Despite pledging that they would fight to protect voting rights, major corporations like Amazon and Facebook have given $164,000 to Senate Republicans in 2021 so far — even though the party has made it a major priority to block voting rights advancement.
According to a reportAccountable.US has revealed that eight major corporations donated to Senate Republicans this year, spending tens of thousand of dollars. These same corporations signed an agreement in July. a letter pledgingTo support expanding access to election, specifically citing John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Senate Republicans were down last week.
Republicans have opposed the John Lewis Voting Rights Act since months. disingenuously claiming that the expansions to the Voting Rights Act, which are aimed at reducing voter suppression for historically disenfranchised groups, are a violation of states’ rights.
The bill was passed. The House in August, would place restrictions on jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in elections, mandating that they gain approval from the Justice Department if they want to change their election rules.The Senate’s rejection of the bill comes in a contentious year for voting rights, as Republicans across the country have been introducing and passing laws to make it harder to vote as an extreme reaction to the 2020 election.
The letter, which was signed by hundreds of businesses and dated July 14, is said to be against such efforts. “[T]he undersigned group of U.S. employers urges Congress to address these problems through legislation amending the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” the letter reads. “Last Congress, the House of Representatives passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. We support the ongoing work of both the House and the Senate to enact legislation amending the Voting Rights Act this Congress.”
By donating to Republicans who oppose strengthening voting access, corporations directly undermine the letter’s claims. Target, which signed the letter has donated $32,000 to Senate Republicans. Dell, also a signatory of the letter, has donated $38,500. Amazon and Facebook each donated more that $20,000, while Microsoft, Boston Scientific and Boston Scientific each donated more then $15,000
According to the report, Sen. John Thune (R. South Dakota), who is the GOP’s minority whip, was the most popular recipient of donations. Thune was the recipient of thousands of dollars in donations from Amazon, Target Intel, Amazon, Microsoft, Dell, Target and Intel. It’s unclear what the donations are for, since federal filing guidelines don’t require such information to be divulged, but empowering the prominent Republican stands directly against the companies’ stated goals.
Thune has consistently slid in line with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky (R-Kentucky). his opposition to the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Earlier this year, the South Dakota lawmaker delivered a speech claiming that the Democrats’ marquee voting rights bill, then known as the For the People Act or H.R. 1, was a “power-grab” by Democrats. In reality, the The bill would massively expand voting access, with the goal of driving out dark money’s influence in politics and making it easier for everyone to cast a ballot.
Although Republicans have come up a variety of excuses to stop voting rights advancement, some lawmakers made it clear that the party was behind the national push for voter suppression. Wants fewer people to vote. Even a so-called compromise bill from right-wing Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (West Virginia) failed to garner any Republican support; lawmakers have still yet to find any compromise that would please the party’s senators.
This is not the first instance of corporations breaking pledges regarding political donations. After the January 6 attack at the Capitol, 147 Republicans voted againstThe election results were certified and many companies pledged to stop donating to these Republicans or to stop making political donations. So far, however, four dozen companiesAccording to the, major corporations such as Target and Facebook have broken promises to suspend donations. Popular Information.
While making pledges and signing letters is an easy way to receive positive press or praise from the public, companies are ultimately looking out for their bottom line — and as long as Republicans oppose measures like raising corporate income taxes, the GOP and corporations will maintain a mutually beneficial relationshipAt the expense and inconvenience of the public.
