On the heels of the Jan. 6 insurrection, corporate PACs appeared to register the dangerous moment democracy faced and pledged to suspend donations to the 147 GOP members of Congress who objected to the certification of the 2020 presidential election—better known as the Sedition Caucus. Since then, they’ve been quick to forgive and forget. Many of those same corporations—including American Express, Toyota, Walgreens, UPS, Lockheed Martin, Home Depot, AT&T, Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, and Publix—have abandoned their pledges or resumed supporting the Sedition Caucus, thereby funding the next insurrection.
We must not to let the Sedition Caucus get away with continued election denials. Together with HAZMAT America Daily Kos launched a campaign to hold the corporations still donating to those members of Congress accountable, and delivered over 150,000 signatures to those corporations.
The House Jan. 6 committee has presented concrete evidence of how Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans planned, promoted, and paid for a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election. These bad actors haven't slowed down in the time since. If anything, their commitment to sabotaging future elections—and their ability to do so—has only grown. Quite simply, they are a threat to our freedoms and way of life.
Yet according to Open Secrets, members of Congress who supported the insurrection—the Sedition Caucus—received over $61 million from corporate PACs and industry groups this election cycle. We can't let corporations get away with pledging to help preserve our democracy while privately funding the people working to destroy it.
Corporate PACs are a significant obstacle to holding elected officials accountable to their constituents. By supporting these politicians, corporations are aiding and abetting a dangerous threat to our democracy. By continuing to fill their coffers, these companies encourage bad actors to continue pushing outlandish conspiracy theories.
In this year’s midterm election, voters chose democracy over election deniers pushing the BIg Lie. They recognized the threat that right-wing extremism poses, and voted overwhelmingly against candidates supporting that movement. It's past time for corporate America to get (back) on board. After all, a democracy in crisis is bad for business and profit margins. Donating to candidates that pose a significant threat to democracy will only harm their bottom line.
As of September, 71 corporations, including PepsiCo, Nike, Zillow, Marriott, Target, and others, kept their vow to withhold funding from insurrectionists. If they can do it, so can everyone else.
Moving forward, several organizations involved in a grassroots movement against corporate donations to the Sedition Caucus, including HAZMAT America, plan on escalating their campaign to get specific corporate targets to stop contributions.
Click here to sign our petition demanding corporations keep their pledge and stop donating to pro-insurrectionists members of Congress.
Remember: Your support makes grassroots activism possible.