Hypocrite of the year award, and there’s no close second, goes to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell for lecturing corporate CEOs for speaking out against, and one taking direct action against, voter suppression laws in Georgia and a slew of other Republican led states.
‘Stay out of politics’ warned McConnell. ‘Don’t pick sides in these big fights’, he warned. There will be ‘consequences’, he warned. While he didn’t elaborate on what those consequences might be, rest assured it will not be him calling for the end of Citizens United.
Au contraire, mon frère. McConnell has long fought for the freedom for Corporate Speech – read, Corporate Dollars – to flow freely throughout this freedom loving free country of ours; of course, that corporate freedom infrastructure constructed, mostly, in Republican-led states.
Now, it’s not like the corporations that spoke out last week had suddenly found a patriotic conscience. They made statements. The statements were bottom-line decisions.
Except for Major League Baseball moving the All Star game from Atlanta to another state, corporate leaders simply said it just wasn’t nice for Republicans in Georgia to make it harder for citizens to vote nor was it very nice of them to make it a crime for someone to bring water and/or food to voters lucky enough to find a place to vote and to maybe get their spot in a 5, 10, 15-hour or more line waiting with only the hope of being free to vote.
Whether or not you like McConnell, I don’t, whether or not you agree with his politics, I don’t, ya kinda gotta give the guy a shout out for the chutzpah to hold a press conference warning CEOs about getting involved in politics. For one, he did his presser without ever cracking the slightest of a smile or knowing smirk. And for another, it was Mitch McConnell who was plaintiff in the 2003 landmark Supreme Court case McConnell v. FEC challenging campaign finance reform.
And, in 2010 when the Supremes ruled (Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission) that a corporation spending money in politics was equivalent to free speech, ol’ Mitch was and continues to be a loud outspoken supporter of the 5-4 decision. Since Citizens United, McConnell has raised a ton of money from corporations and used his corporate buddies for political gain. In 2020 alone, a McConnell PAC raised $475 million – more money in the history of PAC money.
While McConnell’s warnings are getting all the headlines, there is one corporate leader not getting a lot of press; but he will, because this guy certainly is not afraid to take on McConnell, Republicans, or anyone else pushing voter suppression. Ryan Gellert, CEO of Patagonia.
In an open letter to corporate leaders, Gellert urges cooperation in the fight against voter suppression laws. Titled Business Leaders: Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Gellert lays out a three-part action plan whereby corporate leaders take an active role in our democracy.
Writes Gellert:
First: Fund the activists working to challenge the recently passed laws in Georgia and support voting registration efforts.
Second: Send a letter to the senators that represent the state(s) where you conduct business, calling on them to pass the For the People Act (H.R. 1) and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA).
Third: Commit to reaching out to business partners to facilitate speaking out against further state laws that would restrict voting access.
Gellert also reminds fellow CEOs that “Opting to stay silent while the constitutional rights of voters in Georgia and across our country are being threatened is tantamount to supporting these unjust laws. Our colleagues, clients and customers won’t forget what we do in this moment.”
Read the complete Gellert letter and full details of his three-part plan.
