Thread by @JuddLegum

1. In today's @nytimes, @DLeonhardt follows up on my report of the companies that present themselves as champions of the LGBTQ community but donate millions to anti-gay politicians

He got responses from several of them and they are jaw-dropping

nytimes.com/2019/07/02/opi…

@nytimes @DLeonhardt 2. @Pfizer ($1M to 52 anti-gay politicans): "The decision to contribute to these elected officials was made based on their support of the biopharmaceutical industry...In no way does our support translate into an endorsement of their position on any social issue."

3. @UPS ($2.4M to 159 anti-gay politicans): "UPS has a longstanding record of supporting diversity and inclusion and it is a core value of UPS culture … We have been transparent, clear and unwavering in our positions on diversity and inclusion"

4. @ATT ($2.8M to 193 anti-gay politicans): "We support candidates on both sides of the aisle who are addressing the issues that impact our business, our employees and our customers. That doesn’t mean we support their views on every issue"

5. @FedEx ($1.3 million to 75 anti-gay politicians): "FedEx has a long history of participating in the political process, and we support candidates on both sides of the aisle."

6. These corps think they can drape themselves in rainbow flags & also support politicians fighting LGBTQ equality

But they've been forced to confront their hypocrisy, which is a first step

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7. @DLeonhardt does a great job of describing the dynamics at play. There is an alternative to this duplicity