made after January 6 or go back to business as usual. |
Older messages
The war on library books
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
In the coming months, you will hear a lot from right-wing politicians about the need to "empower parents" to have more influence over their children's education. As a general concept,
Seven major corporations pledge not to support GOP objectors in 2022
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Following the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, dozens of corporations pledged to stop donating to 147 Republican members of Congress who voted that day to overturn the results of the 2020
The truth about corporate contributions to Republican objectors since January 6
Monday, January 3, 2022
According to media reports, most corporations have already forgotten about January 6, 2021, and resumed supporting Republicans who voted to overturn the election. That is not true.
The year in Popular Information
Thursday, December 30, 2021
'Corporations' Political Reckoning Began With a Newsletter.' Following the January 6 riot, Popular Information contacted 144 corporations and asked if they would continue to support members
Why more than half of Taco Bell workers are unvaccinated
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
In June, Taco Bell locations in California offered "a free seasoned beef Nacho Cheese Doritos® Locos Tacos" to anyone who provided proof of vaccination. The company said it was offering the
You Might Also Like
Are we going to see more nonprofit newsrooms team up?
Friday, April 26, 2024
PLUS: How Ben McCarthy built a Salesforce-focused media company with 400000 monthly readers ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Would you choose cohabitation over marriage?
Friday, April 26, 2024
Plus: Home Planet, Trudeau's plan to fight populism, and more. Each week, a different Vox editor curates their favorite work that Vox has published across text, audio, and video. This week's
The jeans we’re wearing this spring
Friday, April 26, 2024
If you miss skinny jeans ... ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Haunted by breaches, Microsoft says it’s ‘putting security above all else’
Friday, April 26, 2024
Bill payment company Doxo disputes FTC lawsuit | AI fuels hot streak at UW's Institute for Protein Design ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: Science Firsthand: Learn how Bristol Myers Squibb
☕ Just like a movie
Friday, April 26, 2024
Francis Ford Coppola: the 'accidental hotelier.' April 26, 2024 Retail Brew It's Friday, and the economy's got the jitters. The combination of slowing GDP growth and continued inflation
My conversation with former Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO)
Friday, April 26, 2024
I sit down with recently retired Representative Ken Buck (R-CO). My conversation with former Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) By Isaac Saul • 26 Apr 2024 View in browser View in browser I'm Isaac Saul, and
Ums, an AI Election Tracker, and Clouds Under the Sea
Friday, April 26, 2024
Ten stories that have given us creative inspiration this week ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
LEVER TIME: Amazon Is Eating The Economy
Friday, April 26, 2024
In a landmark lawsuit filed last year by the Federal Trade Commission, the government accuses Amazon of long being engaged in illegal market behavior. LEVER TIME: Amazon Is Eating The Economy By Arjun
GeekWire Startups Weekly
Friday, April 26, 2024
News, analysis, insights from the Pacific NW startup ecosystem View this email in your browser Presented by CIBC Tech Moves: Seattle tech vet Dave Parker named CEO of Entrepreneurs' Organization
Language Bandits
Friday, April 26, 2024
Have you heard the buzz? Language Bandits By Caroline Crampton • 26 Apr 2024 View in browser View in browser Where The Language Changes Bathsheba Demuth | Granta | 25th April 2024 For a thousand miles