This week, on the basis of whole-cloth lies, major corporations went to political war with the state of Georgia. The lies at issue revolved around Georgia’s new voter law, characterized by both Stacey Abrams and President Joe Biden as a new form of Jim Crow. What do these dastardly new voter restrictions do? They require an ID number to receive an absentee ballot, with language identical to that of federal law; they bar electioneering within 150 feet of a polling place or 25 feet of voters in line, including handing out food or water for partisan purposes; they increase the number of mandatory days of weekend early voting; they preserve some drop boxes that did not exist before the pandemic; they require additional voting machines and election personnel in crowded precincts; they increase voting hours in future elections for the vast majority of counties.
These provisions are similar to the laws in a vast majority of states. That didn’t stop Democrats and the media from simply lying about the Georgia voting law. While some in the media did point out that Biden had lied about the law’s supposed crackdown on voting hours, nobody in the media treated his “Jim Crow” contentions with the sneering disrespect they so richly deserved. Instead, they simply parroted the line that Republicans were engaged in widespread voter suppression, another lie — a lie far more unsubstantiated than Republican concerns about voter fraud and irregularity.
But the media and Democrats went even further: They bullied corporations into taking positions on the Georgia election law. CBS News put out a headline that trafficked in simple activism: “3 ways companies can help fight Georgia’s restrictive new voting law.” And companies complied. Coca-Cola, in line with its new Woka-Cola branding, issued a statement deploring an election law the corporation hadn’t bothered to lobby against before its passage. Delta issued a statement, too, with CEO Ed Bastian explaining, “I need to make it clear that the final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta’s values.” Major League Baseball followed Biden’s advice and pulled the All-Star Game out of the state.
So, what should conservatives do?
Many conservatives — myself included — deplore the politics of boycotts. We’re not interested in patronizing companies based on political differentiation alone. But if the left is going to hijack the most powerful institutions in America and then weaponize them against voters in red states, conservatives will be left with little choice but to exert counter-pressure.
The only alternative is the formation of alternative companies in every industry. If Coca-Cola wishes to cater to the woke, conservatives will need to build a competitor. Conservatives don’t have first-mover advantage in these spaces. But that doesn’t alleviate the responsibility to find a different path than funding those who would cut them off at the knees.
The left has politicized everything. The right has avoided that tactic, because it’s ugly and divisive. But it’s too late to put the genie back in the bottle. It’s time for mutually assured destruction. There’s only one thing worse than having nuclear weapons: unilateral disarmament. Better to establish mutually assured destruction now and put corporate America on notice that, by stepping into the middle of fraught political debate, it risks just as much blowback from the right as from the left.
worked at Coke at its headquarters in Atlanta 1982-86…..was a different place than today….had Donald Keough as president and Guizetta as CEO….sad how things have changed…been in Atanta …all my life of 77 years
Drink Blue Sky Cola with real cane sugar. Its much better than Coke.
We have been serving Coke products at our facility for over 30 years and now we have switched to only Pepsi products. We will NEVER purchase coke products again. Cancel Coke!
I will, never, ever buy another Coke product. I pray the Atlanta Braves to get rid of all Coke products in their Stadium. You have put your nose where it doesn’t belong. What did Stacey Abrams pressure you with? Big mistake, Woka-Cola!
I have been a coke consumer all my life…….now will find something else to drink. as i will not buy any of their products whether its soda, orange juice or water………..done with them..
This is garbage! Biden and the democrats are ranting about…what…requiring voter ID to vote…? Get serious. We need ID to fly in an airplane, access to our bank, how about getting stopped for speeding, then telling the cop, “I don’t need any ID” RIGHT! Try that and let me know how you made out. I have completely lost FAITH, in the news media. It isn’t “news” anymore it’s ….fox news lies!
I’m Mad, I’m Angry, I’m Frustrated, but Most of all I’m Heartbroken! I’ve been a Loyal, Dedicated Coke drinker all my life (65) and now I MUST Boycott the Coca-Cola Co. because they are Cowards for taking this Bull Shit Political ‘Woke’ Stance!!!
This one Really Hurts, but I’m Mad, Angry, Frustrated and Heartbroken! I’ve been a Loyal, Dedicated MLB Fan All my life (65), my Favorite sport, but now I MUST Boycott the MLB because they are Cowards for taking this Bull Shit Political ‘Woke’ Stance!!!
This is No Longer the Country I was born and raised in! The Country that I fought for, Gave my Blood, Sweat, Tears, Bone and Blood for. The Country that I built a Home and raised a Family in. That Country is Long Gone, and This one, The one we are living in NOW, is going to Hell in a Hand-Bag REAL FAST!!!
I Will tell and Encourage ALL my Family, Friends and Anyone who Cares, to do the Same!!!
NOT a GA Resident!!!
I’m done with the Coke-heads at Coke. As for Stacey Abrams and her attempts in Georgia and elsewhere to generate millions of fake absentee ballots, she needs to be muzzled. She succeeded in Fulton County but we are now onto her; no more blanketing the state with blank ballots to be “harvested” by her crew, dumped in fake ballot boxes and dragged out from underneath tables in the middle of the night after everyone is sent home.
I can’t speak for anybody else, nor can I recommend a boycott. But what I can do, and am doing is buying Pepsi rather than Coke and on my upcoming fright from Denver to Atlanta, I’ll fly United. MLB should fire Manfred, eat a little crow, and move the All Star game back to Atlanta. Plus, it might be necessary to fire all the Board of Directors, or what ever advisory group recommended moving the game. Tough decision! You know it! But managers frequently have to make tough decisions, many of which hurt our egos!
United sucks to Charles. Lets see how many of these IDIOTS we can BREAK.
That Coke CEO looks like a real winner. Lets just see how many of his Millions a week can Dailey be yanked from there kitty. How big an IDIOT are these people to think that hammering the folks that buy there product wont shut there doors. I will not LOWER myself or my family by bringing these products in my house. These airlines are complete an utter IDIOTS. We can go to private sectors for our flights now. Be damn glad to pay the extra than tarnish Delta or United’s Treadway. these peoples brains have been Mucused so bad its scary.
TRUMP 2020
I have been a Coke Products consumer for all of my youth and adult life (I am now 78 and will, soon, be 79). As of now, I will no longer purchase CocaCola products. As well, While I have frequently flown on both United and Delta, both domestically and internationally, I will be using other airlines in the future. I, too, have talked to several friends who will be doing the same.
It’s time to stop protesting at Capitols and start focusing on places like Rockefeller Plaza and other corporate HQs. While democrats have always been dangerous and duplicitous, they are nothing without their mouthpieces in the media. They are no longer just bias in favor of the democrat position; the media now dictates the agenda and creates the racists narratives that are tearing this country apart.
They are neither elected or appointed, yet the media has a unique position influencing corporate decisions and colluding with democrats to advance public policy. Or, in the case of Georgia’s new election law, deconstruct policy that’s detrimental to democrats. It’s definitely past time to fight back.
Does anyone even drink that garbage anymore?!! Poison, and run by a loser.