Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Said on Tuesday that it is “stupid” for companies to take positions on divisive political issues, but noted that his criticisms did not include their political donations.
“So my warning, if you like, to corporate America is to stay out of politics,” McConnell told reporters at a news conference in Louisville. “This is not what you were designed for. And don’t be intimidated by the left to take on causes that put you right in the middle of one of America’s biggest political debates.”
McConnell’s comments were the third time that he addressed the corporate reaction to Georgia’s recently passed voting law, which came in the wake of ex-President Donald Trump’s falsehood campaign about the outcome of the state elections last fall.
At the end of last week, the CEOs of Delta and Coca-Cola – based in Atlanta – condemned the new measure. And on Friday, Major League Baseball withdrew this year’s All-Star Game from Atlanta in protest against the same law. Instead, that game will be played in Colorado.
The baseball decision drew the biggest outrage from Republicans, with Trump calling for a boycott of baseball and several other companies that have demonstrated against Georgia law.
“You know, Republicans also drink Coca-Cola,” said McConnell on Tuesday. “And we fly. And we like baseball. This is a very competitive political environment in America, since I just appointed a 50-50 Senate. If I ran a large corporation, I would be out of politics.”
He added that the latest moves are “annoying many Republican fans”.
The Georgia episode was just the last conflict between corporate America and the Republican Party. Earlier this year, several major companies announced that they would no longer make political donations to anyone who voted against the Electoral College’s vote count affirmation after the January 6 deadly riot on Capitol Hill.
The broader division is the product of the GOP and is increasingly driven by “cultural war” issues, while companies are under increasing pressure from employees, consumers and advocates to obtain voting rights, LGBTQ rights and anti-racist efforts.
McConnell, long a champion of big money in politics, said that corporations “have the right to participate in a political process”, but should do so without alienating “an enormous number of people”.
“I’m not talking about political contributions,” he said of his criticisms of corporate leaders who speak out against Republican legislation. “Most of them contribute to both sides, they have political action committees, all right. It’s cool, it’s appropriate, I support that. I’m talking about taking a stand on a highly incendiary issue like this and punishing a community or a state , because you don’t like a particular law that was passed, I just think it’s stupid. “
