2. @LillyPad (Eli Lilly) has suspended contributions to members of Congress who objected to the Electoral College. The company told Popular Information that the same policy applies to members of the PA legislature who opposed certification.
"If it does last, the tourniquet on giving would impost a small but significant constriction in the system of political fund raising that favors incumbents, provides access for lobbyists and helps decide who rises to leadership positions."
"Of the 399 House incumbents who ran for re-election last year, 86 raised more than half of their campaign money from business PACs in the 2020 election cycle"
"Republicans are scrambling to contain the fallout as major donors freeze political contributions and distance themselves from lawmakers who voted to overturn the Electoral College results."
"House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who voted to reject electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania, has been calling existing donors trying to calm nerves"
"One lobbyist described McCarthy calls to donors: “I would equate it to trying to get a plane out of a spin, trying to level the wings.”
1. Here is some information you won't read about in Politico Playbook today.
On Jan 5, @benshapiro turned over his "Daily Shapiro Action" email to Ted Cruz.
Cruz used the opportunity to push his bogus allegations that the election was invalid.
@benshapiro 2. @benshapiro guest-edited Politico Playbook today, which was a coup for him because he likes to posture himself as an "intellectual" who rejects conspiracy theories and misinformation.
But that's not what happens behind the scenes.
And I have receipts.
3. In July, I reported how there was "an undisclosed financial relationship between The Daily Wire, the website founded by Ben Shapiro, and Mad World News, a notorious outlet that exploits fear and bigotry for profit."
3 major corporations say they'll suspend donations to the Republican Attorneys General Association, which helped drive participation in last Wed's events
This is especially brutal for Hawley, because Hallmark is headquartered in his home state. This was the cover of today's Kansas City Star.
3. @AmericanExpress also gets its own category. It will no longer donate to any member of Congress that objected to the Electoral College vote on Wednesday. A spokesperson told popular.info that decision was permanent.
1. Republicans are convinced the PAC announcements are all a bad dream and soon they will wake up and the money will return.
2. "The sheer extent of the Republican opposition will make it difficult for businesses to simply cut off those who voted against certifying Biden’s victory, said a senior Republican business strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity."
BREAKING: In an internal memo to staff obtained by popular.info, @AmericanExpress CEO Steve Squeri says the company will no longer support the Republican members of Congress who objected to the Electoral College
"Last week's attempts by some congressional members to subvert the presidential election results and disrupt the peaceful transition of power do not align with our American Express Blue Box values; therefore AXP PAC will not support them," Squeri writes.
Notably, this announcement does not appear to be time limited.
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1. There has been A LOT of news about major corporations suspending their political contributions to members of Congress that objected to the presidential vote.
I'm going to summarize where we are at in this thread.
UPDATE: Dow (@DowNewsroom), the massive chemical company, tells me it will not donate to any member of Congress that objected to the certification of the presidential vote
This is not a pause. The company won't donate to these Republicans ever again.
@BCBSAssociation@MarriottIntl@CommerceBank 3. @CommerceBank's PAC favors Republicans over Democrats by a 6 to 1 margin. The bank now says it has "suspended all support for officials who have impeded the peaceful transfer of power"
@MarriottIntl released a similar statement to Popular Information.
I am equally impressed with Facebook and Twitter's decision to ban Trump now as Betsy DeVos and Elaine Chao's decision to resign now.
Both acts seems to mostly reflect Trump's waning power and are unconnected to any larger effort to address how they have facilitated the spread of extremism, conspiracy theories, and violence
With respect to Facebook and Twitter, banning Trump now, with hours left in his presidency seems like an easy way to avoid tougher conversations about how their algorithms are used to spread misinformation, extremism, and violence.
1. The National Association of Manufacturers (@ShopFloorNAM) released a stunning -- yet justified statement -- condemning not only Trump but all the politicians that are enabling him.
@ShopFloorNAM@exxonmobil@pfizer@goodyear 2. "Throughout this whole disgusting episode, Trump has been cheered on by members of his own party, adding fuel to the distrust that has enflamed violent anger. This is not law and order. This is chaos. It is mob rule. It is dangerous."
3. "This is sedition and should be treated as such. The outgoing president incited violence in an attempt to retain power, and any elected leader defending him is violating their oath to the Constitution and rejecting democracy in favor of anarchy."
184 added to My Authors
