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Nobody performs corporate #pride sponsorship with the vigor of @salsesforce, so today I would like to talk about how their political giving intersects with their stated values. And by intersects, I mean "t-bones at 90 mph in a school zone". All numbers taken from FEC filings. 
The tweet pinned to the @salesforce Twitter account right now says "We are all wired for connection, and connection requires a deep sense of belonging." The link takes you to an online course on 'Beginning Your Ally Journey'. They are not fooling around.
The @salesforce Public Policy page says "We believe in equality for all and are committed to supporting Equal Pay and equal access to education, while openly opposing discriminatory legislation." They boast about discriminatory legislation they've fought in the United States.
Salesforce has Ohana Groups (an Ohana is a Hawaiian thing Marc Benioff learned about when visiting his beach house) that include Outforce, dedicated to the LGBTQ community. The Ohanas have Pillars of Equality! "Their mission is to make Equality a reality"
salesforce.com/company/equali…
salesforce.com/company/equali…
Basically, you can't visit a @salesforce corporate page without leaving a better, more complete person. Salesforce is all in on equality, and founder and CEO Marc Benioff also cultivates a personal image as a crusader for social justice.
Salesforce also operates an entity called SALESFORCE . COM INC POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE, headquartered here in SF. Unlike most corporate PACs, which are balanced 50/50, SALESFORCE PAC leaned Democratic in 2018. But boy did they pick some interesting Republicans to donate to
In 2018, Salesforce made political donations to three legislators (Jackie Walorski, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Steve Scalise) who subsequently voted against the Equality Act—the same one Mr. Benioff had his photo taken celebrating.
Salesforce seems particularly fond of Rep. Walorski, giving her another donation in March 2019. Walorski pushed to have a discriminatory "religious freedom" amendment tacked on to a 2016 defense bill, and voted in support of Trump's transgender ban. Her views are no secret.
Steve Scalise is an even bolder choice for @salesforce to back. He once allegedly described himself as "David Duke without the baggage," and in 2002 spoke at a white supremacist convention. He's also notoriously anti-LGBT. Salesforce has given both to him and his leadership PAC.
In 2017, @salesforce made two campaign donations to Utah Senator Mike Lee. In December 2018, Lee blocked the reappointment of Chai Feldblum, the only LGBT member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, over her "radical views on marriage" nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-ou…
In 2017, Texas senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz asked President Trump to nominate Jeffrey Mateer to the Federal bench. When it surfaced that Mateer had called transgender kids "part of Satan's plan", Cornyn did not withdraw his support. @salesforce gave Cornyn money a year later
Salesforce also indirectly supported fellow Mateer sponsor Ted Cruz through their donations to the Promoting our Republican Team PAC, Hawkeye PAC, and Big Sky Opportunity PAC (PACs like to donate to one another in a touching show of solidarity).
Their donation to the Hawkeye PAC (Chuck Grassley's leadership PAC) means that Salesforce gave its indirect support to Steve King, the openly white supremacist congressman who struggles with fundraising. (Disclosure: I raised money for King's opponent in 2018).
Another recipient of that Big Sky Opportunity PAC money, Josh Hawley, has ties to radical anti-LGBT cleric David Barton, who has compared homosexuals to Nazis. Yet another, Karin Housley, voted down marriage equality in Minnesota.
But if we get into indirect donations, we'll be here all day! So back to direct stuff. In 2018, @salesforce gave money to Cory Gardner, two months after he voted to give a lifetime judicial appointment to anti-LGBT radical Kyle Duncan. glaad.org/blog/senate-co…
In 2017 and 2018, @saleforce donated to Todd Young, who wants to make it legal for employers to deny coverage for birth control in employee health plans. This isn't just a matter of reproductive choice—it is a question of basic medical care for half the population. #equality!
So what's my point? @salesforce clearly spends a monumental amount of money to project a certain image. Those Ohanas aren't cheap! Plus there's every indication that executives from Benioff on down sincerely share political values that we people on the left find warm and fuzzy
Compared to this branding and sponsorship effort, the political donations Salesforce makes are peanuts. But because they have the company name on them, and go to bad people, they ruin the image the company is working to project. Why have them at all? Why not shut this PAC down?
If you work at @saleforce, you can find a complete list of people paying in to the PAC here: docquery.fec.gov/pdf/471/201812… Reach out to coworkers and let them know how their money is getting spent! I am confident you can get this small PAC de-funded if you put your back into it.
Last thing I want to add is, people getting discouraged by this are getting the wrong message. Twitter's PAC is down to *two* employee donors. A British employee got Intel to stop donating to Steve King just by citing the company's policies at them. These are winnable battles!
