McConnell says companies should stay out of politics -- unless they're donating money

[634-5789]

After the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that companies could finance election spending, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) celebrated the prospect that corporate America would enter — and influence — the political fray.

“For too long, some in this country have been deprived of full participation in the political process,” he said in a statement at the time. He hailed the decision, Citizens United, as “an important step” in “restoring the First Amendment rights of these groups.”

But just over a decade later, McConnell has a different message for companies: Unless it involves money, they had better stay quiet.

“My warning to corporate America is to stay out of politics,” McConnell said at a news conference in Kentucky on Tuesday, before adding: “I’m not talking about political contributions.”

His comments come amid an escalating battle over Georgia’s sweeping new voting law, which has been publicly condemned by major companies based in the state, including Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines. Major League Baseball has moved its All-Star Game out of Atlanta in response to the legislation, saying it will restrict access to the ballot.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/07/mitch-mcconnell-georgia-citizens-united/

[Caliman73]

1. Well, McConnell is a shameless asshole.

There is a huge difference between political contributions and taking public stances on issues. One is cowardly and the other at least, puts skin in the game. McConnell advocates for the cowardly act of making political contributions in secret to fund assholes like him. What MLB (though cynical me still thinks it is a calculated stunt) did in moving the All-Star game, at least puts MLB in a situation where everyone knows where they stand and they can face those "consequences".

McConnell knows that corporate money fuels American Politics. What he is trying to threaten is that if they don't continue to largely support the desires of the wealthy, then there will be some consequence. He tends to think that he is smart because the people who support him are idiots and the rest of us, have little power to effect change.

I would much prefer companies take honest political stances so that I can be informed where to vote with my dollars. If money is part of political speech and activity, then everything should count, and everything should be out in the open so that the public is informed. Isn't that what conservatives want? Informed voters? Ha! I know, I am just kidding. Conservatives do not actually want informed voters. They want only voters who will support what they want, to be voting. It doesn't matter if you are informed or not, just so long as you support what the Republicans want. It doesn't matter to McConnell if corporations are involved in politics, so long as they support what he wants them to support. He is a lying asshole.