Progressives do have power.
Score one for the good guys: After being pressured by Color of Change and other progressive groups, Coca-Cola has left ALEC -- the cynical corporate coalition that has pushed a bevy of anti-democratic, anti-middle class, and anti-consumer initiatives.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Color of Change targeted ALEC after the Trayvon Martin case and ALEC’s role in Florida’s stand your ground law. They sent an email to its mailing list calling on corporations to stop supporting ALEC that read in part:
You and more than 85,000 Color Of Change members have called on corporations to stop supporting the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) because of its role in voter suppression.
We contacted Coca-Cola to make sure they understand that through their membership in ALEC, they are supporting racially-discriminatory voter ID... They told us they recognize the importance of voting rights but claimed that they weren't responsible for ALEC's voter ID legislation.
But it doesn't matter whether the company had a direct role in the legislation -- by funding ALEC, Coca-Cola is supporting an effort to disenfranchise African-Americans, Latinos, students, the elderly, the disabled and the poor. Eventually, representatives from Coca-Cola stopped responding to our emails and phone calls.
Will you help us hold Coca-Cola accountable for supporting voter suppression?
Think Progress reports, Coke officials told the
Washington Examiner today:
The Coca-Cola Company has elected to discontinue its membership with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Our involvement with ALEC was focused on efforts to oppose discriminatory food and beverage taxes, not on issues that have no direct bearing on our business. We have a long-standing policy of only taking positions on issues that impact our Company and industry.
Think Progress notes, the withdrawal came just five hours after Color of Change sent their email.
Other companies still left to pressure to leave ALEC:
Walmart, AT&T, Bayer, ExxonMobil, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, Pfizer and UPS.
It would be great if progressives could end any and all support for ALEC and the legislation they push that promotes the interests of corporations over the interests of the voters of the states where they are passed. ALEC needs to disappear along with any support and membership from any politician in any state. Chalk one up for progressives.