Bad Companies, Part 2

A year has passed since the deadly insurrection on the U.S. Capitol and in the aftermath of the insurrection a great many corporations promised to defend democracy. By the end of that week, nearly every major company in the US and dozens committed to cutting off the lawmakers involved.  

Sounded nice on paper but the facts are quite different. By the end of 2021, corporations and trade groups still donated over $8.1 million to the 147 members of the Sedition Caucus ¹—the members of Congress who validated dangerous myths of voter fraud by objecting to election certification.  

I’m going to share those companies with you …

Cigna 

According to CNBC, who reported on January 12, 2021:

“Health insurer Cigna will stop giving money to elected officials who ‘encouraged or supported violence’ during last week’s siege of the U.S. Capitol by followers of [Thing 45].” 

After seeing the violence inflicted during the insurrection, the company and its executives condemned these actions with Chief Human Resources Officer John Murabito saying democracy “makes our nation strong” in a memo announcing Cigna’s decision to halt donations to lawmakers who spurred the insurrection.  

However, by the end of 2021, the company’s PAC had gone back on its word to the tune of $30,000. Additionally, Cigna has made donations to anti-democratic officials in Texas who shepherded a controversial voter suppression bill to passage.

Duke Energy 

Grace Rountree, Duke Energy spokesperson, on January 15, 2021:

“We were shocked and dismayed by the events at the Capitol last week. Duke Energy is taking this very seriously…” 

Duke Energy is one of America’s largest energy holding companies, serving nearly 8 million customers and employing tens of thousands of Americans, and they say they care strongly about the democratic process …

So strongly that since then Duke Energy has donated a total of $59,500 to members of Congress who refused to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

Eli Lilly 

Eli Lilly spokesperson Bradley Jacklin, January 2021:

“We expect any candidate we support to demonstrate respect for people and respect for our democratic process and institutions. […] This certainly covers anyone who promoted violence or sedition that contributed to the appalling events on January 6th…” 

The Eli Lilly company spoke out against the insurrection in January, implying that legislators who voted against certifying the 2020 election results were disrespectful of America’s democratic process.

However, by July 2021, Eli Lilly had given $32,500 to election objectors and funneled money to Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp, who signed into law one of the most restrictive voter suppression bills in the country. 

ExxonMobil 

From an ExxonMobil statement on January 13, 2021:

“Before giving to any political candidate, the ExxonMobil PAC has a robust process to assess the candidate’s platform, prior voting record, and consistency with the company’s priorities.” 

It sounded like ExxonMobil was saying its political contributions are subject to a lengthy vetting process and regular reviews, but it is evident that the company’s “process” doesn’t include weeding out of lawmakers who spent months supporting baseless and dangerous claims about election fraud, stoking a fatal attack on our nation’s Capitol.

Since then ExxonMobil has donated a total of $61,000 to election objectors and given even more to Governor of Texas Greg Abbott, who signed an anti-democratic voter suppression bill into law. 

FedEx 

In a statement from January 2021, FedEx said:

“Multiple factors impact our decisions to support candidates, and we are reviewing all future political contributions. We condemn the violence that occurred in Washington, D.C., and fully support the results of the U.S. general election.” 

FedEx joined many other major U.S. companies in condemning the violence at the Capitol, and even assured Americans that the company looked forward to working with the incoming Biden administration on policy matters relevant to FedEx and its customers, and they promised to review all future contributions, but …

This review did not bar FedEx from donating $58,500 in 2021 to the very people whose actions helped fuel the violence the company condemned in January 2021. FedEx has also supported Tennessee’s governor and Secretary of State while they pushed anti-voting rights legislation. 

More to come …

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