In the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, corporate America responded, stopping corporate PAC donation to the 147 Republican lawmakers who voted to block the results of the presidential election. It eventually became clear that they were playing both-sides games and stopped giving to Democrats, too, after Republicans raised hell about it.
But many corporate PACs did cut back or zero out the funding they had been giving to those Republicans, although nearly three dozen of them have given at least $5,000 to those insurrectionist lawmakers. Then there's Toyota. The car company (with significant operations in Mitch McConnell's home state of Kentucky, go figure) has given $55,000 to 37 of the insurrectionist lawmakers so far this year. That dwarfs the donations of the remaining corporate donations—it's more than double what the number two company, Cubic Corp., has given this year. That puts them in league with the likes of Koch Industries, telecom giant AT&T, health insurer Cigna and tobacco company Reynolds American for resuming donations to insurrectionists, but Toyota still leads.
"We do not believe it is appropriate to judge members of Congress solely based on their votes on the electoral certification," a Toyota spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Axios Sunday. "Based on our thorough review, we decided against giving to some members who, through their statements and actions, undermine the legitimacy of our elections and institutions." Except for like, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona. According to "Stop the Steal" organizer Ali Alexander, Biggs was one of the four behind plotting the insurrection.
"I was the person who came up with the Jan. 6 idea with Congressman Gosar, Congressman Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and then Congressman Andy Biggs," Alexander said a few days after the attack. "We four schemed up of putting max pressure on Congress while they were voting so that who we couldn't lobby, we could change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body hearing our loud roar from outside."
Toyota doubled down on that statement Monday, refusing to address the clear problems with their statement.
This is the same company that makes a big deal out of flying a rainbow flag at their Plano, Texas, headquarters every June. The company that has been the darling of progressives for its early introduction of the Prius hybrid. They're supporting the same party that wants to disincentivize the sale of those hybrids by slapping extra fees on their drivers to pay for infrastructure.
Since Toyota refuses to see the error of its ways, maybe a decline in sales will make it clear to the Japanese automaker not to drive around with insurrectionists.
No comments:
Post a Comment