Wal-Mart has already moved to the Left to appease liberal opposition. The company hired a former Clinton administration official to handle its media “war room” and it is partnering with the Environmental Defense – a $68 million advocacy group – on environmental matters. Under the new liberal influence, the New York Times story provides the ammunition for Wal-Mart to rationalize its support for conservative policy organizations.
Shareholder activism is another front in the battle to cut-off support for free-market organizations. At the Charles Schwab shareholder meeting, for example, union representatives filed a shareholder resolution seeking to prevent the company’s support of the Cato Institute, and the Club for Growth – a pro-growth political action committee (PAC). The Charles Schwab action was part of a larger union effort to defeat Social Security reform by preventing corporate support for this pro-growth policy initiative.
It’s no secret that free-market organizations are a thorn in the side of liberal activists, politicians and their policies. By directly targeting companies and creating public relations headaches for image sensitive CEOs, the agents of the Left aim to eliminate financial support for free-market ideas. Given the choice between a bad headline or supporting free-market ideas that will help the economy and their profits, many companies play it safe and shy away from confrontation.
For those of us interested in promoting pro-growth ideas, loss of corporate support represents a huge threat to sound public policy. There is too much money, power and influence wielded by companies and free-market advocates can’t afford to give up that high ground to the Left. It’s time for us to recognize that the battle of ideas has moved to the boardroom and we need to stake a position on that front. See you there!