One scoop here, one scoop there

Doling out money to liberal causes

By Alisa Farenzena
From the October 2005 Print Edition

Cindy Sheehan, with her whiny anti-war message and unrealistic visitation demands, has made her way into the public light with surprising strength for a supposedly forlorn grieving mother.

For those who don’t recall, Sheehan is the mother of a soldier who died in Iraq, and she set up camp outside the president’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, making demands ranging from impeachment to getting Israel out of Palestine. Her protestations have drawn a torrent of media interest.

The attention Sheehan received this summer was no fluke: Liberal PR firm Fenton Communications set up a command center in Crawford and held daily strategy sessions. According to an August 25 ABC 7 report, their bills were “being paid for by True Majority, a non-profit set up by Ben Cohen — of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream fame.”

Wait a minute — isn’t Cohen the co-founder of a successful international business? What’s a business leader doing supporting such an unabashedly liberal cause? If you’ve spent more than a day in Berkeley, chances are you’ve learned that all corporations are evil and that America’s successful entrepreneurs are a menacing bunch of bald guys stroking white cats and pulling the strings controlling a presidential puppet.

Could it be that the real world doesn’t quite work that way? You may not realize that plenty of businesses and business leaders like Cohen have thrown their weight around in leftist politics.

Remember the 2003 Supreme Court cases about the University of Michigan’s use of racial preferences in admissions? “Among those filing briefs on behalf of the University of Michigan are dozens of Fortune 500 companies,” according to a February 17, 2003, San Francisco Chronicle article. Never mind that these two cases were about school admissions policies, not affirmative action in hiring. These companies somehow felt that it was their business to interject their two cents anyway, in a very harmful manner.

According to the Chronicle report, the list of companies that weighed in includes Intel, Microsoft, Lucent Technologies, General Motors, 3M, and Boeing. Although common sense and the Constitution prevailed in Gratz v. Bollinger, the companies got their way in Grutter v. Bollinger, so if you’re a qualified applicant rejected from the University of Michigan Law School, you can thank Bill Gates along with BAMN.

Many companies go way beyond backing affirmative action — they support much more extreme causes like illegal immigration. Mexican consulates issue an identification card called a matricula consular, of which many recipients are undocumented immigrants. According to a July 18 BusinessWeek article, “Scores of financial institutions now accept it for bank accounts, credit cards, and car loans.” Among these institutions giving illegal immigrants a sense of legitimacy are Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp., and Citigroup. Many companies in the communications and health care industries — such as Verizon, Sprint Corp., and Blue Cross of California — also accept the card as identification.

The BusinessWeek article brings to light how corporate America’s “new hunger for the undocumenteds’ business could have far-reaching implications for America’s stance on immigration policy.” For example, Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado tried to take a legislative stand against aliens’ ease in sending remittances home. As a result, “First Data Corp.’s political action committee and its chief executive, Charles T. Fote, each wrote $2,000 checks in support of Tancredo’s opponent.”

Costco is yet another company with liberal leadership. Costco CEO James Sinegal and chairman Jeffrey Brotman endorsed John Kerry for president last year — about 200 business leaders did — and gave “$95,000 apiece to the Joint Victory Campaign, one of the most influential of the anti-Bush 527 committees,” according to an August 10, 2004, Web article on Slate. Most people who set foot in a Costco store probably don’t even realize that Sinegal and Brotman have given thousands upon thousands in political contributions, “all of it to Democratic candidates and entities.”

Now take Target, a Costco competitor that donates to both parties. This includes $300,000 it gave to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Despite the corporation’s bipartisan approach, a liberal group called “California Consumers United has spent $50,000 for a Bay Area radio campaign” telling seniors to boycott Target, according to an August 23 Chronicle article.

This begs the question, If the liberals go so far as to call for a boycott of a company that’s bipartisan, why don’t conservatives also get together and vote with their wallets? So cut up your Costco card, and shop at Target or Wal-Mart instead. At the very least, know who you’re buying your 12 pounds of toilet paper from.

Oh, and the next time an ill-informed activist on Sproul Plaza tries to tell you that corporate America is behind everything that’s wrong with this country, tell him he’s right, at least partially. Promoting illegal immigration, prolonging affirmative action, and giving funding and credibility to the Cindy Sheehans of America are definitely part of what’s wrong with this country.

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