Many of us saw the
PoliticalMoneyLine.com, blogged with more detail
over at MyDD, list of those corporations that exclusively, or nearly so (80-100%), support only the Republican Party over the Democratic Party in financial contributions.
I did a little research to see what products and companies these corporation own and sell. I was suprised to find out that every time I bite into a Baja Fresh burrito, or pop open a can of Chef Boyardee, or jot a note on a Post-It, I was supporting the right-wing power structure.
Not calling for life-altering boycotts, but if you're curious about whether your consumer habits are turning into campaign contributions for Delay and Co., look after the jump.
Just to add to your consideration as a consumer:
Phillips Internationl, Inc. (100%) - looks to be a right-wing publishing company, and includes Phillips Health and Phillips Investment Resources (changewave.com and investorplace.com).
Cooper Industries (100%) - tool and elec. products maker of the following brands: Erem pliers, cutters, tweezers; Xcelite tools; Campbell chain; Crescent brand wrenches and pliers; Lufkin measuring tools; Nicholson files and saws; Plumb hammers and striking tools; Kahnetics dispensing products; H.K. Porter bolt cutters; Weller soldering products; Caulkmaster products; Wire-wrap solderless connection equipment; and Wiss snips; and various power tools (Buckeye, Doler, Quackenbush, Recoules, Cooper Automation, DGD, Gardotrans, Apex, Cleco, Geta, Master Power, Rotor, Utica, Metronix, Gardner-Denver, Dotco, and Airetool)
Flowers Industries (100%) - food maker, mostly of well-known bakery products like the following bread brands: Flowers, Nature's Own, Sunbeam, Bunny, Dandee, Cobblestone Mill, Holsum, Mary Jane, Evangeline Maid, and ButterKrust. Flowers also sells snack cakes and pastries under these brands: BlueBird, Mrs. Freshley's, Bishop's. Its frozen bakery products are sold under the European Bakers brand.
Harris Corp. (98%) - Harris and eXtreme digitial brands for commercial and government communications markets including wireless and broadcast.
Illinois Toolworks (97%) - equipment maker including Wilsonary laminate flooring, Deltare auto components, Paslode nail/staple guns, and Hobart food equipment.
Outback Steakhouse (96%) - restaurant chainsm, including Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Lee Roy Selmon's, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Bonefish Grill, Roy's, Paul Lee's Chinese Kitchen and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.
ExxonMobil (96%) - Exxon, Mobile, Esso
National City Corp. (95%) - National City bank w/ locations primarily in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania.
Wendy's International (93%) - fastfood chain including Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, Tim Hortons, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill (with investments in Cafe Express and Pasta Pomodoro).
Anadarko Petroleum (92%) - oil driller
Timken Corp. (91%) - steel maker
Halliburton (91%) - oildriller and more, KBR is a subsidiary
Meadwestvaco Corp (90%) - Packaging, papers, chemical and office products. Office products include Mead (binders, notepads, etc.), AT-A-GLANCE (planning supplies), Columbian (envelopes), Cambridge, Five Star, Trapper Keeper and Xpanz. Hilroy is their Canadian product.
Darden Restaurants Inc. (90%) - Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Smokey Bones BBQ and Grill, Bahama Breeze.
Branch Banking & Trust Co. (90%) - bank known as BB&T
International Paper (90%) - paper products, including Hammermil, Great White, Chamex (U.K.), Accent, Carolina, Strathmore, Via, Beckett, and Springhill.
Caterpillar (89%) - heavy tools
J.C. Penney Corp. (89%) - retail chain
Goodyear Tire (89%) - auto parts (tires, belts, hoses) and factory parts
ConocoPhillips Spirit (89%) - oil company, with following retail outlets and brands: Conoco, Jet (Europe), Phillips 66, 76, Kendall (motor oil).
Smithfield Foods Inc. (88%) - food products; Smithfield (hams, deli), Farmfield Foods, Gwaltney, John Morrell & Co., Patrick Cudahy, Cumberland Gap, Krakus Foods, Stefano Foods
ChevronTexaco (87%) - oil co. w/ following brands: Chevron, Texaco, Caltex
Ford Motor Company (84%) - various auto brands (Ford, Volvo, Lincoln, Jaguar, Mazda, Mercury, LandRover, AstonMartin), plus Hertz car rental
CIGNA Corp. (83%) - insurance co.
Owens Corning (83%) - home roofing, exterior, siding, insulation (think Pink Panther), Trumbull asphalt
Conagra Foods (83%) - ACT II (popcorn), Andale Gourmet, Andy Capp's snacks, Angela Mia (pasta and sauces), Armour (hot dogs, meats, etc.), Award (side dishes), Banquet (frozen meals), Big Mama Sausage, Blue Bonnet (margerine, spreads), Butterball (turkey products), Chef Boyardee, Chun King (noodles and other Chinese food products), Cook's Hams, County Line (cheese), Crunch 'n Munch, Culturelle (food supplement), DAVID (sunflower seeds), Decker (meats), Dennison's (chili), Eckrich (meats), Egg Beaters (egg substitue), Fernando's (Mexican entrees), Firecracker (hot sausage), Fleishmann's (spreads and oils), Gebhart (texmex), Gilardi Foods (Italian foods), Golden Cuisine (senior meals), Gilrot (powders and spices), Gulden's (mustard), Healthy Choice (frozen foods and other diet foods), Hunt's (ketchup and tomato products), Hunt's Snack Pack (pudding), JSH/J. Hungerford Smith (syrups), Jiffy Pop, Kid Cuisine, Knott's Berry Farm (jams), La Choy, Lamb Weston (potato products), Libby's (meats), Life Choice, Lightlife (soy products), Longmont, Louis Kemo Foodservice, Luck's (beans, etc.), Lunch Makers, MaMa Rosa's (Italian foods), Manwich, Margherita (Italian meats), Maria Callender's (frozen dinners), Meridian (shrimp and shellfish), Move Over Butter, Oldham's Farm, Orville Redenbacher's, PAM (cooking sprays), Parkey, Patio (tex-mex dinners), Pemmican (jerkies), Penrose (meats), Peter Pan (peanut butter), Ranch Style (beans), Ready Crisp (Armour dinners), Reddi-wip (whipped cream), Ro*Tel (canned tomatos), Rosarita (Mexican meals and products), Singleton (seafood), Slim Jim, Swiss Miss (hot cocoa), Van Camp's (pork and beans), Webber Farms, Wesson (oils), Wolf Brand (chili), Wolfgang Pucks (meals)
Home Depot Inc. (81%) - hardware chain
Baxter Healthcare Corp. (81%) - health care products and services
3M Company (80%) - makes household and office brands like Nexcare (first aid), Post-It (sticky pads), Scotch (tape), Scotch-Brite (cleaning supplies), Scotchgard (carpet and surface cleaning), Vikuiti (screen films), Filtrete (air filters), Aldara (medical cream), and Maxair Autohaler (inhaler)
Update [2004-11-29 17:24:8 by VirginiaDem]: There seems to be some desire to take action from my reading of the comments. An interesting idea may be (taken from a composite of comments) taking a shot at the retailers on this list this holiday season with boycots - JC Penney's and Home Depot - and adding Wal-Mart for good measure. Thoughts? Maybe Moveon.org or BuyBlue (which needs to be googlebombed, by the way) could coordinate?